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- Digital Solutions
- Document Scanning and Indexing
- Digital Contract Management
- Digital Invoice Processing
- Digital Mailroom
- Employee Management System (HRDMS)
- Visitor Management System (VIZIO)
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- Information Consulting
- Employee Onboarding
- Central Know Your Customer Automation (CKYC)
- Digital Signatures
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- Digital file tracking (DART)
Records Management 
Digital Solutions 
Secure Destruction 
ECM 
DMS 
Data Capture 
Workflow Automation The hidden cost of “Business as Usual”
Outdated document processes could be quietly slowing you down, even if you need to use hard copy files. We’ve created a checklist to see if manual work is adversely affecting your organisation.
Average Cost Impact
$25,000+
per year in lost productivity for a 20-person team
Time Wasted Daily
2.5 Hours
per employee searching for documents
Error Rate
23%
higher in manual document processes
10 signs you can’t ignore
How many of these scenarios sound familiar in your business?
1. Your office is drowning in paper
Filing cabinets line every wall, desks overflow with document stacks, and you’ve run out of storage space. Sound familiar?
Real-World Impact:
- Wasted rent on storage space
- Your brand suffers with clients you bring on-premise
- Fire/disaster risk for your more critical documents
2. Finding a file takes longer than reading it
Your team spends more time hunting for documents than actually working with them.
“Let me find that and call you back” has become a familiar response to clients.
Productivity Killer:
- Average search time: 18 minutes per document
- 12 searches per employee daily
- 3.6 hours lost per person per day
3. More time spent clarifying than collaborating
Your “shared document” lives in 15 different versions.
Email chains with 15 versions of “Contract_FINAL_v3_REAL_FINAL.doc” proliferate.
How collaboration suffers:
- 67% of teams can’t work simultaneously
- Average project delay: 2-3 days
- Version confusion causes 40% more revisions
4. Merging edits, not making progress
Nobody knows which version is current. Important decisions are made based on outdated information.
Legal reviews happen on the wrong contract version.
Final is never final:
- Wrong pricing sent to customers
- Outdated policies cause compliance issues
- Legal liability from incorrect contracts
- Rework costs average 25% of project budget
5. You’re not sure about your security
Confidential documents sit in unlocked cabinets. Former employees might still have copies of sensitive files and worst, you have no idea of who accessed what, when:
Security Vulnerabilities:
- No access control or audit trails
- Documents easily copied or stolen
- Compliance violations possible
- Data breach fines average $4.35M
6. Disappearing documents
Critical documents go missing at the worst possible times. That important contract disappeared right before the audit. The original invoice is nowhere to be found when the client disputes the charge.
The real impact of document loss:
- 7.5% of documents are lost completely
- 3% are misfiled beyond recovery
- Legal risks from missing contracts
- Customer disputes become unwinnable
7. Remote work is a challenge
We live in a remote, cloud-based era but your remote employees constantly ask someone in the office to “scan and email” documents. Critical decisions are delayed because key files are locked in the office.
Remote access problems:
- 73% productivity drop for remote workers
- Customer service suffers outside office hours
- Talent retention drops 40% without flexibility
8. Everything moves at a snail’s pace
Approvals take weeks because documents physically travel from desk to desk. Simple processes become bureaucratic nightmares. Customers grow impatient with slow responses.
How paper slows you down:
- Manual approval routing: 7-14 days average
- Physical signatures delay closing deals
- Data entry errors require manual fixes
9. Paper is impacting your budget
Printing costs spiral out of control. Storage rental fees pile up. Staff spend more time on document handling than revenue-generating activities.
Hidden Paper Costs:
- Printing: $0.05-0.15 per page
- Filing cabinets: $200-500 each
- Off-site storage: $1-3 per box monthly
- Labor for filing: $15-25 per hour
10. You’re missing out on business insights
Last but not least, your documents contain valuable business intelligence, but when it’s all hard copy, you have no way of examining.
You can’t analyze trends, spot patterns, or make data-driven decisions.
Missed opportunities:
- Can’t identify profitable customer patterns
- Miss seasonal business trends
- Unable to optimize workflows
- No visibility into process bottlenecks
How Many Warning Signs Did You Count?
Your score reveals how urgently your business needs to modernize its document processes.
1 – 3
Minor Concerns
You’re doing well, but there’s room for improvement. Consider automation to prevent future problems.
Recommendation:
Start planning for growth
4 – 7
Serious Issues
Your business is being held back. Manual processes are costing you both money and opportunities.
Recommendation:
Implement solutions within 6 months
8 – 10
Critical State
Your document chaos is severely limiting growth. Immediate action needed to stay competitive.
Recommendation:
Take action immediately
The True Cost of Doing Nothing
While you debate whether to act, your competitors are already moving ahead
If You Do Nothing…
- Problems compound as your business grows
- Competitors with better systems win your customers
- Top talent leaves for companies with modern workflows
- Regulatory risks increase with manual compliance
- Costs continue rising while productivity stagnates
When You Take Action…
- Immediate productivity gains and cost savings
- Better customer service leads to more referrals
- Employee satisfaction improves with better tools
- Automated compliance reduces regulatory risks
- Data insights drive better business decisions
Ready to Transform Your Document Processes?
You’ve identified the problems. Now it’s time to discover the solutions.
Discover Crown's Digital Solutions⚠️ Don’t Let Manual Processes Hold You Back Any Longer
Every day you wait is another day your competitors get ahead. The question isn’t whether you can afford to implement a DMS – it’s whether you can afford not to.
