How many times do one customer's details get typed before you've even sent a quote? If the answer is more than once, the copying has become a job of its own, and it's one that keeps landing back on your desk.

Where the copying hides

It rarely looks like a problem. An enquiry comes in through your website form or your inbox. You copy the name, number and job into a spreadsheet or customer list so you don't lose them. Then you open your quoting tool and type it all again. If the job goes ahead, the same details go into an invoice, a calendar or a job sheet.

Each step only takes a minute, which is why nobody fixes it. But every retype is a chance to get a phone number wrong, spell a name two ways, or leave a detail in an email that never makes it into the quote.…