Tips For Law Offices On Reducing Office Equipment Expenses And Printing Costs

All law offices require certain types of office equipment like photocopiers, printers, and computers. To cut expenses, it is important to find ways to reduce the cost of purchasing and using this office equipment. By making a few simple changes to the type of office equipment that you purchase and the way that you use it, you can wind up saving a lot of money on office-related expenses.

Use Technology To Your Advantage

Rather than having a separate printer in every office, consider sharing printers. From a cost standpoint, having fewer printers makes a lot of sense. Not only does it cut down on the cost of consumables like paper and ink but it also reduces ongoing maintenance expenses. If you want to maximize your savings, you should consider investing in a multifunctional printer/copier. These machines are capable of handling standard print jobs, making photocopies, and scanning documents. They also can be integrated with most software programs and with a variety of applications in the cloud. Even though they can be somewhat expensive to purchase, the initial investment can pay off for many years to come by cutting down on maintenance costs and making it easier to get work done. Office machines that are old and outdated typically aren't very energy-efficient. They also tend to be a lot slower than today's models. Perhaps more importantly, they typically are not capable of integrating with cloud-based applications and modern software programs. Today's multifunction machines, on the other hand, can streamline your workflow, allowing you to get more done in less time.

Use Cloud-based Programs To Reduce Paperwork

Dealing with paperwork is always going to be a part of working in the legal field. You can significantly cut down on paper waste, however, by storing many of your documents in the cloud. For instance, if you need to share a document with your coworker, it may be possible to email it to them or to upload it to a cloud-based storage area where they can easily view it. That way they can avoid printing it unless they absolutely need to. Using programs like DocuSign, you can also sign documents electronically rather than having to print them out. All of this technology can reduce the amount of paper that you use while at the same time helping you save ink.

Tips And Tricks To Save Paper And Ink

In some cases, you may still have to print documents rather than storing and viewing them in the cloud. That doesn't mean that you have to waste a lot of paper and ink. For instance, you can cut back on the amount of ink that you use by removing any logos or images that don't need to be in the document. Scrap paper can be cut up and turned into scratch pads for employees. You can also print documents on both sides, cutting down on the total amount of paper used. Choose a smaller sized font and reduce the size of the margins so that you can fit more on each page to further reduce your paper usage.

Turn Office Equipment Off At The End Of The Day

Don't leave your office equipment on at night. Instead, always shut it off before leaving the office. This simple tip can save you a lot of money on your utility costs. Try to get staff members on board by putting up reminders in the lounge area or near shared printers. Alternatively, you can choose someone in the office and assign them the responsibility of checking to make sure that all of the office equipment is shut off at the end of the day.

Take Advantage Of Tax Deductions

When you buy office equipment for your business, you most likely can write off some of your expenses on your taxes. You also may be able to deduct repair costs, as well, further lowering your tax obligations. Just remember that any repair costs can only be deducted during the year in which they took place. Leasing office equipment can also provide advantages in terms of your taxes. Working with a qualified accountant is the best way to find all of the office equipment-related deductions that your law office qualifies for at the end of the year.   We want to help you! Contact us if you think we can be of service to your business, or call us so someone from our team can help you today. We appreciate your interest! Also, continue to read in our blog for more helpful advice.