The most important part of any registration system is the data it can collect for you.
If your registration system is not working the way it should, you will experience frustration and agitation from both your users and your staff.
A time will come when you will start maintaining Excel sheets on the side to validate the data in your software.
Before you reach boiling point, here are a few tips to figure out when it’s time to replace your registration management software:
Pulling Data and Generating Reports Becomes a Colossal Task
An efficient registration management system helps you generate reports as and when required.
If you need to spend hours preparing reports, it is a sign that your registration system is losing its touch.
Besides that, here are some useful ‘how’ questions to determine the viability of your registration software:
- How long it takes to prepare an accurate report?
- How easy it is for you to download data from the registration system?
- Also, how often do you need to contact the developers of your system to extract data from the system?
- How high is your confidence level on the reports that you generate for other stakeholders?
If there are no positive answers to these questions, it means your software lacks robust analytical and data management capability.
This will help you acquire real-time insights about users on multiple platforms.
An effective registration software can allow you to customize and save report templates for future use.
This way, you don’t need to repeat the same process for creating the same report every month. The question is whether your existing system can do all this or not.
Data is Outdated and Cluttered All Over the Place
- If your data is all over the place, there are chances that you end up missing some key information needed to plan your program or event effectively.
- If your system is producing inaccurate reports, you need to start looking for a more effective solution immediately.
Your Staff Complains the System Is Not User-Friendly
With the advancement of software technology, everyone is familiar with the fast-paced, user-friendly and interactive software.
It is essential to understand that if your staff is not able to effectively use your registration software, they will start maintaining Excel files.
This step limits the integration and visibility of data, not to mention the data governance issues you will face in the long run. Eventually, it impacts the overall productivity of the organization.
- Your software should be fast and quick to respond to users on your website.
- You Cannot Configure Your Software as Per Your Growing Needs
A significant difference between ‘configuration’ and ‘customization’ is that configuration does not require a change in source code, while customization does.
Efficient registration solutions address the organization’s long-term needs. Hence, if you want to add a new class of association members, you can configure your system accordingly without touching the code.
Customization, on the other hand, may require changes that relate to system procedures, such as adding a new registration form.
If your software is not configurable enough to adapt to your future needs, you will start spending more money on your software as you scale your business.
These changes may affect the original source code, rendering your application too slow or affecting its user interface.
Concluding Thoughts
It is always better to have a long-term view in your mind before implementing a registration process at your organization.
You should ensure that your system could accomplish the following tasks:
- Saves time by automating a manual process and can generate accurate reports promptly
- It allows you to manage your administrative tasks easily, saving you time
- Your website should always be up, and your system should never crash. This assurance provides your internal and external members a solid reason to build a long-term relationship with your organization
