Custom Software: How It Eliminates The Hidden Costs Of Manual Handoffs

 

Even though we are almost three decades into the 21st century – or rather the era of everything digital – many businesses in Ontario continue to rely on manual methods for their daily operations. Particularly, as far as handoffs are concerned.
 

The downside of this is immense. Your company will end up losing a lot of time, money, and momentum trying to reconcile loose ends, which are the norm when it comes to manual handoffs.
 

Now you might think you don’t need to fix this, but custom software trends for this year point out just how critical it is going to be in weeding out inefficiencies. And trust us, spreadsheets, manual financial reports, and verbal instructions are the epitome of inefficiency.
 

They might seem harmless individually, but together they can quickly erode productivity, accuracy, and growth. In today’s blog, Vestra Inet - Toronto’s top software development company- will discuss exactly why manual handoffs are harmful.
 

 

What Are Manual Handoffs?

 

For any business, manual handoffs arise when elements such as work, data, and responsibility flow across departments without any system-level integration or automation driving them. That means handoffs are happening from person to person. Information is transferred manually, so its accuracy, timing, and format can be questionable.

Let us show you what manual handoffs look like via a couple of examples:

 

• Sales team sending orders details to your operations teams via a spreadsheet
• Operation teams using a completely different system to update your company inventory
• Finance teams using multiple sources to reconcile invoices
• Leadership waiting to receive manual reports for a consolidated performance overview at the month-end

 

Each of these steps is not just inefficient; it is risky. We will explain what we mean in the next section.
 

 

The Real Risks & Costs Of Manual Handoffs

 

Many businesses are oblivious to the risks manual handoffs present, and think they do not need custom software to address these nonexistent risks. But the costs are very much real, and they include:

 

Time loss due to repetition

Re-entering the same data into multiple systems several times does not add any value whatsoever. It only leads to loss of time. Time that could have been spent servicing customers, improving processes, or generating revenue.

 

Prevalence of human error

When your employees spend hours entering data manually into systems, you don’t just risk losing time. The accuracy of these entries becomes doubtful, too. Wrong quantities, missed approvals, outdated pricing, and incorrect customer information can lead to operational and production errors, which can be very costly to fix.

 

Delayed decision-making

In fast-paced production or service businesses, decisions need to be spontaneous yet firmly rooted in accurate data. However, when departments operate in silos, real-time visibility into the company’s operations is compromised. As a result, leaders have to base their decisions on manual reports with outdated information, thus leading to missed opportunities.
 

A couple of other major issues with manual handoffs include a lack of accountability and employee frustration and burnout. Both of them can have a negative impact on your company’s long-term performance.
 

 

How Custom Software Eliminates Manual Handoffs

 

As your company grows, manual handoffs multiply, thus creating a systemic problem. The only way to weed it out and restore efficiency is to deploy tailored software developed specifically by a custom software development company.

 

Centralized workflows

Automated workflows replace manual ones, thus creating a seamless transference of tasks from one department to another without loss of critical data or key information.

 

Real-time data sharing

Custom software consolidates all company data onto a centralized platform, thus creating a single source of truth. This ensures that sales, finance, operations, and leadership work from the same data that’s updated instantly.

 

Automation of approvals and notifications

Forget keeping track of emails, texts, and spreadsheets. With custom software, approvals, alerts, and escalations are fully automatic. Plus, its deeper integrations with existing tools your company uses ensure data is always in sync and never duplicated.
 

 

Conclusion

Manual handoffs are hindrances to growth while being the biggest source of frustration for all departments in a company. Revenues take a hit when employees are frustrated, and growth is halted in its tracks. That’s not what your company needs. It needs a way to fast-track growth, multiply revenue, and boost employee efficiency.
 

Enter custom software. Vestra Inet has been equipping Ontario businesses with advanced custom software for the last 20 years. Our solutions are fully tailored to the needs, requirements, and workflows of your company. Contact us to know how our software development company can help you.
 

 

FAQs

 

Are manual handoffs always a bad option?

Perhaps not in the initial days of your business – they can be cost-effective then. But as your company grows, manual handoffs can uncover hidden risks such as inefficiencies, revenue loss, etc.

 

Can automation replace manual handoffs without disrupting teams?

Yes. With the custom software, you get the option of phased implementation, which guarantees minimal disruptions.

 

How do manual handoffs impact customer experience?

Manual handoffs increase the risk of order errors, missed deadlines, and slow responses, which can leave customers frustrated.