Quality management inspections — including inspections for safety, brand consistency, or regulatory compliance — are inherently time-consuming. When using traditional methods, such as pen and paper, it can take an auditor several hours to get the required information. Additionally, multiple types of audits might need to happen at varying frequencies — from quarterly to monthly to weekly — at a single location. And then on top of all that, franchised companies can have dozens if not hundreds of locations, meaning a single company can potentially be responsible for thousands upon thousands of audits per year.
It may seem like using spreadsheets or pen and paper checklists would be cheaper because the upfront cost is low. But the truth is the cost of a cloud-based software more than pays for itself when you see how much time a single auditor will save on a single audit, let alone the time saved when thousands of audits are in play.
Given how frequently audits need to occur, it’s easy to see how small amounts of workforce hours can quickly add up, which means that even small improvements to efficiency can have an exponential impact. Let’s look at each part of an in-depth, quarterly audit to explore how much time auditors could be saving with the right mobile auditing software.

1. Preparing to Audit

Manual: 20 mins.
To start, auditors need to find and print the documents they need, open various spreadsheets, and make sure they input the correct information about the location, the type of audit, and the date and time. Often the same information needs to be on multiple documents to keep everything organized, which means a single piece of information needs to be recorded multiple times.
Automated: 3 mins.
Using auditing software, all the necessary auditing forms are organized in the same place. Auditors can get to the right documents with a few taps, saving a bundle of time. Additionally, all documents are linked, so information will not need to be recorded more than once.

2. Making Assessments

Manual: 6 hrs. 45 mins.
Assessments are the real meat of the process, and switching between papers, clipboards, and a series of spreadsheets isn’t the quickest way to complete an audit. In addition, assessments aren’t always standard from one location to another, so understanding various exceptions (i.e. a hotel with a pool versus without) can be another time-consuming part of the process for an auditor.
Automated: 5 hrs. 45 mins.
With simple checklists and assessment workflows built right into the same application, the process of conducting food safety, brand standard, regulatory compliance, or other audits is much simpler and less time consuming. As for location-specific exceptions, the right quality management software allows you to waive rules and automatically skip questions that aren’t relevant to some locations.

3. Entering Data

Manual: 2 hrs.
With pen-and-paper assessments, auditors have the added step of transferring data to digital spreadsheets or other organizational systems to store, review, analyze, and compare the audit results. This process that can take up to two or more hours.
Automated: 0 mins.
With auditing software, you input the data one time into the same system you’ll use to store, review, analyze, and compare all the data you collect, which eliminates the data entry step altogether.

4. Creating an Action Plan

Manual: 35 mins.
With data compiled, it’s time to put it to use as part of an action plan. This step is traditionally a blend of wading through data in various documents and spreadsheets to find out what was out of compliance and how this compares to audits historically. Then the assessor must manually configure the steps for a compliance plan they’ll email to those responsible making improvements.

Automated: 1 min.
With mobile auditing software, action plans are automatically created, so there’s no side-by-side spreadsheet shuffling. When audits are complete, the action plan is automatically sent to everyone who needs it so they can begin taking action immediately.

5. Finalizing and Creating Reports

Manual: 55 mins.
With manual methods, auditors need to summarize everything discovered in an audit to share with franchise locations. It takes time to build reports that make it clear to franchise managers what’s working, what needs improvement, and what needs immediate action.
Automated: 15 mins.
With quality management software, you can control reporting through a simple dashboard that allows you to view out-of-compliance audit results instantly. With a few quick clicks, auditors can generate and share reports so branch locations and franchises can begin remediating issues immediately. Or you can even set automated alerts so non-compliance action plans are delivered to stakeholders without any further action from the auditor.

6. Counting Your Saved Time

Total Time Savings
• 4+ hours per quarterly audit
• 1000+ hours a year per auditor
On average, an auditor spends 4 hours (half a day) longer than is necessary to complete a quarterly inspection. Multiply that time by how many of these audits your company completes in a year, and it’s easy to see that quality management software isn’t a pricey burden, it’s an investment that can save hundreds of hours a year for each auditor in the field.