Four things carry the value of a digital document: brand exposure, time saved, risk protection and verification cost. Each one is calculated from figures an organization can check for itself, and each is deliberately set low.
When documents are shared and opened, they also create value in the form of brand visibility. We measure this using standard marketing metrics: CPC (Cost per Click) and CPM (Cost per Mille, meaning cost per thousand impressions). These are the two most widely used metrics in digital advertising across Google Ads, LinkedIn, Facebook/Meta, and nearly every other ad network. They are the currency of digital marketing. When companies buy ads they do not pay for vague “exposure”. They pay per click (CPC) or per thousand impressions (CPM), and TRUE Original documents generate both, organically.
We track the number of attributed clicks from all issued Documents. CPC prices vary a great deal by source, and Facebook clicks are generally cheaper than LinkedIn clicks, so we apply source-specific average benchmarks rather than one flat number.
As an example for one specific client within education, the data showed:
389 attributed clicks in one month → €550 (CPC value).
Not every click is worth the same. That is why we never use one flat number: we differentiate by source and apply conservative, globally recognized CPC benchmarks.
We also measure impressions generated from the same Document activity, using CTR values to estimate total views, and applying CPM benchmarks per source. LinkedIn impressions typically cost more than Facebook impressions, so we weight the calculation accordingly.
For the same client (with CPC of €550):
The CPM value was €360. The documents that created €550 in click value also created €360 in impressions. Buying that same traffic as ads would have cost 550+360 = €910.
Not every impression converts. CPM is still the global standard for valuing brand visibility, and we exclude unattributed impressions to keep the figure conservative.
Bringing these together, the total marketing value for this client’s shared documents amounted to:
€910.
This is not a precise cash value for every click or impression. It frames exposure the organization has already generated, in terms marketers and decision makers recognize: visibility with the right audience, without paying for ads. All our clients see these numbers in their dashboard, and the more documents they issue, the more value they generate.
Every digital document saves on average 10 minutes compared to manual handling. In many organizations the actual saving is higher, especially where manual processes are still common. If you already run an automated PDF system, these savings do not apply.
With an average hourly rate of 40 EUR, the formula becomes:
Documents × 10 minutes × 40 EUR/hour
Why 7 minutes (creation)
When issuing a traditional document (diploma, certificate, proof of employment, transcript), manual work typically includes:
Based on interviews and industry reports, these tasks average 5 to 20 min. We use 7 min to keep it conservative.
Why 3 minutes (post-creation)
Each of these takes a long time when it happens, but it happens to a minority of documents. Spread across every document that is 3 minutes each, which keeps the figure conservative.
We conservatively assume that around 15% of digital documents help prevent fraud or material errors.
15% can look high if you assume applicants rarely misrepresent themselves, and rates do vary across sectors. That is why the assumption rests on international studies showing a 10% to 20% range. Cifas (2024) found that 18% of job applicants misrepresented information in their CVs. Our 15% sits right in the middle.
You might also wonder whether each incident really costs 80 EUR. The impact varies: some cases are minor errors, others are far more expensive, such as a compliance failure, brand damage, or a bad hire, which EY (2023) put at over 10,000 EUR. Our figure is a blended average across large and small incidents, chosen to stay conservative.
Our calculation:
Protected documents × 80 EUR per risk event
Each protected document increases trust and reduces costly risks, and gives both organizations and individuals greater peace of mind.
Traditionally, verifying a document means sending emails or calling the issuing organization. Our benchmark is 15 minutes per manual verification, which at 40 EUR/hour equals about 10 EUR per document.
In many organizations manual verification is so painful that it gets skipped, so the spend looks like zero. The hidden cost is the risk of letting errors or fraud slip through. Automation flips the equation: you can verify everything, instantly, without adding workload.
Staff costs differ, and 40 EUR/hour will not be right everywhere. Even at half of that, 20 EUR/hour, the savings add up quickly at scale. Labor is not the whole picture either: automated verification also shortens onboarding and improves the applicant experience.
Formula:
Verified documents × 10 EUR
When you remove friction while raising trust, the value compounds across your entire process.
This model gives organizations a concrete way to understand the economic impact of digital documents. It covers security, cost reduction and brand growth as well as efficiency, and making the values visible is what lets an organization decide about digital transformation on evidence and state the return in plain figures.
Digital documents represent measurable value: time saved, risks reduced, costs avoided and brand visibility gained. Treating them as economic assets rather than administrative tools is what makes that value countable.
Our assumptions are based on leading studies and official reports, including:
Every organisation we work with started with the same question. Give us thirty minutes and we will show you what your own documents would be worth.
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