What is paperless data entry?

Data entry used to be a big component of most businesses, often hiring staff fully focused on taking data from one source and entering it into the computer system. As paperless solutions have grown in popularity over the past few decades, alternatives to the traditional data entry methodology has arisen allowing for paperless data capturing and entry. So, what is paperless data entry?

Paperless data entry is the process of capturing and storing data without the use of paper forms or documents. Typically, paperless data entry is done with a data collection app to streamline the data entry process, removing the need to capture data with a paper form then enter the data into another system.

What are the benefits of paperless data entry?

Paperless data entry has many benefits for businesses, such as:

1. Improved productivity

By capturing data using a data collection app, you can streamline the data collection process and remove the time that would have been spent entering the data into your computer system.

2. Ease of access

Most paperless data entry solutions like Locale Central provide both a mobile and web application, allowing your team to submit forms and manage form submissions on a variety of devices from anywhere.

3. Save money and storage

By implementing paperless data entry, you can save money that would be spent on printing paper forms, storing the paper forms, and other office expenses. Paperless data entry also saves you physical space, which would have been used to keep a record of the paper forms.

4. Better data accuracy

By automatically syncing captured data with the cloud, your data can be more accurate with less errors. The process of entering data from paper forms can create clerical errors, paperless data entry removes this risk as well as providing the option to add an extra layer of validation during the data capturing process to prevent incorrect data being submitted.

How do you set up paperless data entry?

1. Gather your form templates

The first step is to gather all the paper form templates your business currently uses. A form template is a blank copy of a paper form, without any information filled in.

2. Select a technology solution

Next, you need to decide what data collection app you will use to fill out these forms digitally. When considering a data collection app, consider what features you need to recreate these forms digitally, as well as what you will need to do with the data after you collect it. You can create an account with Locale Central for free to see if it’s the right fit for you.

3. Turn your paper forms into digital forms

After you have picked which data collection app you will use, the next step is to take each of your paper form templates and turn them into a digital form. When doing this, consider what features you could use from your data collection app to simplify the data entry process, most apps can automatically fill out some fields for you, like the current day or the user submitting it, to save you time entering that data yourself.

4. Create a training plan for using your digital forms

Now that your digital forms are ready to use, the final step is to create a training plan for your team so they can start using the technology. When creating a training plan, consider doing a live demo of filling out your digital forms step by step for some practical, hands-on learning.