Business Operations

5 Best Practices for Small Business Data Collection

Posted on by Danny Kanev

5 Best Practices for Small Business Data Collection

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Data collection is critical for any small business. The data you collect can help you make better decisions about your customers, your marketing strategy, and even your overall business strategy. But collecting data can be a challenge, especially for small businesses.

No matter what industry or niche you’re in, one of the things that can make or break you is how you handle data collection. There are many different types of data collection such as survey questions, demographics questionnaires, customer data, web analytics, and more. The important thing is that you have a system in place to collect this data so you can use it to improve your business.

Failing to follow the best practices for data collection can have serious consequences such as decreased customer satisfaction, lower data quality, and even legal issues. Small businesses should focus on data collection as much, if not more, than bigger businesses because they don’t have the same resources to fall back on. A big business might be ok with losing a few invoices a month and can get by losing $10,000 in potential revenue. But can you afford to?

Here are a few best practices for small businesses to follow for successful data collection:

1. Create a Process for Data Management

There are many different methods of data collection, but the most important thing is to have a process in place. Whether you’re just getting started with your data collection efforts or refocusing them, this process should be repeatable and scale-able so that as you grow, you’re not having to reinvent the wheel each month.

There are many aspects to consider when creating your process for data collection such as:

  • How will you collect the data?
  • Who will be responsible for collecting the data?
  • When will the data be collected?
  • How often will the data be collected?
  • What format will the data be collected in?

Avoiding time-consuming and costly mistakes is essential for small businesses. Defining the data set you need and how you will collect it from the outset will help save time and money down the line.

2. Be Consistent with Data Integrity

Data integrity is essential for small businesses. This means that the data you collect needs to be accurate and consistent. There are a few ways to ensure this:

  • Use the same method of data collection each time: This could be surveys, customer feedback forms, web analytics, or something else.
  • Create a data dictionary: This is a reference tool that defines all of the data points you’re collecting and how they should be used. This is especially helpful if you have multiple team members responsible for data collection.
  • Use templates: Templates help to ensure that the data is collected in a consistent format. This makes it easier to analyze and use later on.

Stick to a time frame: Timing is everything when it comes to data collection. Make sure you’re collecting data at the same time each day, week, or month. This will help you spot trends over time.

Being consistent with your data collection methods is crucial so you can track efforts over time and have the ability to make business decisions based on insights you’re discovering.

3. Collect and Store Your Data Securely

It is important for small businesses to collect data and have a secure place to store it. You are probably collecting various types of information from your customers, partners, and employees, in addition to the data you track about your own business. Make sure you’re storing this securely. At GoCanvas, we help our clients store their data securely in the cloud, so there’s no need to worry about file cabinets or physical storage space.

4. Make Data Collection Simple

Another best practice for small business data collection is to make it as simple as possible for your workforce and/or your customers to get you the information you’re looking for. No one wants to fill out a 20-question survey, so try to keep things short and sweet. You can also use incentives to encourage participation in surveys or feedback forms.

Instead of asking people to fill out any paper forms at all, why not use online surveys to collect this information? You’ll get your raw data back in real-time quickly and securely, and you won’t have to deal with terrible handwriting, torn pages, or completely lost forms. Watch this video about how GoCanvas can help you go paperless and mobile with your data collection.

5. Evaluate and Improve Your Data Collection Process

As business owners, it’s important to set time aside to take a step back and evaluate your data collection efforts, as well as the data itself. Ask yourself what’s working and what’s not working in your data collection process. Analytics is one way to gain insight into what is working in your data and what is not.

By using the latest features and technologies (signature capture, integrations, GPS recording, barcode scanning, calculations, etc.) you can improve the quality of your data and make sure it is high-quality.

You might also find that one element of your data collection process is holding you back. Tightening the sales cycle in a small business is incredibly important for growth and sustainability.

Modernize the Way Your Small Business Collects Data

Now you can easily modernize the way you are collecting data for your small business. Whether you are looking to improve your data handling processes or advance reporting, we hope you consider using GoCanvas as your data collection tool. Sign up for GoCanvas free and give our platform a try today!

