Data entry is a time-consuming process that plagues businesses of all sizes. Without the proper technological tools, data must be entered manually, leading to common mistakes. These mistakes may seem small but can cost your business thousands of dollars to correct.
There are five common manual data entry mistakes employees can make, and each can affect your business’s bottom line.
- Inadequate training:
Businesses sometimes don’t have the resources to adequately train their employees, which leads to data entry errors. There are formatting issues to overcome, missing values, illegible handwritten comments to decipher and many other factors involved in manual data entry. If the employee is not properly trained on how to deal with these issues, they could be wasting entire days improperly inputting information. - Slow turnaround:
Manual data entry takes time. When an employee must spend time manually entering data, it takes their focus away from other tasks. The number of keystrokes per hour can vary between 10,000 and 15,000, whether the data entry involves capturing data from images, texts or numerical values. This means that if there is an abundance of data per day that requires inputting, you are not optimizing an employee’s time. - Lack of focus:
It is easy to “zone out” or go on autopilot when entering data. Although the employee may be physically working and typing the information in, there exists a higher chance of error when they’ve lost focus. If employees aren’t mindful of what information they are inputting and are instead blindly entering data, errors will happen. - Quality control issues:
Data entry personnel may not be subject to quality control since it is assumed that they are correctly entering the data required. However, manual data entry needs quality control to ensure that the information has been accurately entered. This would mean hiring additional staff to check the work of the manual data entry team, costing your company more money. - Volume spikes:
It can be hard to manage an unexpected spike in manual data entry volume. For example, if you are moving aspects of your business online, creating virtual catalogues or even opening a supplementary office in a new location, this can cause a backup in data entry work if you do not have the personnel to cover the volume of manual data entry needed. The more rushed an employee is or the more work you pile onto their plate, the better chance they have of making data entry errors.
Manual data entry will eventually become a thing of the past. Eliminate the need to manually enter data and save your company from costly errors by working with a document solutions provider. This will allow your business to leverage automated technology to streamline workflow and improve accuracy. Call us today at 1-800-719-9621 – or click the button below to connect with an ACI associate today!
