Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/30285
workflow changes have impacted cost recovery. While photocopies remain at the top of the list of expenses frequently or routinely charged to clients (at 84 percent), items including courier/delivery fees, faxes and long distance expenses are being charged to clients less and less. This is not just a shift in billing methodologies — these methods of communication are being replaced by other technologies. The majority of today’s documents are created, modified and distributed electronically. And many of those that originate as paper documents are scanned and converted to electronic files for processing. The unintended, but very real, effect of this shift to electronic workflows is that more documents are being printed out multiple times during their life cycle. These printing and have seen this successfully deployed by many firms. In fact, on average, firms can recover up to $5,000 per month for each multifunction printer (MFP) by billing for just 60 percent of the total activity from these devices. While this approach contributes to the bottom line and is one way to modernize a cost recovery strategy, taking a fresh look at cost recovery from a financial management and accounting perspective will lead to more sustainable, and more profitable, results. Costs such as “Firms can recover up to $5,000 per month for each multifunction printer (MFP)” scanning costs, however, are not being recovered at nearly the rate of other expenses. ILTA’s 2010 Technology Survey shows that 39 percent of firms are charging for prints at photocopiers, 34 percent for prints at laser printers, and only 24 percent for scanning. This trend creates a dilemma. While printing and scanning are the fastest growing document-related activities, the costs of these activities are not being billed to clients. A NEW PERSPECTIVE A logical solution to this dilemma is to extend cost recovery practices to include charges for printing and scanning expenses incurred on behalf of a client. We postage, courier fees and even photocopies can be appropriately categorized as expenses. However, printing and scanning resources are more than just a line item expense. These resources are part of the core IT infrastructure that supports a firm. Firms scrutinize other technology purchases such as servers, mobile devices and software to determine the cost, productivity and security implications. It is time to apply those same metrics to printing and scanning. The good news is that the technology that can provide the detailed data required to make informed decisions about a print infrastructure is already in place in most firms. Cost recovery software and hardware can be extended to provide usage data from activity “on the glass” at a scanner/MFP, as well as activity initiated at the desktop, such as printing. www.iltanet.org Financial Management 21