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WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED IN DOCUMENT STORAGE?

However, document storage services aren’t free. And while they may result in massive savings in admin time and company resources, they still represent a cost to your business.

So how much does document storage cost? 

The costs of offsite document storage will depend on several factors:

  •     The document storage company you choose
  •     The quantity of documents you wish to store
  •     How much access you’ll need to your documents while they’re in storage

Document storage costs will also depend on whether you require additional document management services, such as document scanning or destruction.

Document storage costs based on quantity

The vast majority of document storage companies charge by the box, which means the main factor determining your document storage costs will be the number of documents, and therefore boxes, that require storage.

While some companies will only charge for document storage on a yearly basis, most will quote for monthly storage. This gives organisations more flexibility, as they are not tied in to lengthy annual contracts, even though many documents are stored for a number of years.

Monthly storage costs can vary from as little as INR 10 to over INR10000 per box per month.

As with any business purchase, it’s never a bad idea to shop around and compare prices from a handful of prospective storage companies.

Document storage costs based on accessibility

While monthly rolling contracts are standard in the offsite document storage industry, most facilities will also give you the option of storing your files for a specified number of years if you will not need regular access to them.

This is commonly known as ‘deep storage’ or ‘archive storage’, and the minimal access means the price is significantly lower than other forms of document storage.

On the other hand, if you’re going to need regular access to your stored files, it’s going to be reflected in the storage costs. Needing all of your documents for tomorrow is obviously going to cost more than needing a few files next month.

Many document storage companies offer document retrieval. This service allows you to retrieve one, some or all of your stored files from the storage facility.

Choose the right offsite document storage company for your needs

Ultimately, choosing the right offsite document storage – not just the cheapest one – is really the key to ensuring you get the service you need.

Basing your decision solely on the lowest cost could put your confidential documents at risk if the storage facility, its staff or any other aspect of the document storage service is not up to scratch.

We know we said it earlier but it’s worth repeating – shop around, get as many quotes as you can and make sure you scrutinise each document storage prospect.

Does their service fulfil all of your document storage needs? What security does their facility have in place to protect your files? Are their staff fully trained and industry certified to handle sensitive data?

 

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