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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The Importance of Accurate Construction Estimates for Your Job Site

Posted on by Danny Kanev

The Importance of Accurate Construction Estimates for Your Job Site

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5 Elements of Construction Estimates

As with any type of estimate, a construction estimate must take into account the specific needs of the project at hand. Several elements must be considered when putting together a construction estimate, including:

  1. The scope of work: This refers to the overall size and scope of the project, as well as any special considerations that need to be taken into account.
  2. The schedule: This includes the timeline for the project, as well as any milestones that need to be met. Making sure project management is a part of your process is very important. 
  3. The budget and direct cost: This is perhaps the most important element of the project estimate, as it will determine how much money needs to be set aside for the cost of construction.
  4. The risks: There are always risks associated with any construction project, and these need to be taken into account when estimating the costs.
  5. The resources: This includes both the materials construction professionals will need for the project, as well as the labor required to complete it.

By taking all of these elements into account, you can be sure that your construction estimate is as accurate as possible.

Why it’s Crucial to Prepare Accurate Construction Estimates

Taking the time to prepare thorough and accurate cost estimates is  critical. Estimates involve a number of variables and aren’t easy to calculate. The process can be complicated and time-consuming.

However, taking the time to prepare a thorough and accurate estimate is critical. An estimate that is too high will make your bid less competitive, while estimating too low can take a toll on your profits and the growth of your business.

5 Common Errors in the Construction Industry

There are many common errors that can occur in the construction industry, such as:

  1. There are many common errors that can occur in the construction industry, such as:
  • Topography, and whether grading or drainage is an issue
  • The design phase and the integration of design development of the project
  • Whether existing structures have to be demolished or removed from the premises
  • Proximity to supply centers and sources of labor
  • Access to the site, and whether the roads/access routes can handle heavy vehicle traffic
  1. Overlooking less-obvious costs: Indirect costs and overhead costs like permits, cost of database, unit cost, change orders, and inspection fees are frequently left out of estimates, and these can add up to thousands of dollars. There are also less-obvious project costs like material costs for  temporary power, dumpsters, and site prep. Even forgetting to add tax to your materials estimate can cost you plenty. Your best bet to avoid commonly overlooked costs is a good construction checklist and detailed plans and specifications. These are available as paper forms, but mobile apps make construction estimating more accurate and efficient. Some mobile job estimators, for instance, will do the math for you, so you don’t have to tally countless rows of services and materials — and risk leaving off something important. And unlike complicated estimating tools that you have to purchase and install on your computer, apps are much less expensive and easier to get up and running, and ideal for reluctant and savvy technology users alike.
  2. Job site surprises: Even if you visit the project site beforehand, some surprises are bound to crop up. Sometimes water or insect damage or structural issues aren’t apparent until you’ve started the job. While there’s no way to totally avoid these unwelcome surprises, your construction bid should include both the probable scope of work as well as a reasonable pricing structure for the unknown portions — for example: X dollars for each linear foot of floor joist that needs replacement, or X dollars to install a sump pump if conditions require one. The idea is to list specific prices for specific conditions rather than having an open-ended time-and-materials contract.
  3. Underestimating labor costs: Labor rates are one of the most difficult costs to estimate. For one thing, you need to consider not only how many labor hours and workers the job requires, but also the workers’ experience and whether subcontractors or other construction management will be needed. And, since hourly rates for construction workers vary throughout the country, you’ll need to verify current wage rates and fringe benefits for the building trades involved through local union offices, other contractors, supply yards, and other reliable sources. Don’t forget to include possible overtime rates.
  4. Not checking your numbers: Even if you’re sure you’ve got the right rates, measurements, taxes, etc., you should check and double-check your numbers before submitting your estimate. Common mistakes in this area include:
  • Math errors. Again, mobile construction apps can lower your risk of making a mistake. At the very least, use a calculator or have the calculations checked by another person.
  • Measurement errors. Taking the wrong measurements and dimensions from plans, drawings, and specs results in corresponding mistakes in the cost of materials. Consider using an app to calculate measurements, and have another person check your work.
  • Using incorrect units of measure (for example, square feet instead of square yards) can result in substantial cost increases or decreases.

Enhance Your Construction Estimates with GoCanvas

Technologies like mobile construction apps can assist in the construction cost estimating process by tracking the description of work and doing the calculations for you, among other things. GoCanvas can help propel your construction business with the help of our mobile tools.

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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

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We’ll help you put together the right solution for your needs.

Let’s Build A Plan Together

3 Ways to Achieve OSHA Safety Compliance with GoCanvas

Posted on by Danny Kanev

3 Ways to Achieve OSHA Safety Compliance with GoCanvas

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OSHA Automation Requirements

In July 2018, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced that they will require a digital submission of their Summary OSHA 300A Log (Yearly Summary of all Illness and Injury Reports). Failing to meet this requirement could result in a massive fine of up to $14,052.

