How Much Is Your Company Spending on Paper?

Your company works with paper every day, but have you ever considered the amount of money involved with each paper-based process? It goes beyond the paperwork itself. From printing to scanning and filing documents, the hidden costs of labor, storage, and supplies can quickly add up.

According to Informit, The typical U.S. office worker uses more than 10,000 sheets of paper per year, which is about two cases of paper per employee. With an average price of $40 for a case of standard copy paper, this is an $80 annual cost per employee. Beyond the paper, studies show that for every dollar spent on printing documents, businesses incur another $6 in handling and distribution of the paper. Let’s do the math for a 100-person company:

$80 spent on paper, per employee   x   $6 handling   =   $480 per employee

$480   x   100 employees   =   $48,000 a year!

And we haven’t gotten to the storage yet! Current estimates show that 50-70% of space in an office is solely dedicated to filing and storage of documentation. On average, nearly half of the files in those cabinets are duplicated information, and 80% is never accessed again. Even worse, a solid filing cabinet can cost $1,000, and take up 15.7 square feet. The current average cost of office space is $15-$20 per square foot. That means, you’re spending over $1,235 per filing cabinet. That’s $12,350 for only ten filing cabinets! Off-site storage will increase this number with several additional charges from utilities, to rent, and costs of commuting.

For a company with 100 employees and 10 filing cabinets, $60,350 is spent every year on paper management. Let that sink in.

So, what’s the solution? The most cost-effective strategy to paper management is reduction. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software, also known as document management, can help your company reduce your dependency on paper and eliminate associated expenses. ECM software is a cost-effective, browser-based solution for improving the storage, management, and monitoring of documents relating to everyday business processes. Easily capture, extract and classify document information to transform it into usable intelligence that lets you work smarter, faster and more productively. ECM software frees organizations of all sizes from the burden of paper to streamline paper processing, while saving thousands of dollars annually.

Paper builds up over time, and so does the cost of managing it. By using simple formulas, you can determine your company’s annual cost of paper expenses. Replacing paper-based processes with a document management solution could save your company more than you think. To get started on reducing paperwork in your office, contact Square 9 today.