10 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Your Invoice Printing & Mailing Services
Let’s face it, most small business owners haven’t given the idea of outsourcing their invoice printing and mailing services a thought. They’re just too accustomed to doing things in-house. The truth of the matter is that they should give it a thought because they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to grow their business.
If your business consists of printing, processing, and mailing out monthly statements, you could be saving time and money by simply outsourcing these tasks. You could be putting your employees to much better use, instead of having them handle these tasks for you. This is how you can reduce costs and improve the overall efficiency of your business.
Looking for a lucrative small business requires professionalism, perception, and smart thinking. Pretty much every business owner understands that every day your image is at risk and that your rivals will snatch the chance to grab up your absolute best clients. You have developed as a business owner simply because you understand how important a professional image is; from the sign on your front door to the invoice a client receives. You recognize that the quality, personalization, and professionalism of your company’s invoice printing services goes a very long way in leaving behind a good image.
In this article, we’re going to focus on reasons why you should outsource your invoice printing and mailing services.
1. Folding Machines Can Be Too Expensive to Maintain
Most business owners rely on folding machines to ensure that the direct mail process is as effective and efficient as possible. When you have your own folding machine, you are making an investment, which means that getting a return on your investment is very important. Sadly, these is not always the case. This is primarily because the maintenance on a folding machine can be too expensive, causing you to get a poor return on your investment. So, this is something that business owners should take into consideration. When you outsource your printing and mailing services, you won’t have to worry about fold machine maintenance costs.
2. Long Contracts
You are most likely leasing your folding machine and are probably locked into a 3-year contract, which is not easy to get out of. Lets face it, these contracts are not good at all because you’re paying for an expensive machine that is not helping you reach the goals and objectives of your business. So what will end up happening is that you’ll have to handle the expensive maintenance costs yourself, which can end up being a nightmare. Outsourcing your statement and invoice printing is the way to go. It will pay off the in the long run.
3. Better Invoices & Statements
If you outsource your invoices and statements, you could have them created at a much higher quality. Mainly because the company that you work with would be experts in the printing and mailing industry. So, this means that they’ll know just how to generate invoices and statements that will get the attention of your clients. Afterall, the goal is to get them to open the letter and respond to it. If not, this is just a waste of time and money on your end.
4. Faster Mailings
The faster your invoices and statements reach the mailbox of your clients, the faster you’ll get paid, it’s really that simple. Outsourcing this service to a reputable company will help you get paid much faster, instead of doing it yourself. Ultimately, this will lead to improved cash flow for your company. Good cash flow is needed for companies to thrive, pay their bills, and pay their employees. So, this is something to keep in mind.
5. Get Paid Faster
Quite often the hardest aspect of your job isn’t the work itself, it is getting your client or customer to pay for what they have purchased. If you don’t have an outstanding invoicing system in place, or if perhaps you are making a general invoicing mistake, you could be wasting considerable time and effort trying to collect money — and your company could start to suffer from cash flow problems.
6. Invoice without delay
It appears to be so obvious to bill for your products and services right away and yet the majority of businesses, primarily small businesses, regularly procrastinate the task until they realize they might need money for operations or payroll. Your clientele and customers simply can’t pay an invoice which they haven’t received.
7. Invoice on a consistent basis and frequently
You will find three major reasons to invoice with some regularity. First of all, it will help you keep track of who was invoiced for what. Secondly, it will help you avoid sending large invoices to clients who could have issues with huge bills. Last but not least, it prevents you from putting invoicing off until a future date.
8. Reduced Costs
Doing your printing and mailing services in-house will only lead to more costs and a decrease in efficiency. Outsourcing, on the hand, will do the complete opposite. You’ll see an increase in efficiency and a reduction in typical costs associated with invoice printing and mailing services.
9. Improved Invoices & Statements
Sometimes less is more. You have to get your point across in a clear and concise manner. This will greatly improve the effectiveness of your invoices and statements. Also, you should ensure that your logo is on the invoice. This will help your customers better connect and identify with your brand. If your logo is not present, it will make your invoices less effective. So, this is something to keep in mind.
