Software pricing
Document management systems are a major capital expense. You can expect to pay thousands of dollars for even the most basic system. Just remember the economics we discussed in the Benefits section: with a bit of cost analysis of your current paper systems, you will quickly realize the ROI potential of these systems.
Also, keep in mind that these systems are highly customized, so pricing will vary tremendously depending on the features and integration work you require.
For entry-level paper conversion systems, including a server and scanner and software with all the basic indexing, searching, and security features, you might be able to go as low as $3,000 for a very small setup. At ten users, you're more likely looking at a minimum of $6,000 and often more. A medium-sized installation, with web access, auditing, and workflow features, and support for 100 users, pricing will probably run $25,000 to $80,000+. Pricing for enterprise-level solutions for hundreds of users can easily reach half a million dollars or more.
For ASP models, you can expect minimum prices of $100 per month, and easily over $1,000 per month for mid-sized solutions. Support for larger companies can quickly top $2,000 per month.
See what other BuyerZone users paid for document imaging systems.
Some ASP suppliers base their fee structures on the total number of images in the system, rather than the number of users. Since you've already estimated the amount of documents your system will be handling, you should be able to compare costs fairly easily.
Again, these are only rough estimates of your total costs. Vendors will break down the pricing in much more detail: hardware, software, customer service and support, training, installation, and maintenance.
If you're having archived records scanned, expect prices of between 2 and 20 cents per page. You'll pay more for on-site scanning, stapled or damaged documents, and indexing services. When you consider a million-file archive, you can see why many companies opt for the scan forward approach.
If your businesses doesn't have regulatory concerns, and you don't need network access to your documents, nor extensive tracking and security needs, then a smaller a turnkey solution for $200 or $300 may be sufficient - but the benefits are limited so you'll want to talk to a document management specialist to find out which solution is right for you.
