WHAT ARE THE COSTS INVOLVED IN OFFSITE DOCUMENT STORAGE?

When it comes to the business benefits of offsite document storage, there’s no shortage of reasons to employ a professional storage facility.From space saving to streamlined organisation to guaranteed GDPR compliance, the majority of UK businesses could improve their working practices with the help of a certified document storage company.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 20p to over £1 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. This is typically done via phone call or email, but some storage facilities take care of everything via their online file management system. Your documents are barcoded, indexed and transported to the storage facility where they are securely stored. Throughout the whole process, you are able to trace, manage and retrieve all of your documents through an online system, all from the comfort of your own office. This is the level of document storage service you can expect at Flexible Storage. Our online document management service is a FREE TO USE service, including all technical support. We offer you complete control of your stored documents, and retrieval couldn’t be easier – we can offer next day or emergency deliveries that can be with you in just a matter of hours, while our weekly deliveries are our most popular and most cost-effective service.

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? If they’re a storage facility worth their salt, all of this information relating to their service will be readily available on their website – just like it is with Flexible Storage’s document storage service. Get in touch with the Flexible Storage team today to receive a quote for your document storage needs.

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