Attorneys and law firms are famously paper-dependent and rely on various documents to perform their daily operations. Between their contracts, client copies, briefs, discovery documents, memos, legal filings, mailouts, and so much more, it’s not uncommon for a small firm to go through multiple cases of paper and numerous every month in printing. Even though law firms are generally reliant upon printing, they tend to have a variety of print devices that are not optimized for efficient usage, nor do they typically have a solution that tracks and accounts for who’s printing, how much they’re printing, or how much it’s costing. This means nobody knows if their document and print solution is the right fit or just a black hole sucking up resources.
Law firms should not be hindered by their print-related expenses, and this is why managed print services can be an excellent solution for the legal industry. Tech Wise’s managed print services (MPS) can help assess your print environment and recommend cost-effective print solutions for your firm. How? By improving document control and oversight and managing viewing & access to minimize paper waste, a managed print services program can simplify billing and reduce costs. This article will provide three critical ways managed print services can save your law firm money regarding how you print. By the end of this article, you’ll have a better grasp of how MPS can help your business.
What Are 3 Ways MPS Can Save Your Law Firm Money?
Leasing, buying, and maintaining printing devices can be pricey for any law firm. That’s where managed print services come in. MPS is a budget-friendly way of helping to reduce print costs and enhance ROI. Let’s dive into the three ways MPS can help save your law firm money.
1. Consolidates Printer Fleet & Optimizes Workflow
At the start of any partnership with a managed print provider, a print assessment should be the first step. You can think of a print assessment as a process a managed print provider takes to thoroughly evaluate your print environment, activity, volume, and associated costs. How does this translate to saving your firm money? A provider can effectively optimize workflow and consolidate your printer fleet by getting a better read on your print activity and what your inventory consists of. The assessment will take stock of your inventory of printing devices and determine the health of each device. By doing this, the managed print provider will tell which devices are costing you more money due to how outdated the machine is. The more outdated the device, the more costs associated. Optimizing and consolidating your printer fleet allows your firm to swap out devices that are no longer serving your team properly, reduce costs associated with outdated machines, and minimize downtime. For example, suppose your law firm owns twenty multifunction printers, however, the print assessment finds that only ten of those MFPs are used daily. This alone is a tell that maybe owning twenty MFPs is unnecessary. However, let’s also say that out of those twenty printers, most if not all are outdated, slow to work, and need parts replaced regularly. In that case, a managed print provider could consolidate the number of MFPs you have and swap out any outdated devices for newer versions. By facilitating this change, your firm would notice a direct shift in how your team works and performs daily tasks.
2. Facilitates Cost Recovery Software for Budgeting
Cost recovery software streamlines the process of recuperating costs associated with clients, events, outings, and more. Every expense is tracked through cost recovery software, which optimizes the overall accounting process and helps firms reduce costs. Chances are if you’re a law firm reading this article – you’re probably already aware of cost recovery software and how it can benefit a firm’s budgetary spending. However, we’re here to share how managed print services can help you acquire and implement the right software for your particular firm. A big part of managed print services is assessing what print solutions your firm currently has in place, and understanding if those solutions are still benefiting your firm. Cost recovery software is vital for law firms because it makes billing easier and allows attorneys to spend more time working on pressing initiatives. That’s why it’s the job of any managed print provider to walk you through the features of each software they offer, in order to see what the right fit would be for you. Some examples of cost recovery systems are Papercut or Kofax. Both software systems can ensure you are accounting for all activity related to copying, printing, or scanning documents.
3. Monitors Print Environment
It means that a managed print provider will actively monitor your print environment. Fortunately, the mere act of monitoring your print environment has many layers to it. Let’s dive in:
Monitors For Security Risks
A huge perk of managed print services is the proactive updating of print software, printer firmware, and scheduling of regular print assessments. Why is this important? Believe it or not, data breaches can affect an office copier, printer, or MFP, just like a computer or operating system. Since law firms handle confidential information, ensuring your printing devices are protected is essential.
Monitors The Health of Your Devices
Through the active monitoring of your firm’s print environment, a managed print provider can check the health of your devices in real-time. This ensures that all of your printing devices are running smoothly and effectively.
Automates The Supply Replenishment Process
By monitoring your devices, a managed print provider will read when your toner or ink levels are low. A managed print provider can automate the printer supply replenishment process using a data tool such as Fleetview or FMAudit. You can think of this data tool as a way of reading each device on your network. This tool automates ordering the correct supplies for each device when it reaches a certain level of toner and ink. Not only does this stop your team from over-ordering or ordering the wrong supplies, but it also ensures that your devices will never be without supplies.
Ready To Reduce Your Law Firm’s Print Costs?
An MPS program can help tailor print solutions to your particular firm’s print needs and goals. But if your firm is still unsure whether you require managed print services – try answering the following questions below.
- Does your law firm overspend on print consumables due to over-ordering, ordering the wrong supplies, or owning outdated devices?
- Do you currently lease or own several devices that may be under-utilized or overutilized?
- Does your law firm have a monthly print budget and strategy?
Answering these questions before considering managed print services can help your team determine if it’s the right move for you. Get in touch with Tech Wise Office Solutions today!
