Are managed printing services really right for your accounting firm? Understandably, many professionals assume that managed services are more than their business needs.
In truth, more efficient printing methods offer cost savings, accountability, and improved workflow, among their advantages. There are few accounting firms that wouldn’t benefit from those additions to their company.
So, what happens when accounting firms invest in managed print services software?
1. Efficient Workflows for Printing Tax Forms
While many offices may be able to go paperless, or close to it, an accounting firm is not one of them. There is no getting around printing tax returns and keeping important data stored, on paper, for the IRS and your clients. This is an essential part of your employees’ workdays.
It’s also a part of the day that can turn into wasted business hours. Staff isn’t able to focus on their work when they’re fighting with a misbehaving printer. This leads to missed deadlines, unhappy clients, and afternoons where your staff’s billable hours go to researching how to fix an expensive printer that isn’t functioning properly.
With managed print services (MPS), you have professionals at hand who can handle print-related troubleshooting. Even if you have an IT department on staff, this frees them up to focus on their main network-related tasks.
With an MPS available to your team, you have professionals available not only for troubleshooting but also for routine maintenance that can prevent these issues in the future. Your printing professionals will know when your equipment needs updates that can prevent days lost to malfunctions.
The improvement in productivity for your accounting firm isn’t limited to reducing time lost to troubleshooting. Managed print software also offers your team the ability to track their documents and streamline printing. There are also features like indexing software that makes things faster and more efficient for your staff.
2. Printing Accounting Software Provides Insight
Did you know that most companies don’t track their printing costs? In fact, studies found that 90% of businesses aren’t tracking how much they’re spending on printing.
Printing is an essential part of your accounting business. There’s no getting around the need to print IRS forms or produce materials for clients. However, are there more cost-effective ways to print than you currently are? If you aren’t tracking your print costs, there’s no way to know.
Print accounting software will provide this kind of essential insight that can lead to cost savings. The right services can include software that will automatically track your office’s usage patterns and measure the activity across your printing network.
3. Create User Limits
If insights have shown that your office is simply printing more than it should, your managed services can create limits. This can look like printer quotas on individual machines. It can also mean single sign-on printing, so your staff has individual accounts and rules-based printing options. This can encourage employees to be more economical.
4. Lowering Unnecessary Print Costs
When calculating how much a company is spending on printing, the conversation begins with figuring out the cost-per-yield, or the amount a company is spending per page printed. That requires a formula and data collection all on its own. However, there are many more printing-associated costs for accounting firms that printing services for tax preparer professionals can cut down on.
For example, there is the cost of high-quality printers themselves. With the amount of printing done at an accounting firm, individual printers are not cost-effective. This means the staff needs printers that cost thousands of dollars. On top of this are the many supplies.
Your managed print services team can help you decide what costs are essential and what aren’t. If there are ways to spend less on equipment and supplies, they will be up to date on those options.
There is also the cost of the life cycle of your print equipment. If your printers are not well-managed, they’ll break down sooner. This will mean needing to purchase brand-new expensive printers more often than necessary. With proper service and maintenance from an MPS, printers last longer.
5. Cut Back on Personal Printers
Personal printers lead to more unmonitored costs. They’re easy for staff to use since they’re usually closer to the employee’s desk. This encourages them to use the more costly personal printers, even for large print jobs.
Better services and insight from your managed print services software will lead your employees to more streamlined and efficient printing habits.
With this in place, you can begin to eliminate some of the personal printers in the office, which often cost a great deal more than your better equipment. How much more? When you schedule a consultation with a managed print service company, they’ll be able to analyze your printing costs and show you exactly how much more those prints are costing your office.
6. Increase Your Network’s Security
Printing tax return forms and other accounting paperwork means a lot of sensitive data passes through your printer. This is a security risk for your business.
When it comes to digital security, every device on your network is a potential point for hackers to break in and steal data. While many companies in the financial sector consider this as an aspect of their wireless network and their computer hard drives, the printers are often forgotten. Printing accounting software is now designed with the unique needs of accounting firm security in mind.
The cyberthreat to accounting professionals often sounds like fear mongering, but it’s actually very real. Accounting firms are one of the top targets for cybercriminals globally. The amount of sensitive data passed through a firm’s network is extremely valuable. Because of the nature of accounting firms, most of that information passes through the printers. As they are often overlooked as an access point on the network, they are a prime target for cybercriminals to install malware or ransomware or otherwise hack into the firm’s network.
With managed print software, your network stays secure against this cybersecurity threat.
7. Better-Quality Printing
Do you know if your marketing materials are of a high quality? Do you know if the printers you’re buying are up to the tasks of your company’s needs? These are the kinds of questions a printing professional can provide guidance on for your company.
With professional printing insights, proper care for your equipment, and managed services for your business, you can rest assured that your printing will speak well of your brand to your clients.
Every Accounting Firm Can Use More Time and Money
While the seven benefits listed above are all true, they circle back to two main things: time and money. These are the elements that make managed print software and services so efficient for accounting firms today.
When your network is secure, your in-house staff doesn’t have to worry. With properly managed equipment, your staff doesn’t waste time on repairs.
Many new business owners don’t realize how much time and money printing solutions will eventually cost their company. An analysis and full report make it clear why managed solutions benefit so many finance businesses today.
Do you know what services are best suited for your accounting firm? Contact our team to schedule a free consultation with a solutions specialist.
