5 Easy Ways to Show ROI for Document Management Software
Assessing ROI for a digital document management system can be as simple as imagining a clean, paper-free desk. Try it right now. Nice, isn’t it? But it’ll take more than pleasant thoughts to convince your boss that converting to a new system is worth the time and effort. Below are five positive changes that can come from adopting digital document management, plus a handy guide to calculating the figures for your own organization.
1. Freedom from pricey paper
This is a great starting point for ROI calculation as the results can be quite accurate. Paper-related costs can be tallied by analyzing the following expenses:
- Rent for offsite document storage
- Filing supplies, such as cabinets and folders
- Shipping of documents to clients, offsite departments, etc.
- Ink, toner and other printing costs
- The cost of paper itself
The reduction of paper from your business processes will often produce the most immediate ROI. For example, Tompkins County, NY saved $5.5 million by digitizing their records management system and cancelled plans to build a new $2.8 million structure to house their paper records. Take a look at their story here.
2. Time is on your side
A 2012 IDC report found that information workers spent up to 20% of their time filing and searching through paper documents. On top of that, they wasted over 10 hours a week searching for, but not finding, documents, recreating lost documents and other time-consuming tasks. These figures can be attributed to the problems inherent in paper-based document management.
By implementing document management in a digital format, companies can allot more time to using information and less time to finding it. Instead of tracking down information holders or combing through archives for hours, employees can instantly retrieve documents within a digital repository through a simple search.
3. Data safe, boss happy
If you think losing one file is frustrating, imagine losing thousands of them in a flood, fire or other disaster. Rather than cutting back on current unnecessary expenses, a disaster recovery plan is all about avoiding future ones. Learn more about how digital document management supports business continuity in this guide.
4. Bye-bye busy work
With time and resources saved through digital document management, employees are able to do more of the work that matters. By spending less time on processing contracts, invoices and customer inquiries, companies can increase their work capacity and potential for growth.
5. Space, not waste
Making use of the space once dominated by paper storage is one of the small perks of digital document management. Look around your office and imagine what it could look like without all the file cabinets and storage rooms—maybe you’ll finally have space for that communal worktable or nap pod!
ROI Resources
You don’t have to take the advice in this post at face value. Calculate your own ROI and decide if document management software is the right choice by using this helpful calculation guide: Create Your Own Cost-Benefit Analysis
If you’re ready to build a case for document management, check out the Document Management Buyer’s Guide for assistance on evaluating document management solutions and system requirements to inform your buying decisions.
