Waiting until the last minute

I have just spent the last 2 days at my computer trying to get a client’s license renewal application through the state's online system. The amount of time I have wasted is staggering.

Most states have now moved their annual reports and license renewals to online systems. I’m sure it is much more convenient for the banking departments but for the person who must input the information, it is very time-consuming. Most of those states have stopped using paper forms so you don't even have a choice.

The person who designed the system has, in many cases, made it impossible to see all of the information that is being requested if all of the information on the current screen is not inputted. The system just does not let that page get submitted if you leave any blanks. So, unless you are doing the input for your own company, your assistant, compliance department, or lawyer must go screen by screen to learn what information will be needed and must input every field, leaving no blanks, or you can’t get any further. This means that, if another person than you is doing the input, they are requesting information in bits and pieces. I’m sure you love getting interrupted 10 times a day to answer questions regarding the same subject.

Worst of all is if you wait until the last minute to submit an annual report or file a license renewal. Today is the last day for the Georgia license renewal. Every screen that I tried to input showed an internal error with the server. All day yesterday, until 10:00 p.m., I tried to just start the procedure and was unable to do so. The system was overwhelmed with last-minute filers. My client had not notified me until yesterday that he intended to renew the license so I was not going to start the procedure if the client had no intention of renewing. I did start reminding him a month ago about this deadline. And, of course, I did not have all the information I needed to renew the license all at once. After taking a half-hour to get through the first set of questions, I needed to get more information and the people I needed to get me the information were unavailable. I'm sure this happens in your company as well.

So, my advice to all is not to wait until the last minute to file anything online. The systems inevitably crash from the overload and it will take you 10 times as long as it should to get the project done.