If you could use a single, integrated system to take the sting out of the usual administration of running your business, would you choose to juggle a payroll package, small accounting software, as well as the separate excel files linked to Word docs, printed out emails, handwritten order forms, and scanned in bank statements? Probably not.
It doesn’t matter if you are a large, medium, or small business. Month-end has the potential to be an arduous and difficult time. Processing transactions, financial statements, and journal entries is a laborious task.
It’s a frustrating undertaking, one which requires your full attention. For small-to-medium business owners, it often steals focus from what you really should be doing. Marketing your brand and building a successful company.
As your business grows, so too will your need for efficiency. That said, many companies shy away from the move towards business technology and the consolidated tools this advent offers. The belief is that it will be far too expensive and bring very little return.
The truth is that it is pure loss to allow multiple, inefficient approaches to necessary tasks to continue.
Entrepreneur Warren Buffet, famously said, “There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.”
With 68% of South Africa’s revenue being generated by medium-to-large businesses, of which a very small percentage opt for the use of efficient business technology, this is easy to believe.
One would think that a much larger portion of these business owners would ensure that their businesses benefit from integrated management systems that offer solution-oriented tools. The kind of tools that release you from chasing pipelines and cash flow, and give you the necessary freedom required to focus on building your enterprise.
Empowering your business with the right management tools is one of the key steps to taking your business to the next level. It just makes good business sense.
It is an investment, though, and if not wisely considered does indeed have the potential to end up as a costly endeavour. It is therefore important to choose the right business operating system for your business.
Here is an essential guideline, outlining what you should investigate:
- Are there any hidden costs?
- Does the provider offer ‘after sales’ support and maintenance?
- Are there add-on features with which you can customise the system to manage your specific business requirements?
- Is the product locally/internationally recognised and supported?
- How easy is it to migrate your data and integrate into other systems should you want to sell your business?
- Does it offer mobile functionality to your sales and service staff?
- How long will it take to implement the system?
- How user friendly is it?
- Does this system offer the chance to utilise Cloud functionality?
It is only by investing in an integrated and consolidated management system that you will be able to access all your business information at the touch of a button, with much less input, and be able to cut down on many of the inefficiencies that hinder good business.