iPad in businessSave money by using an iPad in business
I am assuming that the analysis is for a small business of less than 10 people, which make up the majority of businesses.
There are several aspects to this including intangible and tangible benefits. The intangible benefits include such things as customer satisfaction, staff satisfaction, value to the business of a modern outlook, the flexibility brought to the business, and the improvement to workflows.
The tangible benefits can have time and cost savings attributed to them.
Traditional PC’s are subject to many viruses, malware and other nasties and time can be lost by having to watch out for them. The iPad does not suffer from this. The estimated saving in time is 1/2 hour per week. Plus there is time saving by not having to wait for the computer to start up as the iPAD is an ‘instant on’ computer.
The reduction in the cost of software, free or in the App store compared, with the often bloated or very expensive programs available for a traditional PC. This could easily amount to £200 pa.
The downtime for older computers requiring updating will differ depending on the age of the device. Lets assume the average is 1/2hrs per week.
Office space tied up with desktop machines can be reduced due to the mobile aspect of computing with iPad. The reduction in space or the better use of space is worth a minimum of £400 pa.
Since you can have inexpensive on line accounting software the cost of producing accounts can be reduced. One major supplier suggests that 8 hours per month is reasonable. Also self assessment returns can made with less expense.
By downloading bank statements direct to bookkeeping software and being able to analyse and produce reports automatically at least 1/2 hour a week can be saved.
If you handle documents then by using PDF’s and only print when absolutely required you could save 1/2 hour per week filing plus printer resources.
Saving time giving customers information such as quotes, specification sheets, more product information and invoices can save money and also time. Est.1/2 hour per week.
By having all your business information available on line and on your iPad you do not need to go to the office to get information prior to a business meeting, thus saving an estimated 1/2 hour per week (at least).
The total time saved should be valued at a rate which reflects the value to the business, say £50 per hour. The annual total amounts to £13,300. Deduct the cost of consultancy and new equipment say £2000 and you have a significant benefit.
As with any projection there are unknown factors but I consider that the time saving by using post PC computing as above are reasonable.
Bank downloads and analysis 1hour
Document handling (including less printing) 1/2 hour
General time saving through immediate availability of computer 1/2 hour
Saving time giving customers information immediately e.g. quotes spec sheets etc (4customers 15 mins each) 1 hour
Reduced driving to office (all info should be available on iPad 1/2 hour
Hours Per week | Hours per month | per year | Value per hour | Total Value | |
Malware etc | 0.25 | 50 | 625 | ||
Software | 200 | ||||
Downtime saving | 0.5 | 50 | 1,250 | ||
Office reorganisation | 400 | ||||
Customer Efficiency | 0.5 | 50 | 1,250 | ||
Use of PDF’s | 0.5 | 50 | 1,250 | ||
Central information | 0.5 | 50 | 1,250 | ||
Admin & bookkeeping | 0.5 | 8 | 50 | 6,050 | |
£ | 12,275 | ||||
Less set up costs - year 1 only | £ | 4,000 | |||
Net benefit | £ | 8,275 |
In addition to the potential savings of £8,275 there are other benefits from the opportunity to revise workflows.
For example the centralisation of documents such as instruction manuals allows for these to be carried easily on an iPad instead of in a cumbersome folder. An extension of this is to make an interactive iBooks manual which can be used for training.
Make an iBook which presents your company in an interactive style instead of a simple brochure.
Use Find Friends to choose the best person to respond to a customer call.
There are many more cost and time saving tips.