Does using Technology in the Workplace improve performance?

I was talking to my husband the other day. He is an Accountant and uses his computer all day long. Here are some of the things he and his staff  use:

• Excel
• Sage
• Word
• Tax Software
• Payroll Software

I asked him:

• Does using technology in the workplace  improve performance in speed terms – do you get more done better in less time?
• Is the output more accurate? Easier to check?
• How has this software explosion helped your clients?

The answer was a resounding YES on all counts. Here is a summary of what he said.

Ledger Books

In the olden days accounting was done in big red ledger books. In fact I remember them – I used to work for a building society and getting the books to balance at the end of the day was for me a nightmare. All the entries would be made by hand in a big red ledger. There would be a column for each type of data and in the end you might even run out of columns or have to use another page. Not so in Excel you can keep adding columns and rows without the fear of the book getting full up or running out of space.

If you made a mistake in the ledger you had to tipex it out and overwrite it, could be a messy process – in Excel simply overtype the mistake and it looks like new.

Then you had to add it all up! Imagine sitting there with a calculator or an adding machine adding up lots and lots of entries, if you made a mistake you had to start all over again from the top! Excel does an AutoSum quicker than you can say Add This Lot UP!

So yes getting the information ready to work with is much quicker and more accurate.

Apart from User Error that is, but then you can add the wrong information to a ledger book just as well as a spreadsheet and it would be much harder to find.

So yes, the output is more accurate and easier to check.

How has it helped Clients?

By having spreadsheets that can be printed, emailed, turned into pdf files and sent to the client, presenting the information that clients need is much simpler. Clients can follow a spreadsheet without having to look at a daunting big red ledger.

It takes up less space too!

Just a few areas where technology is improving performance in business.

How is technology helping you improve performance and the service you provide to your clients or customers?