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Does anyone know the cost to file a paper document?

By Chris Cosgrove posted 10-30-2012 12:01

  

Quick question for the community...

Does anyone have a solid benchmark on how much it costs to file a paper document?

Not to 'process' a document per se...I'm looking for a metric on the physical storage/retrieval component...?

Thanks!



#ElectronicRecordsManagement #filingcosts #documentstorage
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03-24-2014 18:20

Chris,
I can't answer that directly, but here are the factors that our clients use:
1. File Folder cost (if it is the first document for a client or topic, etc). should include cost of labels. Say $2.
2. Setup of folder cost (again, if first document in the folder). this is labor. Say 2 minutes at $20/hr or $0.67
3. Time to get to the filing cabinet and locate the folder and place document in the folder (depends on the cost of labor). Say 5 mins round trip at $20/hr = $2.40
4. Cost of the filing cabinet (divided by 10,000 pages x average number of pages per document = cost per document). Say $1,000 /10,000 x 25 pages divided by 3 (re-use the cabinet three times) = $0.83
5. Cost of office space for 10 square feet (divided by 10,000 pages x average number of pages per document = cost per document). Say $30/psf/year x 10 sf = $300 divided by 10,000 x 25 = $0.75.
Total Cost just to file = $6.65 per document.

This is just the cost to file the document. This does not represent the cost to then store that document for x number of years until it is destroyed or put in off-site storage. Nor does this include the cost to retrieve that document, copy the document or ship the document. The assumptions are fairly conservative though will vary by location and company.
When you can scan a document for $0.10 per page or $2.50 for a 25 page document - it makes a lot of sense to scan it.
Hope that helps.
Michael Cipriano
www.mgdocs.com