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You have to take many variables into consideration to answer this question. You must consider:
A total cost of ownership analysis must be done to determine the net effect on your organization. Such an analysis is not only essential to determine a document imaging system's viability but to be able to accurately compare different vendors.
A document imaging system has potential for enormous savings...
A document imaging system offers the potential to realize enormous cost savings by reducing the expenses associated with handling and managing paper documents. These systems often pay for themselves in months rather than years. In fact, with our system it isn't unusual to see payoffs anywhere from two weeks to 6 months.
Costs will vary significantly from vendor to vendor...
Pricing models can vary significantly from vendor to vendor as you will discover as you attempt to price a system. Some vendors sell a base model at a lower cost but then charge higher maintenance costs after the initial purchase. Other vendors charge a per-seat charge that works well with small companies but gets very expensive for mid-sized companies. Yet other vendors charge an a la carte charge, adding more costs as you piece meal your system together.
Installation and implementation costs associated with a document imaging system vary greatly from one vendor to another. You will incur invoiced expenses such as vendor-supplied installation services, as well as indirect expenses for internally supplied services, such as user setup and training.
You may be tempted to think that setup and training will be the same for all vendors but nothing is further from the truth. With our system a user is trained in 20 - 60 minutes, and we have seen other systems take as long as 5-7 days. For that reason it is important for you to carefully evaluate how easy the system is to use and how quickly it takes to train an employee.
Intangible costs are also a factor that must be considered...
You must somehow factor in the user adoption rate since this can have a huge impact on you return on investment. If users are resistant to using the system because it is too complicated and they feel they can be more productive using old paper methods, you may have a hard time recovering your costs. It is only when a document imaging system saves time or is easier to use than the traditional process that it is intended to replace, will you gain the anticipated returns on your investment.
In addition, any meaningful analysis must include the intangible costs of installing a document imaging system. These include:
By their very nature these costs are almost impossible to quantify for a financial analysis, but must be included in the subjective analysis.
Summary
Companies must look beyond just the acquisition costs of a document imaging system and look at the total cost of ownership over the lifetime of the system. This includes:
They must also look at the intangible benefits such as disaster protection, improved customer service and improved employee morale. But, for the most part, document imaging only makes common sense as an investment when it saves time and is easier to use than the traditional process of doing things that it is intended to replace.
Learn how to choose the ideal document imaging system for your business in five easy steps...
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acquisition costs