The True Costs of Paper - Documenting Savings with Electronic Document Management

By Kristina Gaffney Feoli, Director of Sales, Inception Technologies, Inc.

Are you still inundated with paper in your office?  Still using traditional paper filing systems? Don’t worry- you’re not alone. The term “paperless office” has been tossed about for years, but has yet to be adopted as the standard practice amongst most small and even many mid-sized businesses. Even as we swim daily in the vast sea of technology available all around us, many companies are still hanging on to the old paper-based practices despite the significant benefits that can come along with adopting electronic document management. It is always astonishing to me that these businesses are often unaware that adopting paperless practices can put thousands of dollars back into the company’s pockets each year.

What’s holding them back?
Getting to the root of that question is always the key to us helping these businesses move forward into the electronic age of less paper and more digital efficiency. Is it that they don’t know how to get started? Is it fear of change? Is it the misconception that the costs will be prohibitive? Are they afraid their staff won’t be accepting of the new practices? Often, it’s a combination of these concerns. The good news is taking your business processes electronic does not have to be scary, cost a ton or be painful for your employees.

What is it costing us to stay paper based?
Have you ever considered how much it costs to fill a traditional filing cabinet? According to Efficient Technology, Inc.’s white paper, “Achieving the Paperless Office”, if every person filed just four forms per day it can cost companies $12,000 per year on labor costs at a $40,000 salary. For a company of 50 people, that’s $600,000 per year! The average company makes 19 copies of each paper document during the document’s lifecycle. On average, companies lose 1 in 20 documents. Searching for those lost documents will cost an average of $120 per document. The average time to recreate a lost document is 25 hours. That can really add up. The more paper that moves through your business, the greater the chances you’ve personally experienced these situations. You just may not have realized how much it was actually costing the business.

 How does electronic document management work?

There are many different software products and strategies which can help companies of all sizes achieve an electronic way to scan, archive, search and retrieve their documents via their PC. They are intended to replace storing and retrieving documents in traditional filing cabinets. Some of the features available are the ability to search on key words or numbers within the document, pulling up any document you need instantly rather than going to a file cabinet or a storage unit to search for it. Workflow functionality can be used to route documents through an approval process within your company electronically, replacing the old physical paper trail from person to person. You can automate business practices like invoicing, sharing documents with teams, or deploying electronic forms on tablet devices to eliminate the paper forms your business may be using every day.

What are the three most important benefits of adopting electronic document management?

1.      Increase your business efficiency and agility. You can find information faster, and move information around your company faster. That means saving time and money, as well as making it easier for your employees to do their jobs. That’s a huge win for both you and your customers.

2.      Increases the protection and security of your documents and business history with a level of security that traditional paper filing just can’t match. If there was a disaster tomorrow, would you be able to continue your business seamlessly if you lost all your paper records?

3.      Decreases your carbon footprint. Being as environmentally friendly as possible is an important goal no matter what line of business you are in. Most companies have a green initiative in place to reduce the use of energy, paper and printing.

While there’s no way for a business to go completely paperless, adopting an electronic document strategy can make a big impact on your business. Is it time for you to consider the benefits and investigate if it makes sense to develop a digital strategy for your company?