With the start of a new year, many businesses are making an organized office environment a priority. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is by finding ways to reduce paper in the office.
Do you know how much it actually costs your organization to print, copy, process, file and store paper documents? Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common costs associated with managing paper.
The Cost of Paper Itself
Studies have indicated that the typical U.S. employee will use more than 10,000 sheets of paper annually. This equates to two cases of paper for each employee, or approximately $80 annually per employee.
The majority of this paper usage comes from copying, delivery, handling and storage which could be eliminated with a digital document management system.
The Cost of Filing Paper
Surprisingly, the average business spends approximately $20 in labor costs to file a paper document, $120 in labor to find a misplaced paper document, and $220 to re-create the misplaced document.
Document management systems provide a central framework for organizing files so employees can easily find what they are looking for without having to sift through a mountain of paperwork.
The Cost of Storage Space
It’s been estimated that approximately 50 percent of office space is reserved for filing and storage of paper documents. What’s even more surprising is that 45 percent of those paper files include duplicate information, and as much as 80 percent of the filed paperwork is never accessed again.
Considering that the average file cabinet uses 15.7 square feet, and the average price per square foot of office space ranges from $15 to $20, the cost for simply having the file cabinets in your office is roughly $236 to $314 each. Transitioning to digital document management allows many companies to reclaim their office space.
If these statistics are alarming to you, we encourage you to take a closer look at your actual print environment costs. To learn more about how you can reduce your consumption of paper and transition to a paperless office, please contact us to find out how to get the process started.