10. Taking Tasks Off Your Employee’s Plates
- Printing invoices and statements.
- Purchasing supplies including paper, ink, and envelopes.
- Preparing letters or running machines that prepare letters.
- Presorting and delivering mail to the post office.
- Corresponding and communicating with the post office.
- Keeping up-to-date on issues involving mail security.
- Staying up-to-date on new mail processing technology.
- Keeping up-to-date on mailing guidelines and regulations.
Outsourcing your print and mail jobs will ensure that all of these tasks are handled by a professional that has the knowledge and experience in the field. Your employess will then be able to focus on other tasks that are better suited for their skills.
Advantages of Presorted Mail
- Better savings on postage
- No start-up costs
- Improved mail service
- Decreased processing time
- Less damaged pieces
- Sorts handwritten mail
What can you send?
- Invoices
- Bills
- Statements
- Letters
- Contracts
- Cards
- Postcards
Customized Invoices and Statements
Producing custom invoices and statement improves communication with your clients. Creating custom messages to your clients makes it possible for you as a small business owner to send a message of reliability and assurance. You might furthermore wish to express a personal message, discount their existing services, or advise them on a new offering. Typical pre-made forms cause you to run the risk of losing out on significant opportunities to correspond with your clients or customers.
The Cons of in-house Printing
Capital Expense
One of the primary disadvantages of taking a high-quality color printer in-house is the upfront investment. However, you’re in
business for the long run, so the cost should eventually be
recouped.
Management
As soon as you start printing in-house, anticipate some management overhead. Somebody will need to schedule the print jobs and monitor supply levels to make sure you possess the printing supplies you need on hand when you need them.
Maintenance
In contrast to PCs, printers are half mechanical, half electronics.
Moving parts are more inclined to wear out, so expect your printer to require service from time to time, especially after the first year. Consider an extended service agreement for coverage
beyond the standard warranty period.
Cost Justification
In-house printing is the most cost-effective with regular, small volume print jobs, such as those with variable data. As print quantity goes up to 1, 000 or more the cost benefit starts to change to offset printing. There’s value in both alternatives, so
plan your printing approach appropriately
Lets look at the benefits of Outsourcing Print Services
Perhaps it is tempting to think about printing your flyers, business cards or simple brochures right from your company printer—you could get the job done fairly quickly and you presume it’s a lot cheaper. The truth is, there are numerous benefits to deciding to outsource your print instead.
Below are a couple of questions to ask so that you can determine whether outsourcing print is right for you :
Do we want to reduce costs?
Printing is among the biggest areas of expense for the majority of companies. Contrary to popular belief, outsourcing your print can certainly save your company money. The money you may think you are saving by printing it on your own could actually be costing you a lot more than you realize if your business has not factored in the cost of ink or toner or the wear and tear on your printer.
Do we want high-quality print materials?
While easy and quick to use, desktop or office printers are not able to meet the quality of professional technology & software. Take into account that your print promotional materials are a representation of your business. If your competition is outsourcing their printing then there will be an obvious variance between your marketing materials and theirs. If you are thinking about vibrant colors, color matching, or printing anything that bleeds off the page, your best option is to outsource.
Do we need more print options ?
Whenever you self-print from your office, you are limited to the printer’s limitations—standard paper sizes, margins, paper stock, and the overall look and feel. A printing service provider has premium quality digital presses that offer an array of paper stocks, colors, weights and sizes, and finishing services such as trimming and binding. Those are just a handful of additional alternatives you might have through your print company.
Do we want efficient turnaround?
While it might appear faster to basically print a pile of handouts for your next business meeting on the office printer, you probably will not be planning on the machine to jam, ink to run out and paper to be re-added. A professional printer can turn it around considerably faster and more effectively.
Outsourcing your print to the correct company will provide you with quality, fully optimized print materials, and the time and money saved may very well pleasantly astonish you! You want to make the best impression for your business, ensure your printed pieces match that as well.