This means that businesses across the US will need to start compiling all of their OSHA 300 and OSHA 301 (Illness and Injury Reports) records into a digital copy of a Summary OSHA 300A Log. There are a few ways that OSHA will be accepting the Form 300A Summary Log which include, webform, CSV import, or a transmitted version through a complex API.

GoCanvas streamlines this process making it so submitting the OSHA 300A form is as simple as pressing a button.

Autofill Your Summary Log with Each Submission

In the GoCanvas Application Store, you can easily find and download all of your industries’ OSHA safety documents into your GoCanvas account. This includes the OSHA 300, OSHA 301, and OSHA 300A log. Once you’ve added these apps to your library, you can easily organize and dispatch them to whoever would need access to filling out these reports in the field

But wait it gets better…

The GoCanvas team has developed an integrated solution that enables your employees to simply fill out either the OSHA 300 or OSHA 301 form (whichever is relevant to their situation) and have the information automatically flow into a digital copy of the OSHA 300A Log. In other words, this means there will be no copying or manual transfer that will have to occur on the back end. When it is time to submit your Summary OSHA 300A Log, all you’ll have to do is download the information as a CSV, and instantly upload it to the OSHA web portal for hassle-free filing!

This substantially eliminates human errors in data transfer and saves the HR folks time, stress, and even money.

Searchable Non-Expiry Database

In the past five years, is there a chance one of your OSHA 300 or OSHA 301 forms has been misplaced or thrown away? This mistake also could equate to a fine of over $12,000 on top of a potential lawsuit. OSHA requires all report records to be saved and stored for a minimum of 5 years.

GoCanvas gives companies unlimited storage for the lifetime of the account. Each record can be easily retrieved and reviewed in real-time. Since all of the information is stored in one place, OSHA audits and performance reviews will be simple as pie. But the best part is, that you’ll finally be receiving and viewing data in real-time, which allows for proactive decisions to be made within your business. This will ultimately help you to track down and eliminate inefficiencies within your operations.

Unlimited Uses

We understand that the OSHA 300 and OSHA 301 forms aren’t the only safety forms your company fills out. For most businesses, there are many preventative measures and steps taken to reduce the risk of injuries from happening in the first place. With GoCanvas we offer a platform that can help you manage ALL of your other safety forms such as:

The best part is that you aren’t limited to the number of forms, submissions, or data within your account. This allows you to create a robust, OSHA compliant safety program that won’t break your budget.

TRY GOCANVAS FOR FREE TODAY
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About GoCanvas

GoCanvas® is on a mission to simplify inspections and maximize compliance. Our intuitive platform takes care of the administrative tasks, freeing our customers to focus on what truly matters – safeguarding their people, protecting their equipment, and delivering exceptional quality to their customers. 

Since 2008, thousands of companies have chosen GoCanvas as their go-to partner for seamless field operations.

Check out even more resources

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How to Manage Remote Sales–And Shorten the Sales Cycle

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How to Manage Remote Sales and Shorten the Sales Cycle

Discover how in our free guide

What’s in this guide?

Whether you have a few folks or hundreds of employees working on the road, managing your remote team for the best work and receiving insight on their work isn’t easy. Learn how to boost your team’s productivity.

In this ebook get the answers to questions including:

  • What are the roadblocks for most companies’ sale cycles?
  • How do companies successfully innovate the sales cycle to stay productive?
  • What are examples of ways to manage employees with mobile apps?
  • How do you gain real benefits from implementing new sales tools?

Complete the form to access your copy.

Connect Transit Saves 60 Hours a Week in Productivity

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How Connect Transit Saves 60 Hours a Week in Productivity

Connect Transit Logo

Overview 

Connect Transit is a public transportation entity located in central Illinois. They serve a community of over 150,000 people with a fleet of 50 buses that run daily. With that many people to service and a large number of buses, there was a ton of paperwork to keep track of in order to ensure operations were moving smoothly.

The Problem

Dave White, the Safety and Training Director at Connect Transit, knew there had to be an easier way to collect all of this data. Their paper forms were clearly costing them time and money. When Dave began his search for a paperless solution he looked into fill-able PDFs and creating his own forms in Microsoft Office, but then he thought, “There has to be an easier way to do this than inventing a bunch of stuff from scratch.” That’s when he stumbled upon GoCanvas.

“There has to be an easier way to do this than inventing a bunch of stuff from scratch.”

