07 Jun Tracking Printing Costs to Increase Profits at Your Law Firm
Most law firms print hundreds if not thousands of pages of documents in a week. The legal profession still relies heavily on printed documents, and this creates time and cost burdens on law firms. Not only do you need dedicated staff to handle scanning and printing duties, but you also need to invest in quality equipment and supplies. However, you don’t need to shoulder the entire cost yourself. You can track your printing costs to bill your clients and increase your profits. Here is a look at how it’s done.
Track Printer Usage and Cost
Tracking printer usage and the cost of maintaining and operating your printer and copier will help you determine whether it is worth passing that cost along to your clients. If you work in a high-volume area of law like collections, you may be printing and copying so many documents that you have no choice but to pass the cost along to your clients. In order to do so, you will need to establish a tracking system that itemizes when and why the printer is being used, by whom, for which client, and how many pages and types of documents are being printed or copied.
Streamline Methods for Billing Clients for Printing Costs
You can use your company’s billing software to input and track client printing and copying costs. You will need to create standardized billing codes for printing and copying, and you may want to consider making the codes specific to the type of item being printed or copied. For instance, using a different code for printing legal documents and pleadings versus contracts, correspondence, or discovery. You will then need to determine how to break down per client the portion of the cost of printing materials, user time, and printer lease and maintenance for each printing job.
Implement an Office-Wide Printing Policy
If you are going to start charging your clients for printing and copying costs, you will need to standardize the way your employees use the office printers and copiers. You will have to design and implement an office-wide printing policy that reduces error and waste. Employees should not be printing or copying personal items on the office printers. They also should not be wasteful when using the printer or copier, and should not be printing out emails or making unnecessary copies.
Use Client and User Specific Printing Codes
Most high volume printers allow you to create and use codes when starting print jobs. The user will need to enter a specific user code or client code in order to enter the printer menu and settings and begin a print or copy job. These codes allow you to track which departments or users are printing and copying the most, and track how much each client is affecting your printing and copying costs. You can then use this information to bill your client for the time and cost of printing and copying services.
At Arizona Business Equipment, we carry a wide range of quality, high-volume printers, copiers, and scanners for sale and lease. Our equipment can streamline your business procedures and increase efficiency and productivity while allowing you to track printer usage for client billing purposes. To learn more about our law firm business equipment in Arizona, call us at (520) 888-2679 or contact us online with questions.