To determine the ROI of a document management system, you must calculate the saved man-hours and storage costs and compare the final number against the cost of the document management system and its operation.

 

Formula:

1-3 ft. filing cabinet drawer = 9,000 documents (pages)

1-4 drawer filing cabinet = 36,000 documents (pages)

1-4 drawer filing cabinet requires 21 sq. ft. of storage space

 

Annual cost of storing your documents:

Number of filing cabinets _________ X 21 sq. ft = _________ total square feet.

Total square feet _________ X $ _________ per sq. ft. = $ __________Annual Cost

 

Example:

15 filing cabinets

$24.00 per sq. ft. rent

15 x 21 = 315 total sq. ft.

3 15 x $24.00 = $7,560 annual cost

 

The cost associated with finding and retrieving documents: A key advantage of an document management system is the ability to find and retrieve documents instantly from your desktop PC. Time-management experts estimate that searching for documents requires 20% to 30% of the average employees’ time. Therefore, based on the 20% figure, the annual savings in hours is:

 

20% X number of employees _________ X $ _________ Avg. Annual Wages =

$_________ savings

 

The time required to scan and label documents:

 

Based on current customer influx, a good rule of thumb is 4,000 documents per day of an entry-level employee’s time.

 

Current workflow:

Number of documents per day _________ divided by 4,000 = _________ amount of time required to maintain current workflow.

 

Archived documents:

Number of filing cabinet drawers _________ X 9,000 = _________ total number of documents.

Total number of documents _________ divided by 4,000 = _________ number of days to eliminate archived documents.