Your Competitors Are Outsourcing Their Printing & Mailing Services
If you’re staying with your in-house print shop production model, the price impacts might be offering your business competitors a substantial advantage. In the midst of decreasing print volumes, the set costs of your shop are guaranteed to drive up unit costs. Coupled with capital expenditures for new features or traditional equipment replacement, it becomes hard to rationalize the continued in-house operations.
Industry and global trends are driving communications and client engagements in many different channels and modes formerly dominated by printed communications. This digitization of your customer experience and brand presence has severe ramifications for your impending and longer-term operating cost models. In the past five years, digital communications have helped businesses conserve millions of dollars yearly by means of a decrease in print and postage spend. Most big corporations have accepted this trend and have made the decision to emerge from the in-house print shop business. However, most are dangling on to their in-plant services, maybe, to their own disadvantage.
Certainly, it is a difficult choice to outsource a significant operation to your company with a $10M to $20M annual spend. Concerns for employee welfare are vital. Additional concerns consist of quality of output, internal business services delivery, timeliness of product delivery and regulatory conformity. A well-planned strategy to outsourcing can and must deal with each of these areas. ( We’ll address the approach in future posts . )
Listed here are top reasons to think about outsourcing your print shop:
1. The trend towards improving digital forms of communication and decreased the print volume
2. Lowering total expense print and delivery
3. Leveraging rising technologies that might not be present in your shop
4. Concentrating human and monetary funds on your primary business and competencies
5. Attaining an adjustable cost model that optimizes spend on various kinds of print
Once you begin the outsourcing investigation, realize that several choices exist for sourcing your print production and delivery services. These alternatives are not a one-size-fits-all, so comprehensive evaluation is needed. Frequently, a mixture of service and vendor options is suitable. Check out the kinds of work carried out in your shop and figure out the proper model for each. Take into consideration the high-level table of options below :
Every one of the selections above has a correct fit and position within a solution set. The trouble is in choosing the right option or options according to your firm’s needs and business requirements.
Make no mistake. This effort is a huge and lengthy process, however one that can produce savings of 10% to 15% of production costs once the change is complete. Anticipate the assessment and research to take in the area of six to 12 months and the work shift to take nine to 18 months. Obviously, these timelines differ based on the size and intricacy of each organization.
The the main thing is that print production and delivery has become commodity-based, with persisted volume discounts expected. Your competitors are leveraging variable cost models for commodity services. Exactly why aren’t you?
The Incredible Power Of Print Outsourcing
Print continues to be an essential part of the majority of companies’ marketing mix, in spite of talk of a wholesale move to digital communications. The vibrant advancement of client connectivity offers new problems for Chief Marketing Officers, who realize that reaching potential customers successfully requires multi-channel communications. Minimizing financial constraints and increasing pressure to grow revenue are pushing CMOs to simplify procedures and workflows to provide much better results. To be able to accomplish this, marketers are looking at outsourcing their print management.
Print Management Outsourcing
Print management outsourcing entails the aggregation and consolidation of print-related sources and services by means of an industry-specific firm. Moreover, it contains essential consultation solutions that maximize print production and distribution, planning print with communications across all channels and leveraging print spending to produce significant savings. When companies outsource, they have the chance to direct much more of their inner endeavors toward their core businesses. Outsourcing print management permits companies to get access to the latest print capabilities and technologies.
Advantages that derive from print management outsourcing include:
- Maximized resources – for cost and labor.Fully optimized customer communications – reaching consumers and prospects more efficiently to push revenue and retention.
- Improved control over brand identity – helping proper branding and alignment by centralizing marketing communications.
- Having access to worldwide print capabilities – leveraging best-quality print services according to each campaign.
- Enhanced compliance and decreased risks – leveraging only vetted printers.