Dave White, Safety and Training Director of Connect Transit

Before GoCanvas, Connect Transit was using all paper forms, as they had a “old school mentality” that everything had to be written down. They would print hundreds of copies in house, costing them money on ink, toner, and paper, as well as causing wear and tear on their equipment. They also had forms being printed out of house that were extremely expensive since they were triplicate and duplicate copy forms. Dave said they were “drowning in paper.”

With piles of paper came the need for more storage space. Boxes of paper were being stored anywhere they could find space including storage rooms and on pallets in the garage where the buses were parked. Paperwork and the storage issues also made it impossible to go back and dig up old records when needed. Connect Transit came to realization that it was time to transform their processes and go digital.

The Solution: Going Digital with GoCanvas

Connect Transit started their GoCanvas journey by rolling out the platform to just a few employees to get buy in. Eventually their General Manager was on board with GoCanvas, and employees were asking when it was going to be their turn to try out the application.

With GoCanvas, the company saw an immediate improvement in productivity. Pre-trip inspections are now getting done faster each morning, and are instantly being sent to whoever needs to view them. Maintenance requests are submitted more quickly, allowing there to be less of a delay in getting buses fixed. And with the ability to capture photos, they don’t have to spend time describing what the maintenance issues might be. In the past two years with GoCanvas, Connect Transit has tracked a general savings of $100,000, including an elimination of $18,000 in paper costs, as well as a recovery of 60 hours in productivity each week. Dave also mentioned, “I fully expect those numbers to increase as we grow our use of the platform.”

Connect Transit’s favorite part of GoCanvas is the ease of being able to change their forms whenever they need to without having to worry about going through a stockpile of documents. The ease with which they can build their apps is a no brainer in Dave’s opinion. The tangible savings that GoCanvas has provided has been great for Connect Transit, but they also noted that the GoCanvas support team has been an integral part of their whole journey, really allowing them to utilize the platform to its full potential.

Ready to Rethink How You Work?

GoCanvas has helped a variety of businesses across multiple industries transform their safety processes and rethink their efficiency, ultimately saving them money. Why not do the same? Reach out to one of our experts today to kickstart your process revolution.

Schedule a demo

Sloppy Paperwork Threatened My Business

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Sloppy Paperwork Threatened My Business

Overview:

See how skipping crucial steps in the paperwork process can lead to delays, communication issues, and jeopardize a business’ reputation. Discover how GoCanvas, with its drag-and-drop form builder and pre-built templates, can help companies build custom workflows, avoid expensive rework, and provide control over day-to-day operations.

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How Digitizing Workflows Will Transform Your Business

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How Digitizing Workflows Will Transform Your Business

Digitizing your information is step one, but what you do with that information is the critical next step. Learn how workflow automation can speed up processes, improve accuracy, make data accessible in real-time, and make a difference in your organization’s bottom line.

What can you learn in this eBook?

  • How workflow automation can help guarantee checks and balances in approval processes
  • How to take advantage of richer data such as photos, GPS, and bar codes
  • How automated workflow can improve process and efficiency

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How Digital Can Transform Manufacturing

How Digital Can Transform Manufacturing

Manufacturing companies already know that technology is not a luxury — it’s necessary to stay competitive. Learn how you can boost your bottom line by switching from paper to digital and harnessing the power of data you already own. Ensure compliance, create efficiencies, improve safety, and make real-time decisions by changing how you capture your data.

What can you learn in this eBook?

  • How to streamline incident and maintenance reporting, audits, and open-issue tracking
  • How to avoid worker injuries and large fines by ensuring safety compliance
  • How your teams can make real-time decisions and create greater efficiencies

Complete the form to access your copy.

Smarter, Faster, Safer: Improving Safety Compliance with Mobile Technology

Smarter, Faster, Safer: Improving Safety Compliance with Mobile Technology

Save Hundreds of Hours and Strengthen Your Compliance

Download our new ebook and you’ll learn all about:

  • The risk paper brings to your employees’ safety and compliance
  • Strategic insight into compliance technology
  • Real-life success stories, including how one company cut their safety inspections from 2 hours to 15 minutes
  • Major misconceptions around mobile safety inspections you need to know

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3 Keys to Unleashing the Power of Data Analytics in Commercial Construction

3 Keys to Unleashing the Power of Data Analytics in Commercial Construction

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This playbook examines the quickening pace of digital automation in the construction industry and the insights that transformation represents through real-time analytics.

Download now and start your digital transformation journey!

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