There are five main steps in turning data into meaningful information. These are:
A. Origination: It is also called data collection. It is putting together the original data and organizing method for handling the source document, which includes verification.
B. Preparation: Once the data has been verified, the source document is sorted. Sorting is the arrangement of the data in order either alphabetically or numerically.
C. Input of Data: This is the introduction or keying in of the sorted data to the processor.
D. Processing: This is the carrying out or performing arithmetical or logical operations on the data.
E. Output of Information: This is the final stage where documents are printed and the reports written down.