How to Squeeze More Time Out of a Day by Going Digital

Let’s face it: the average food business owner could always do with a little extra time. Farmers who grow lettuces might wish for more daylight hours while refrigerated food delivery trucks might wish they could get through rush-hour traffic faster. Artisan producers who sell their wares at markets might wish for more days in a weekend, while restaurant owners probably wish they could exchange the hours they spend managing files and doing paperwork for actually being on the floor and managing their staff.

If you’re struggling to find the time to do what you really love in your food business because of the admin you’ve got to get through, you’re probably ready for a change in the way you record and store your data. But if you’ve always relied on good ol’ fashioned pen and paper to meet compliance, you might not know where to start.

Digital Makes Life Easy & Fast

Before we challenge the way you manage your business, let’s take a moment to look at how you manage your life outside of work. You probably do most of your banking online and the only reason you’d step into an actual bank would be if someone gave you fist-full of cash that needed to be deposited. You might do a lot of your shopping via your computer or digital device because who’s got the time to visit the mall? And if you watch the news on +1 or rely on online to keep you up-to-date with the world’s events because you’re never home at 6pm on the dot, you understand how important it is to find a digital solution that gives you some of your time back.

The Future of Food Safety is Digital

If digital contributes so much to saving us time in our private lives, it makes sense that it does the same in our work lives too - and in the food industry, it’s no exception.

If food businesses want to keep up with ever-changing food safety protocols, they need to go digital in order to save time and efficiency. Managing paperwork is a huge hassle, not just for a business owner but also for food safety inspectors who are trying to ensure New Zealand’s food businesses remain safe for everyday punters.

Pros of Digital

Going digital with your food safety records won’t just reduce the paperwork that clogs up your office, it’ll also save you time and hassle. Recording food safety hygiene is far easier for everyone when you’ve got a tablet or app. No more pen, paper or screeds of paperwork; uploading all your data to the cloud via a food safety app like Safe Food Pro is much more efficient.

The ability to automate the process of data collection and set reminders to remember key tasks also helps avoid room for error. Manual data collection and storage relies on a lot of people to get the job done right, which means there’s more room for human error, even incompetence and laziness. Done well, digital can avoid all those things.

Cons of Going Digital

When you look at the array of benefits of using a platform like Safe Food Pro to collect, manage and store food safety data, it really is difficult to see any cons. With the exception of learning new software and teaching ‘old dogs’ who’ve been in the food industry for decades new tricks, switching from paper-based to paperless data collection and storage really is the best decision for your food business.

Best Practice for Recording & Storing Your Food Data

So you’ve decided to implement a digital food safety management plan like Safe Food Pro; what’s the best way to use it? Safe Food Pro’s intuitive food hygiene app sets you up in minutes and helps manage your to-do task list with calendar reminders and notifications, so it’s easy, intuitive and fast. When it’s time to deal with inspectors, just export your data or send it straight to the cloud - it’s really as simple as that.

Need a hand figuring out how to improve your food safety management? Following a food hygiene guide will help ensure you remain on the straight and narrow too. Adhering to a range of food safety management systems and audits will ensure your food business will continue to be compliant while providing the best products and service to the general public.