All businesses know how powerful data is. It helps them pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of operations and processes, evaluate current performance, study trends, and understand customers better. Data helps a company uncover insights and guide the stakeholders’ decision-making. With this, they can grow even further and achieve success.
However, how sure are you that the data you have in your company is really “clean”? You know what they say. The only thing worse than having no data is working on incorrect data that might misdirect you. Make it a point that all information stored within the company is correct, uncorrupted, and complete from the moment it is created. Be stricter with your data entry processes. That way, you can use it to its full advantage!
Don’t lose value in your data by avoiding these common errors at all costs:
1. Incorrect data input
This is one of, if not already the most common, data entry error in every organization. Humans are prone to make mistakes. It is inevitable. However, incorrect data could actually lead to both short-term and long-term problems.
Wrong information is the worst nightmare of every data analyst. This is because it paralyzes their every step – from analysis to reporting. It would affect every decision or strategy that will come after, so it is highly important to make sure all data points are not just inputted quickly, but correctly. For data involving figures and financials, this is all the more crucial.
Example: Inputting 100000 instead of 1000000 (it could even be as simple as putting a decimal point in the wrong place).
2. Incomplete/omitted data
Some data entry specialists might find consolation in easily and quickly recording everything because that means their task would be over soon. Hopefully, not to the point where they leave out important details in a document. By having incomplete data, companies or key persons won’t be able to see the full picture, and cause them to act on a decision based on poor judgment.
Omitted data automatically leads to incorrect data, and you don’t want that, do you?
Example: Inputting: Company gets 10,000 USD in sales, instead of Company gets 10,000 USD in sales in 3 months, with 7,000 USD in marketing expense.
3. Transposition error
Here is another example of incorrect data, and it’s called a transposition error. Who knew an accidental swap or reversal between two digits could have such a big impact? This is exactly why paying attention to data entry can make or break a business! Human errors are to be avoided as much as possible!
The transposition error would most likely appear in various accounting, financial, or brokerage departments, as they deal with numbers a lot. When left undetected, your company might suffer from tragic consequences. Why is that? Take a look at our example below!
Example: Inputting 9,960,000 instead of 9,690,000. If the bookkeeper makes a transcription error, the resulting difference will have a financial effect. The silver lining is that it would be good if a marketer tracking the monthly sales makes this mistake. When he or she corrects it, then it would mean bigger sales for the company. However, that is not always the case. It is better to avoid a chain effect of inaccuracies to avoid troublesome issues.
4. Duplicate data
If you don’t have a systematic way of inputting and organizing data, then you are prone to have duplicate data. This happens when a certain item or data set is entered more than once in a document unnecessarily. Transfers between systems typically cause such error.
Some of the common duplicates include records with the same name, email, or phone number among others. When getting insights, it is important to make sure data is clean and ready so the management can make sound and accurate decisions.
Example: Inputting the same addresses for two different customers. This would lead to inaccuracy, especially when it involves delivery of mails or products to those customers.
5. Incorrect data formatting
Sometimes, having clean data is not enough. What if you need to classify them under different categories for better analysis? Well, you can always rely on formatting tools to automatically do the job for you, but you still need to make sure that you have it right. Incorrect data formatting happens often than you think.
Example: Inputting all customer names under the address column
Why are there data entry errors?
There are different causes for data entry errors! Here are a few examples:
Some companies don’t give data too much importance and just have the marketing or sales department work on it as second priority task. However, there is power in delegation. If data entry isn’t exactly your strongest suit, you can opt to outsource it to professionals.
Are you looking for reliable data entry specialists?
- Data entry specialists in the Philippines can help you scale your business. They are qualified, trained, and are experts in the matters of data management, and have experience using various automated systems.
- You can reduce operation costs by up to 70% without compromising the quality and efficiency of the data entry specialists.
- Outsourcing to the Philippines will give you access to highly-qualified individuals who can work freelance, part-time, or full-time.
Leave the job to the experts and let your worries about data entry come to an end! We’ll make sure you have what you need when you outsource our data entry specialists. We are just one message away from providing you with the best service you could ever hope for!