Did you know an estimated 175 zettabytes of data is projected to exist by 2025? Roughly 2.5 quintillion bytes are created every day, and for businesses, storing, protecting, and analyzing this data gets incredibly time-consuming and tedious.
Managing and analyzing data is a full-time job for businesses of all sizes. There are 2.5 million data scientist jobs in the U.S., and it’s projected to be one of the fastest-growing and highest-paying career fields over the next decade.
What Is Manual Data Entry?
However, when technologies like artificial intelligence or data mining aren’t available, we return to manual data entry. Manual data entry is often mind-numbing, and it can take hours to perform simple tasks. Nevertheless, manual data entry is the traditional method of data collection when a person enters information into a computer. This information could be video files, photos, text, or anything else.
An overwhelming majority of companies still use manual data entry, but some tools and processes can automate portions of these tasks. There are three main types of manual data entry: paper-based forms, keyboard entry, and scanning.
Manual Data Entry Challenges
Manual Data Entry Is Prone to Human Error
Arguably the biggest challenge facing manual data entry is that it’s performed by a human, and humans make mistakes. After hours of staring at a computer screen, typing in number after number, it’s extremely common for someone to make a mistake. In fact, 30% of accounting professionals admitted that data was inputted incorrectly at their firm.
Manual Data Entry Errors Cost Money
An acceptable manual data entry error rate is 1%, but when that increases, it can cause businesses a significant amount of money. Gartner estimates that companies lose an average of $15 million annually due to poor data quality.
Manual Data Entry Is Time-Consuming and Tedious
It’s no secret it can be a very boring, mind-numbing task. It’s also not an effective use of an employee’s time, yet 40% of workers say they spend at least a quarter of their week on data entry and repetitive work. That time could be better spent on sales, competitive research, product development, or anything that involves more critical thinking.
What Is Data Entry Automation?
So, what’s the solution? Data might need to be input into systems, but does it have to be done manually? The answer lies in automation. Data entry automation is the process of converting data into a readable format and storing it automatically.
Advantages of Data Entry Automation
Automation Saves Time and Improves Productivity
It’s no surprise an automated process can save you tons of time. Research shows that automated data entry could save as much as one full workday per week per employee. Employees could be more productive on tasks that drive more business revenue while artificial intelligence automates easy tasks.
Automation Improves Accuracy
Data errors lead to inaccurate information and poor customer experiences. When data entry is automated, it’s more accurate. Research shows that automated data entry can increase accuracy by as much as 90%.
How to Automate Data Entry
A few tools and solutions are available for businesses looking to automate data entry. The best is cloudHQ’s email parser, Export Emails to Sheets, which allows you to turn email information into an organized, automated Google Sheet. Export Emails to Sheets uses artificial intelligence to parse out email information and analyze email messages, turning the goldmine of information in your email into actionable data.
This is the easiest way to automate data entry, saving time and increasing productivity. You can even create a Gmail label that will auto-sync info from that email to the Google Sheet in real-time. Here’s a step-by-step instructional video to help you export information from your emails to Google Sheets in just a few clicks.
Download Export Emails to Sheets
The switch from manual data entry to an automated tool might sound intimidating, but it’s the right step forward in modernizing your business. Data entry automation saves time, money, and resources, and frees up your mental space to work on higher-level tasks and projects. Using it across teams can save businesses weeks of paid employee time. Download the Chrome extension, and install it in a few steps. Enjoy the benefits of data entry automation with Emails to Sheets.