Print Management vs Cost Recovery: What Law Firms Actually Need.
Your copier supplier gives you print management. Here is why that is not the same as getting the cost back from the client.
Print management vs cost recovery
Print management tells you how much you print. Cost recovery makes sure the client pays for it. A law firm needs both, and most only have the first.
What print management does well
Print management usually comes with the copier contract. It is good at controlling access, stopping waste and reporting volumes by user or department:
- Secure release, so jobs only print when the user is at the device.
- Quotas and rules, such as defaulting to duplex or mono.
- Volume reports for the office manager and the supplier.
What cost recovery adds for law firms
Cost recovery treats every page as a disbursement that belongs to a matter:
- A client and matter code is chosen for every print, copy and scan.
- Emails and telephone calls are captured against matters too.
- Charges post to the practice management system and land on the bill.
- Reports show the recovery ratio, not just the volume.
Three questions to ask about your current setup
Is every job matter-coded?
If staff can skip the code, the cost is absorbed by the firm.
Does it reach billing?
If charges are exported by hand, most never make it to the bill.
What is your recovery ratio?
If nobody can answer, the firm is almost certainly under-recovering.
Keep your fleet, add recovery
You don’t need to choose. Keep the print management your copier supplier provides, and add print management for law firms that bills every page back. South African firms using nQ Zebraworks recover between R70K and R480K a month, as shown in our case studies.
Print management vs cost recovery: FAQs
What is the difference between print management and cost recovery?
Print management controls and reports on printing across an office. Cost recovery allocates each print, copy, scan and call to a client matter and bills it back. Law firms need both.
Can a law firm bill clients for printing and copying?
Yes. Printing, copying and similar costs incurred on a client’s matter are commonly billed as disbursements, subject to the firm’s engagement terms.
Do we need to replace our copier supplier to get cost recovery?
No. Cost recovery software such as nQ Zebraworks runs on your existing fleet and alongside your supplier’s print management.
How much is your firm leaving behind?
Estimate your recovery gap in a few minutes.