subject: Document Management Software: Big Benefits for Small Businesses [print this page] Document Management Software: Big Benefits for Small Businesses
In today's competitive business environment, every cost and timesaving measure must be seriously explored and considered. That's why document management software systems have become as prolific and popular as they have in recent years; because their return on investment is nearly always swift and sustainable.
Document management software can help even the smallest business or individual entrepreneur improve their process management, increase workflow efficiencies, and reduce unnecessary cost, waste, and risk. The three main sources of cost-cutting provided by software management systems are eliminating the cost of paper, reducing the required amount of labor, as well as the reduction in variousvariablecostsassociated with printing and mailing paperwork.
Eliminate the cost of paper:
By working with electronic documents and using document management software, as opposed to the more inefficient and space consuming paper-based systems, information can be captured, shared, filed, stored, and retrieved with just a few keystrokes. Not only does the speed of business operations increase significantly, the cost savings of nearly eliminating paper is undeniably a substantial one. At around two cents per sheet, multiplied by the average 10,000 sheets of paper handled by employees annually, paper costs businesses at least $200 per employee annually.
Reduce the cost of labor:
Then, there are the cost savings realized by eliminating the time and manpower spent on filing, retrieving, and re-filing of the paper documents which comes down to four minutes per file on average. Assume that an employee files and/or retrieves 100 documents daily and then extrapolate that over the course of one year: The labor costs for filing alone totals more than $28,000 and take over 1,600 man hours to complete. In contrast, with document management software, staff members can process files in mere seconds without ever leaving their workstation.
Miscellaneous savings:
Furthermore, with the right document management software solution, businesses can effectively reduce the need for ink, toner, postage, expensive copying and fax equipment maintenance, and storage supplies and fees, resulting in additional and immediate savings that accrue over time. The miscellaneous savings on the variable costs can and will add up to significant cost savings in the long run.
