MANAGED PRINT
10
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
Fifty-two per
cent of the
businesses
surveyed
said they had
signed up to
unclear and
inflexible
contract
terms
Long, complex contracts are
not everyone’s cup of tea,
especially not time-poor small
business owners. The thought
of meticulously reading through
pages of terms and conditions
fills managers and buyers in SMEs
with dread because, unlike big
multinational companies with
teams dedicated to reviewing and
negotiating contracts, they just
don’t have the time and resources
to scour all the fine detail and
linked clauses.
Many SMEs are paying a high
price as a result. Just recently the
Federation of Small Businesses
(FSB) revealed that more than
half of small firms have been
‘stung’ by unfair contract terms
with suppliers. Fifty-two per cent
of the businesses it surveyed said
they had signed up to unclear and
inflexible contract terms that had
cost them an estimated £4 billion
over the last three years. What’s
more, two in five feel powerless
to do anything about unfair terms
as many suppliers are too big to
challenge.
A managed print service that
wraps all your business printing
needs into one monthly payment
makes complete sense – on the
face of it. However, buried in
the small print of the contract
there could well be questionable
practices that mean small
businesses end up paying far too
much for toner, ink and devices and
are locked into onerous contracts
that they can’t get out of.
So what can buyers do to
remedy this situation? How can
small businesses avoid being
locked into crippling contracts?
Here are the five key questions I
would encourage all SMEs to ask
before signing a contract with a
print supplier:
1
How long does the contract
tie me in for?
Many contracts are
for three or five years. In business
terms, that’s a long time, and the
nature of your business and your
printing needs could change a
lot over that period. You should
therefore look for a degree of
flexibility and a service that enables
you to enter into and exit an
agreement whenever suits you.
2
How fixed are those monthly
fees?
Because they might not be
as fixed as you think. It’s worth
checking with your printer supplier
what charges are incurred when you
exceed your monthly printing limits.
It’s also important to watch out
for an incremental price increase,
sometimes referred to as the fixed
price increment. In many cases,
this can take place at any time,
without notice.
3
What happens if I don’t use
my monthly allowance?
If you
don’t use your monthly allowance,
it’s possible that you will still be
charged for the pages you don’t
actually print. In many cases, these
unused pages won’t be rolled over
to next month’s allowance, meaning
you lose out. It’s important to
have a good understanding of
your print activity and business
print requirements. If these vary
throughout the year, ensure that
any agreement gives you the option
to flex from month to month or only
pay for what you use.
4
Does this service really meet
my business needs?
There is no
‘one size fits all’ solution when it
Paul Callow explains what small businesses must do to
avoid the pitfalls of managed print services contracts.
What to look out for
in MPS contracts
comes to printing – every company
has different requirements. By
using intelligence gathering tools,
a service provider can accurately
predict usage to make sure you pay
the right amount for your printing
needs and avoid paying over the
odds, even if needs change over
time. Alternatively, you can ask
your supplier to carry out a print
audit to find out how much you print
on a weekly and monthly basis.
This will give you the insight you
need to sign up for a contract that
meets your company’s specific
requirements.
5
Have I really read the contract?
Unfortunately, there is no shortcut
to thoroughly reviewing what you
are signing up for. Doing so takes
time but is invaluable if you want
to ensure the contract meets all
your needs and to avoid being
stung later. It’s important also to
ascertain what the contract doesn’t
provide you with. For example,
does your managed print services
contract allow you to use your
existing printers? Does it include
the paper? If not, you will need to
account for this separate expense
with another supplier. If, as is
likely, your print services contract
includes maintenance, does it
specify how quickly your supplier
must respond when something
goes wrong? If your printer is
essential to the day-to-day running
of your business, a delay in getting
the problem resolved could be
detrimental to operations.
It’s important to check these
questions with suppliers, and
on the contract, before signing.
Failure to do so could well cause
headaches further down the line.
Just because a business is small
doesn’t mean it has to settle for
unfair terms. Taking the time to
scrutinise the small print and
choosing wisely in the first place
is essential to avoid vendor lock-in
and unnecessary overspend.
Paul Callow is CEO at Cartridge World,
the UK’s largest specialist provider
of ink and toner cartridges, including
OEM-branded cartridges and its own
compatible and remanufactured
supplies, in addition to printer
hardware, solutions and services.
Paul Callow,
CEO,
Cartridge World
