• To communicate the results of processing to users.



  • To produce documents for communicating with customers/clients and potential customers/clients of the organization.



  • To provide hard copies of data for later reference. This can be particularly useful if the data is continually changing and a “snapshot” is required,



  • To provide documents for “re-input” into the system. This may take the form of a partially complete document that requires completion and then this data is input into the system.



  • To provide data for another system. In this case, the output may be in electronic form.



  • To provide data on the operating of the system itself (e.g. efficiency, disk space, etc.)



  • To provide back-up copies of data.