How software has helped businesses to become more efficient

Software has changed the way that businesses work. One of the biggest changes has been the efficiency it has been able to introduce to many manual processes that used to take days to complete. This article will examine a few of the areas that have been most heavily impacted by the rise of software and digital ways of working and explain how businesses have managed to save huge amounts of time and money.

Signing contracts

Signing and managing contracts used to be a very manual process that could take days. This was a huge problem for businesses as they were often unable to start work on a project before a contract had been sent out, signed, countersigned, checked by a legal department and filed. In some cases, businesses would send senior managers on long-haul flights just to get a contract signed and returned as quickly as possible. Huge problems could also occur if a contract needed to be checked and the master copy was stored in a different building or had been lost. Legal teams are now able to use platforms such as Precisely to automate a lot of previously manual work and ensure that all contracts that their business signs meets with their compliance standards.

Videoconferencing

The COVID-19 pandemic may have made many people much more aware of the rise of video-conferencing but it is actually a trend which had been going on for a decade or more before the pandemic actually struck. Videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams have made it far easier for remote employees to feel part of a team and get their work done. While older platforms like Skype were notorious for their technical issues, things have improved significantly in recent years and videoconferencing apps for mobile phones and tablets have made it possible for staff to take part in critical meetings wherever they happen to be.

Expenses

New financial tracking systems have made it far easier for companies to manage expenses claims than ever before. Even fairly junior employees are now issued with prepaid or debit cards for any expenses that they might incur. This avoids the previous phenomenon where line managers had to process expense claims, which could be a source of conflict in the workplace if reimbursement took a long time or was turned down altogether.

As the world of business continues to evolve, there is every chance that companies will continue to adopt new tools that change the way they work for the better.