Top Businesses That Can Need To Outsource Data Entry

Businesses of all sorts outsource data entry for one reason or another. The prime motive for joining the fray in outsourcing data entry services is cost control. Other reasons include quick access to technology and skilled professionals, quality assurance, scalability, and focus on core competencies and strategic initiatives.

Outsourcing data entry enables businesses to operate without hiccups by removing the bottlenecks that often throttle the core functions. It makes data entry in CRM and management of data more efficient and the economies of scale they enable lead to drastic cost reduction and competitive advantage. It can benefit sundry businesses, but some could gain more than others.

Top five industries that need to outsource data entry

Data entry services are indeed like electric utilities: they supply power to businesses; they benefit different industries differently; and you pay as you use them. Here are five industries that would gain the most from outsourcing data entry.

1. eCommerce

For an industry whose lifeblood is a steady stream of accurate data that needs constant updation, outsourcing data entry is a sensible and viable option. Doing so frees up business owners and managers from having to manage mountains of product listings, orders, and customer information. These are extremely critical aspects of running an online store but they are drudgery and take time, and most critically take away focus from things that truly matter.

Taking away the drudgery is but one benefit of outsourcing data entry for eCommerce businesses. Outsourcing the task means you effectively outsource your worries too. You can practically say goodbye to typos, mismatched descriptions, and missing information. It keeps the product pipeline flowing without any bottlenecks, getting new products ready, keeping track of every item, and optimizing inventory levels. This streamlined operation keeps you, and importantly customers, happy.

2. Healthcare

The healthcare industry produces large amounts of data, most of which are critical, and the (mis)management of which can literally be a matter of life and death. Extreme care must therefore be taken in entering health data. But healthcare professionals have more important things to care about. So, many healthcare providers often outsource data entry services to external professionals to reduce workload, improve their services, minimize administrative costs, and optimize billing and recordkeeping processes.

Data entry service providers have subject matter experts at their disposal who can help improve the electronic health record of patients (EHR). Poor EHR can reduce efficiency, decrease satisfaction with clinical service, and even compromise patient safety. Health data are often recorded in unstructured narrative form, making them less usable. Outsourcing partners can help turn these into structured formats, thus making them more accessible and reusable.

3. Law firms

Lawyering is a practice that long predates the internet, and much of legal documents remain in analog formats. In real estate and criminal cases, for instance, attorneys often deal with property tenure and paperwork spanning decades. An attorney’s time surely is better invested elsewhere than in transcription and data entry. 

Professional data entry service providers can helpfully take over such tedious and error-prone tasks. They have the requisite expertise, experience, and tools to perform the laborious tasks. In addition, they can help organize and sort client data and forms and also provide research services. Attorneys can thus focus on the core areas.

4. Banking and finance

Managing piles of financial data—from loan processing to complex transactions—can be a mammoth task. Digitizing financial reports, verifying client data, documenting bank applications, and juggling between these can quickly overwhelm even the most dedicated teams. Outsourcing can transform this labyrinthine task into that of a well-oiled machine.

Data entry service providers can help streamline the financial workflow, including invoice processing, reporting, reconciliation, and payments. They generally have experienced professionals who understand the nuances of financial data and can help minimize the chances of mistakes in critical financial records. This can result in higher productivity, cost savings, and better management of cash flow.

5. Real estate

Managing a wealth of listings, tenant applications, and lease agreements and conducting market research can be overwhelming. Collecting, sorting, assessing, and maintaining data on property, sales, regulatory details and so on require a certain set of skills that a data entry company readily provides. 

Outsourcing data entry enables the efficient creation and management of property listings. Providers of data entry services help organize and index documents, making retrieval of information more efficient. This helps reduce the time spent on searching for information and improves data management.

Things to consider before you outsource data entry

Notwithstanding the benefits and necessities, outsourcing data entry is not without pitfalls. The gains from outsourcing may not be significant, perhaps even negative should things be awry. For example, outsourcing a portion of data entry task may be less effective than complete outsourcing or insourcing. This is because it could take more time and resources to coordinate systems and resources.

The low barrier to entry has led to the proliferation of data entry service providers, making it difficult to sieve the reliable ones from those that are not. This and the fact that outsourcing data entry often involves sharing sensitive data make it imperative to choose a trustworthy and reliable partner. The following are some factors that you need to consider.

• Data security and privacy: Make sure that the vendor has robust security mechanisms and access control policies in place. Compliance with regulations like the GDPR and HIPAA is a good indication of their commitment to maintaining data integrity.
• Industry expertise: Go after a provider with a proven track record in your specific industry and ensure that they understand your data requirements well—data types, terminology, regulatory environments, etc.
• Reputation: Assess carefully the history, reviews, and testimonials of the vendor, but go beyond and don’t take them at face value. Reach out, if possible, to previous clients and enquire about their experiences.
• Scalability and flexibility: Your data entry needs and requirements will change with time. Choose a data entry service provider with the ability to scale their services to meet your changing needs as your requirements grow and shrink. Before you associate with it, ensure that it can flexibly adjust without causing delays.
• Communication: Data entry tasks are often well-defined but they nevertheless require numerous back-and-forth communication. Ensure that the provider has clear communication protocols, provides timely updates, and has mechanisms in place for real-time communication. 

Conclusion

Outsourcing data entry services is an integral part of most present-day business operations. It helps companies dedicate resources to critical core activities by not having to take care of the non-critical but crucial tasks.

Data entry services are a boon, particularly for businesses that often deal with legacy documents and for those that require a constant stream of data. Data entry will remain indispensable, whatever the forms it takes—automation, manual, or hybrid. It will change and adapt but its relevance will stay.