5 Signs Your Data Quality Is Costing You Money

Data can either drive your business forward or quietly drain its resources. At AB Consultants and Analytics, we know that hidden data issues often translate directly into lost revenue, compliance risks and frustrated teams.

In our 20+ years as data management consultants in the UK, we have helped many regulated businesses uncover the true impact of poor data quality. Here are the five crucial signs that bad data could be quietly costing you money.

 

 

 

1. Duplicate Records Are
Inflating Costs

Duplicate customer or transaction records are a silent profit killer. If your CRM or billing systems contain multiple versions of the same entity, you end up incurring unnecessary costs with every process.

Think duplicated marketing communications sent to the same individual, redundant customer service outreach, or paying the same supplier's invoice twice due to mismatched entries.

In summary

  • Multiple entries for the same customer or supplier.
  • Results in wasted marketing spend and billing errors.
  • Leads to double payments and inaccurate financial reports.

As data governance experts, we have seen businesses waste significant sums simply by ignoring this sign. Cleaning duplicates is an essential first step towards smarter, more commercial data management.

 

 

 

 

2. Regulatory Reports
Contain Inconsistencies

When reporting to regulators such as the FCA, PRA or for frameworks like GDPR, BCBS239 and Solvency II, inconsistency in your reported data can be disastrous.

Businesses in the UK risk costly fines, intrusive audits and expensive remediation when reports don't tally or contain incomplete information.

In summary

  • Data errors make regulatory submissions unreliable.
  • Increases risk of non-compliance with standards like GDPR or BCBS239.
  • Can result in fines, reputational damage, and costly remediation projects.

Our analytical approach at AB Consultants and Analytics detects these inconsistencies before regulators do, protecting your business from avoidable penalties and reputational damage. Reliable data quality improvement isn't just best practice,it's essential for compliance and peace of mind.

 

 

 

3. Manual Fixes Are
Draining Staff Time

If your employees are spending hours manually fixing spreadsheets, reconciling data or chasing missing details before every critical report, you have a hidden productivity sink. Each hour wasted on manual corrections is time not spent on insightful analysis or commercial growth.

From insurance companies to financial services, we've specialised in streamlining these labour-intensive processes.

In summary

  • Teams spend hours cleaning data and reconciling discrepancies.
  • Reduces time available for valuable analysis and business tasks.
  • Drives up operational costs due to repetitive manual work.

With expert data strategy consulting, these daily headaches become a thing of the past, freeing staff for high-value work and reducing operational costs.

 

 

 

 

4. Decisions Are Based
​on Guesswork

Duplicate customer or transaction records are a silent profit killer. If your CRM or billing systems contain multiple versions of the same entity, you end up incurring unnecessary costs with every process.

Think duplicated marketing communications sent to the same individual, redundant customer service outreach, or paying the same supplier's invoice twice due to mismatched entries.

In summary

  • Inconsistent or unreliable data undermines reporting dashboards.
  • Executives make choices with inaccurate or misleading information.
  • Leads to missed opportunities, wasted resources, and costly strategic errors.​

At AB Consultants and Analytics, our specialists design actionable dashboards with Power BI, QlikView and AWS Quicksight to ensure you always have the accurate, real-world insights needed for confident, commercial decision making.

Data management should drive clarity, not confusion.

 

 

 

 

5. Customer Experience Is Suffering

Poor customer data hygiene can result in wrong addresses, outdated preferences or missing contact details that directly impact your bottom line.

Customers quickly lose trust when they receive duplicate mailings, failed deliveries or confusing communications, resulting in churn and lost revenue.

In summary

  • Incorrect or incomplete data frustrates customers.
  • Failed deliveries, repeated communications, and mismanagement of preferences.
  • Damages trust, increases churn, and results in lost revenue.

As data quality improvement experts, we have helped UK businesses rebuild their reputation and service levels by tidying up these critical datasets. A clean database is essential to delivering exceptional, reliable experiences that keep customers loyal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Book Your Free Data Governance Check Today

If you recognise any of these signs in your business, your data quality issues could be costing you more than you realise. AB Consultants and Analytics are UK-based analytical experts with over 20 years of experience helping regulated industries fix broken data and restore commercial confidence.

Don't wait for the next audit or lost customer to reveal problems, contact us at admin@abca-ltd.com or book a free data governance health check now to discover how much you could save.