Data entry is one of the basic requirements of all business concerns towards digitization. Earlier, manual input of information was the only way people could adopt digitization and this involved considerable time and effort. Nowadays, technology has become so advanced that images and voice can be directly converted into text which can be stored in an organized manner easily. This involves heavy investment in advanced technologies and recruitment of a team of data experts familiar with those technologies. A competent BPO outsourcing company can efficiently support any organization in efficient data capture using some of these following methods:
1. Manual Data Entry
Even though the world has advanced technically, we cannot yet evade manual data entry in certain cases. When it comes to very old records or totally erratic data, it needs to be checked and input manually as there would be corrections and additions to make it reliable. Manual data entry can be done online or offline depending on the requirements.
2. Using Technology
An experienced India Data Capture Services provider will understand the need for technology in efficient and accurate data capture. Technologies such as OCR, ICR, MICR, Barcode readers etc are widely being used for bulk data capture and helps the outsourcing firms provide more reliable and accurate information taking lesser time and effort. This still involves some amount of human interference for using the technology that captures information.
3. Automated Data Capture
Automated data capture involves minimal human effort for data capture. Punching machines, swiping cards, smartcards and similar devices that require minimal human intervention can capture immense volume of information which can be compiled using software. The outsourcing firm can perform this type of data compilation and provide it to the parent company for payroll processing, accounting and other purposes.
4. Organized Data Entry
Whether manual or using technology, organized data entry can make a huge difference to the way information can be used. When you store information in an organized way such as customer information, invoice data etc you can compile it in different ways like location-wise customer details, month-wise invoice details etc. This can even be done using simple office tools such as Microsoft Excel. Outsourcing data capture services UK is a feasible option for organized data entry as it involves considerable effort and expertise.
5. Forms Data Capture
This can be done using web forms or paper forms. Forms data entry helps capture information in an organized way which can be easily stored in an organized way. It will help retrieve specific information and compiled data quickly.
6. Formatted Information
It is important to store information in the right formats. Salary and amounts should be numeric so that they can be used for calculations. Phone numbers should also be numeric so that it can be searched, ordered and displayed sequentially.
7. Data Cleansing
The captured information should be cleansed and stored so that only relevant and complete information is made available to the users. Irrelevant and incomplete information cannot be relied upon for reports and data compilations which are widely used for management decision making.
8. Data Protection and Privacy
When dealing with business information, it is very important to adopt proper security measures such as technology and backups to protect it. Only authorized users should be given access to critical information. The network being used should also be secured so that data is not leaked or lost during transfer.
9. Periodic data updates
The information captured should be checked for corrections and updated periodically to keep it relevant and accurate. This can be done on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on the data volume.