Web Applications
9 Ways to Automate and Streamline Business

Published: October 13 2015

Are your employees spending valuable time on mundane, repetitive tasks that you have long felt a robot could do? 
 

Chances are a robot could do those things. A robot in the form of a web application, that is.
 

There are lots of major applications that can handle certain aspects of your company’s workflow, but it’s likely that a lot of the things that you need done – and a lot of the coordination of these tasks – requires an understanding of your business in particular.
 

That’s where custom web applications come in.
 

Custom-made web applications can standardize practices, minimize mistakes, streamline processes, and ensure that everyone in your company always knows what’s going on.
 

Here are nine of the areas in which it can do that: 
 

#1 Collaboration

Tracking who’s in charge of which parts of a project can be challenging. It’s easy for wires to get crossed and things to get missed. Apps designed for collaboration can let your staff members simultaneously edit documents; chat online in closed, internal systems; and delegate tasks in an organized way.
 

#2 Mobility

Employees often need to log in to company software remotely. Also, customers should be able to connect with your business no matter what kind of device they’re using. An online web application will allow your employees and customers to collaborate on any device, at any location, at any time. 
 

#3 Invoices and billing

It doesn’t get much more mundane than invoicing and billing. You know this if you’ve had to do these tasks. Thankfully, both can be fully automated. 
 

#4 Tracking employee time

There’s no need for paper-based time sheets or manually calculating earnings in a day and age when algorithms can do it for you (and by the way, we count using a calculator as doing manual calculations). Custom programming can save you the headache and make sure that everyone is paid properly, and that all employees are accountable for their time.
 

#5 Organizing customer information

You’ll never need to comb through strings of emails looking for a phone number again if you get a system that can track this info for you. An organized, no- frills database can centralize your clients’ information and ensure that it’s always available to everyone in your company.
 

#6 Customer support

Even small businesses maintain large numbers of clients, and it’s not uncommon that numerous people will deal with the same customer over the course of a relationship. Give your clients the best experience possible by using a system that directs inquiries to the appropriate person promptly.
 

#7 Protection of sensitive data

Most people have a password keeper on their phones, but do you want such sensitive information on multiple devices? Passwords often must be shared; however, you can protect your clientele and prevent password recovery delays by using a secure online repository for sensitive data.
 

#8 Hiring and training

If all of your staff has a different training experience, or if important steps in training are missed, it can affect your employees’ efficiency as well as your business’s reputation. Custom web applications can give all of your employees the same foundation, and this can go a long way toward making your business run smoothly.

 

#9 Workflow efficiency

A lot of companies use portals these days to gather all of their employees’ tools in one place. A portal can look like AOL or MSN.com, and provides the perfect launching pad. Productivity and employee retention only benefit.

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The advantages of custom web application programming are not to be underestimated. Having a portfolio of software that is designed to do exactly what your company needs it for can result in impressive business growth. 

And that’s just the bottom line.