The New Year presents a great opportunity to reassess your business approaches and check in on how things are done. Many businesses are entering 2021 in a different position than planned, having to manage with limited resources and find ways to cut costs where possible.

If your business is still using spreadsheets to track orders and inventory, you’re likely unknowingly soaking up employee time and leaving room for mistakes that can be avoided. We’re going to take a look at how spreadsheets slow you down, and importantly, what you can do about it.

What is it about spreadsheets that can cause problems for your business?

Everything is manual

When you rely on spreadsheets for order & inventory management, all your data must be inputted manually into documents when orders are placed and processed. This might’ve worked when you started, but as your business grows, inputting data in such a laborious way can soak up time that can be spent more valuable elsewhere.

Double-data entry

How much of your time goes on entering the same information into various places? Not only does this double the time you spend on admin tasks, but it also makes it more likely to make mistakes in your data. Finding a system that streamlines your data entry process can save your business endless time and mistakes.

Decentralisation

One of the biggest challenges caused by depending on spreadsheets is managing them. Often, businesses get caught up with multiple versions of a spreadsheet, or documents kept in different places. Not only does this mean you run the risk of a mix up, it also makes it nearly impossible to ensure your team members have easy access to the information they need, when they need it.

So, what can be done to leave behind spreadsheets as you move into the New Year?

One of the biggest improvements your business can make is implementing an order & inventory management system that makes life easier for you. The right software will help you get away from spreadsheets by offering you a centralised system where all data is entered and automatically updated, that can be accessed from wherever you need it.

For businesses looking to recover and grow, cloud-based software is a flexible option that equips you with all the features you need to help things run smoothly, whilst leaving behind functionality that you don’t want.

Not sure what to look for when it comes to a new order management system? Here’s what you need to consider.