Eliminate Double Data Entry

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There are two things you can do in business to improve profits: increase top line revenue and cut costs. Opportunities to increase top line revenue can be elusive, and often depend on forces outside your control. Preventing your staff from entering data two, three or even four times – on the other hand – is a prime opportunity to cut costs. Challenge We hear a common frustration from businesses large, medium and small and across a variety of industries: employees in different departments are working from more than one list. Inevitably, the content from each list isn’t consistent or easily kept up-to-date. Wholesalers and retailers are using different versions of their Master Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) list. It makes should-be-accurate information into a moving target. Obviously this is not only terribly inefficient, it’s frustrating. Solution Skeleton Key’s development team builds user-friendly, custom tools that leverage your current workflow, organizational knowledge and industry expertise. Theses tools become central sources for all the different pieces of information about your SKUS, as well the transactions in which they are involved. This information then becomes available to all departments and all individuals within the organization, updating in real-time as information is added or changed. The double/triple/quadruple data entry previously required is now eliminated, freeing up resources for more important work. This new platform provides a stable foundation to support other initiatives, such as growing the business. Conclusion Finding ways to eliminate double data entry is a prime means to cut cost within your organization. Every dollar you save in recurring costs (or wasted effort) goes straight to your bottom line – both as profit, and as the opportunity to focus on new business. Signs that you may have an opportunity to streamline operations and eliminate multiple data entry points:

  • Do you have multiple versions of your spreadsheets? A telltale sign are documents ending with titles like ‘v1’, ‘v2’, or dates, like 2012-09-27, 2012-09-28, etc.
  • Is there a critical information source that is set to ‘read-only’ for most of your staff?
  • Do you rely on multiple systems which don’t seem to freely share or synchronize their data with one another?
  • Are your people (sales, delivery, installation, client care, etc.) carrying information into the field in the form of printouts?
  • Are they spending time copying their handwritten notes into your system when they get back to the office?
  • Are there stacks of paper sitting around your office, just waiting for you to have time to ‘enter them into the computer’?

Contact me to discuss what we can do to help you eliminate these problems for your business. Jason Thomas manages Business Development at Skeleton Key. About Skeleton Key Skeleton Key is an accomplished team of technology consultants who solve business problems. We specialize in the rapid development of custom applications, integrating Macs and PCs in the professional workplace, and providing personalized FileMaker training and coaching. Despite our end-to-end technical skills, we are consultant first and technologist second. We know that you don’t just need technology. You need to know that the technology you choose to deploy will provide the results you desire. Skeleton Key is a Platinum Level FileMaker Business Alliance company, an Authorized FileMaker Trainer, a member of the Apple Consultants Network and a Microsoft Registered Partner. …