b. Advantages and Disadvantages. Batch processing is economical when a
large volume of data must be processed. It is suitable to such applications as payroll,
and the preparation of client, patient, or customer bills. However, it requires sorting,
reduces timeliness, in some cases, and requires sequential file organization. Since
master files are updated only periodically, there is a potential for master files to become
quite out-of-date if transactions are not processed frequently.
Figure 3-3. Batch processing in a finance department. The computer looks at
the master file, periodically making changes reflecting new
transactions. Old master files are updated as a group.
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