What is the cost of document management software - part 2
It's always one of the first questions. "How much is this going to cost?" It's an important and straightforward question, unfortunately, it is not easy to answer. In part one of this series we began the discussion of the cost of document management software. We need to be specific about the application in order to be specific about the price. In this case, we are looking at a small to medium sized Accounts Payable department, and the specific function of using document management automation to improve the AP workflow.
A midrange price for the basic software in this situation would be in the $2000-$3000 range. This software would allow you to transform all related paper-based documents to an electronic format. It would also provide the ability to import other related documents from different sources across your network.
You may be thinking "I already have the ability to scan documents" - "what good does this document management stuff do me?" That's a topic for another day, for now, let's just assume that if a lot of other companies are doing this - there must be some significant benefit.
There are other potential costs that should be considered as well. Do you have a scanner located in your department that is efficient at handling the necessary scan volume? Depending on the volume of paper and the size and types of documents you'll be scanning, a decent scanner will run anywhere from $1000-$5000.
Another potential cost to consider is professional services. You may want qualified technical support to install and set up your software. It is quite likely that you will also want training on the software. Professional services from a reputable company will run anywhere from $100-$200 per hour. For the sample application we're discussing, you should figure on between three and six hours of support. That would average out to another $600-$800.
One component of the project cost that is often overlooked is ongoing service and support. At a minimum, you are going to want some sort of software assurance program. This will usually provide software updates and "bug fixes." Additionally, you may want to consider an ongoing maintenance contract that provides technical and user support. A typical software assurance plan will run between it 15% and 20% of the cost of the software per year.
Watch this short video to see how a docSTAR document management system can save your company money by increasing efficiency. Just click here to watch right now.
That's all for now. This in the next part of this series we'll wrap up this example and begin to explore the ROI as well.
I'd welcome your comments or questions. Just pop into the comment section and let me know what you think.