Reaching Customers through Mail
Among the biggest added benefits to print management outsourcing is leveraging its distribution features. Vendors with substantial knowledge in print-stream engineering and file-based processing help support appropriately personalized and coordinated mail. This could lead to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty while following compliance and privacy regulations. Working together with an outsourcing provider that has experience in print and mail can provide you with even greater results. It could actually produce print and mail savings and bring about flexibility to test different marketing messages and strategies without losing postal discounts.
Who Benefits Most from Print Management Outsourcing?
We certainly have found that mid-to-large-sized companies with a minimum annual print spend of $1 MM gain the most from print management outsourcing. Typically, these businesses save up to 30 percent of their overall print spend. These client-dependent elements often determine the favorable potential for print management outsourcing
Disconnected print workflows and sporadic print spend.
Restricted print sourcing expertise and technology.
A regional network of print vendors with insufficient.
features and lack of global reach.
Procurement methods that enable each department and location to choose their own print vendors.
Selecting an Outsourcing Provider
To determine the right print management outsourcing vendor, you will need to be able to recognize the following qualities in the provider :
Business-Process Expertise
In a rapidly-evolving print environment, organizations should partner with a vendor that is experienced in business process optimization and has a breadth of skills and solutions across all facets of document management. The suitable vendor will ahead of communications, print and mail trends in order to help your company do the same.
Quality Performance and Trust
Your business ought to choose an outsourcing provider that they can depend on and have confidence in. The service provider should help provide consistent quality in spite of volume and time restrictions or adjustments. Carefully study the outsourcing vendor to see if it has high customer satisfaction levels.
Investment Opportunities
To obtain the most out of your print management outsourcing solution, select a provider who takes a consultative approach towards interacting with clients and a holistic perspective of the communications process. These providers will work with your organization, rather than just for it.
Given the increasing challenges and mounting budgetary pressures of the industry, print management outsourcing provides the ability to keep costs down, support compliance, control branding and improve client communications. Discovering the right outsourcing provider will help support your success.
Conclusions On Why You Should Outsource Your Printing & Mailing Services
If your company happens to be like most others, you are most likely seeing an increase in costs that are associated with the business. This is why outsourcing your printing services can be the best thing you’ve ever done for your company. Handling the entire printing and mailing operation is by no means an easy task. The do it yourself approach is not always the most effective one. The printing and mailing process can be complex and time-consuming. Sometimes business owners just want to spend little to no money, which is why all of their printing and mailing is done in-house. There’s a lot that goes into the printing process.
The Printing & Mailing Process
Invoices have to be collated, folded, stuffed and sealed. Then each and every envelope has to be attached with postage and a correct address. Making use of an external service provider for your invoice printing could help save your company time and money. Sometimes it’s not always about quantity but quality. The quality of the service that you’re being provided has to be great. This will give you the best return on your investment. This is something that you should keep in mind when considering outsourced printing and mailing services for your business.
Outsourcing is an established process that can substantially keep costs down irrespective of how big or small your business is. The truth is – pretty much all businesses have printing needs. Have you ever taken into consideration the real cost of handling your print in-house? Here we are going to take a deeper look at the true cost of printing along with the benefits of outsourcing your print to a professional company like LetterHUB
Key Point On Outsourced Printing
One of the main issues that we discover time and time again is the matter of time. Do you find your staff is drawn away from their primary roles to take care of the printing, binding, and finishing off your latest print project? This is a time-consuming process so let the professionals do what they do best and let your staff concentrate on their core roles. Attain the benefits associated with having a professional handle your printing. Having consistent, top quality finished products with more lively colors and the high-quality paper stock will lead to a far more remarkable end product.
Most significantly – discontinue working with printer malfunctions & repairs and the heavy cost of paper, ink, binding & finishing materials, and your staff’s time. Preserve your money and your sanity and outsource your printing needs as you will only be paying for what you need, you won’t have to stock endless supplies and at the end of the day, unwind knowing that your printing is in the right hands!
If you’re ready to outsource the printing and mailing of your invoices to a reputable company, Contact LetterHub today at 855-553-8837 to learn more about our services. You won’t regret it!
