3 Simple Mistakes that Can Hurt Your Business
Mistakes have different faces, and many can hurt the business big-time. The problem is, some are so simple you’ll hardly notice them at all!
Here are three simple but costly business errors and the best remedies:
Inside job is real, and unfortunately, many of the incidents are deliberate or intentional. According to the California Restaurant Association, over 90% of businesses experienced theft in the workplace.
Usually, it takes about two years before you can catch a thief. For this reason, a crime that lasts for at least five years could cost businesses as much as $2.2 million.
Erring employees can steal in different ways. Over the years, one of the most common is network access. They can take data or files and then sell them to the highest bidder. Others might grant access to hackers, in which case they would receive a commission from the collusion.
Some employees do it out of spite. After all, any news of a security breach can damage the organization’s reputation and customer trust.
Solution: Vetting applicants is good, but you cannot tell who among them will steal later. The best step is access control. Limit those who can enter your network or see confidential files. Protect the servers and monitor both access and use of the network. By giving access to only the right people also help improve accountability. Use multiple-factor authentication and update corporate passwords regularly.
Pay attention to these “simple” errors, and your business has a better chance of thriving for years.
1. Wrong Information in Data Entry
How dangerous is a data entry mistake? It creates a cascading effect. Let’s pretend that you’re a retailer, and you entered the wrong cost for the items you purchased. It could mean that your markup percentage and retail price are already inaccurate. Your gross profit can also be wrong, and so can be your monthly sales forecast. Solution: Outsource data entry so you can have a team that can update records anytime. It’s also a value-added service since you can spare yourself from doing routine work. Instead, you can focus your energy on other critical aspects of the business, such as product development or marketing.2. Poor Inventory Management
Inventory is a double-edged sword for any business. While it is an asset, it can also be an expense. After all, you pay for every space it occupies and utility you consume to keep it in good condition. Worse, every inventory that sits in your garage or warehouse is profit loss. Its value can also decline over time. Solution: Fortunately, you can tackle poor inventory management in different ways.- Use inventory management software. It can streamline your processes, help you track product movement, and even reduce the risk of common inventory-related mistakes, such as redundancies.
- Audit. Schedule a comprehensive inventory count at least once a month. This task is also a good strategy to determine whether the information provided by the software is correct.
- Track sales religiously. You don’t want to be empty-handed, especially for big-ticket items.
3. Loose Access
Inside job is real, and unfortunately, many of the incidents are deliberate or intentional. According to the California Restaurant Association, over 90% of businesses experienced theft in the workplace.
Usually, it takes about two years before you can catch a thief. For this reason, a crime that lasts for at least five years could cost businesses as much as $2.2 million.
Erring employees can steal in different ways. Over the years, one of the most common is network access. They can take data or files and then sell them to the highest bidder. Others might grant access to hackers, in which case they would receive a commission from the collusion.
Some employees do it out of spite. After all, any news of a security breach can damage the organization’s reputation and customer trust.
Solution: Vetting applicants is good, but you cannot tell who among them will steal later. The best step is access control. Limit those who can enter your network or see confidential files. Protect the servers and monitor both access and use of the network. By giving access to only the right people also help improve accountability. Use multiple-factor authentication and update corporate passwords regularly.
Pay attention to these “simple” errors, and your business has a better chance of thriving for years.