Top 5 Tips For Choosing Business Management Software

By now, technology has taken over your life: you don’t leave home without your smartphone, you rely on the weather app before a trip to the beach, and you check your email even on weekends if ever one of your employees needs you! But have you ever seriously considered acquiring management software in your company?

It’s time to take the plunge and introduce new technology into your office. The right program could help you better manage time and organize the work of your employees and collaborators. Don’t worry; we’ll help you: here are our five suggestions for choosing business management software

Business Management Software: Many Functions, One Solution!

Management software has become a reality in many companies, especially those that need to stay on their feet, exploit digital tools and react to market changes. Your goal is to increase turnover, take advantage of opportunities in your sector, and focus on your team’s strength.

So why have you yet to add management software to your company? Up until now, you have been busy building a solid team, training your salespeople, and growing customers. And you have opted for apparently more straightforward and practical systems, such as using an Excel file as a database of your customer portfolio. It’s time to make a qualitative leap; your company’s competitiveness is at stake!

Management software is the solution you’re looking for, but it could also become a trap if you don’t choose the right one. The market offers many alternatives, and it’s up to you to find the ideal system for your needs. And that’s why we’re here today: take a few minutes to read this article, and we’ll help you find the solution that allows you to:

Archive and organize documents of all types and formats;
Manage human resources, organize tasks, and share reports and other files
Simplify accounting (orders, estimates, contracts, invoices, expenses, inventory) so that each document is quickly accessible
Record the results and monitor the progress of the processes
Build customer loyalty (perhaps by setting up a loyalty program if you have a store)

These are the main aspects a company must focus on and can be achieved with a single system: management and employees can learn to use a single program without too many traumas and internal expenses. But which is the best supplier to rely on? Here are the elements you need to consider to find your software!

Easy To Use

Admit it; you’ve been putting off getting business management software for fear it’s too complicated to use! Many programs are specially made, even for those without technical knowledge. A perfect program must have an intuitive interface where the most critical sections and commands are easily identifiable.

For example, you need to quickly understand how to access the invoices and estimates area, modify your projects, or monitor sales and invoices. To avoid unpleasant surprises, ask your provider if you can get a demo or, even better, a trial period: Two weeks or a month is the right time to figure out if that program can be adopted or if you can find a better alternative.

Ask your employees to try the different features, especially if they will also use it: to understand better, you can even create a survey to be disseminated at the end of the trial period to understand your team’s general sentiment and reaction to change. If your team has integrated well with the system without slowing down work, this is the right solution for you.

Assistance And Customer Service

You’ve found a program that might work for your business. But… wait a minute, you phone the supplier’s Customer Service, and no one answers, you ask for a period of training and coaching, but it’s not provided. You don’t have time to waste behind features, buttons, or 1055-page user manuals.

Block everything, and think again: the company you want to buy the software from has a defect as big as a house; it’s absent and doesn’t help you. And you, as an entrepreneur, know well that consultancy is essential for creating a lasting and productive business relationship!

You need a contact person who is available, present, and speaks your language. Therefore, before purchasing, make sure that the supplier provides the following: An agreed period of training/mentoring, where an expert teaches you how to best use the program; Assistance in Italian (it is not so obvious) through various communication channels, from email to chat to telephone contact.

Also, Try To Understand The Following

Whether there are online forums where users can share experiences about the software;
Costs for assistance and training so as not to have nasty surprises at the time of payment.

The presence of an expert person to help you in times of need is the basis for a stable and lasting relationship!

Scalable And Customizable

Alt, don’t put your hands forward: you don’t have to spend thousands of euros to have a customized product suitable for the changes you foresee in the company, but you have to look for a program that can modify its characteristics according to your needs and above all in anticipation of the changes business you intend to address.

In a nutshell, you have to go looking for scalable software. Scalability is the ability to adapt a system to the requests of a specific user to add, remove or modify sections to meet specific needs that may change over time. This way, the system grows with your company and keeps its evolution up.

Let’s give you an example: this year, you produced 200 invoices but next year, do you expect to increase the results? Make sure the system can perform well, even creating thousands of annual invoices or managing many employees. Make sure your system can satisfy you when you need more performance! Speaking of billing: here is a crucial element to evaluate your management software. Here are the things to look for in this case:

ability to easily compile invoices, immediately recalling the master data or transforming a proforma into an invoice effortlessly;
Issue recurring invoices automatically or send alerts to speed up operations and save time;
Do reverse invoice calculation or e-invoicing;
It is being able to customize invoices simply according to your needs.

How does the software you have identified behave with invoices? Try to observe each step and write down your request: the supplier can apply a small change at a reduced price!

Supporting Internal And External Activities

Self-respecting management software must be a faithful ally for a company by better supporting internal activities (invoice management, accounting, internal processes) and those directed towards the outside (such as logistics and sales). For example, one of the crucial points for any company is the creation and sending of estimates, a time-consuming activity.

Fortunately, many software has internal formats that can be used to create estimates, which are then sent to a potential customer, who is entered into a database. This way, all customer acquisition phases are recorded and can be reviewed quickly without looking for the estimate on one side, the potential customer’s file on the other, and so on.

If you have a store, ensure that the management program supports your business, helping you keep track of receipts and helping with warehouse management. For example, many solutions also offer the possibility of printing adhesive barcodes to be attached to individual products.

Perhaps you have yet to think about all these particularities, but know that, in most cases, there is a solution for every need: you have to understand your requests and present them clearly to the supplier!

Analysis And Reports

You know very well that an enormous amount of information enters and leaves your office every day, but you have never thought about how to organize and exploit it in the company. It’s not science fiction, but the reality that today, many companies are starting to appreciate and use it to grow. And wouldn’t it be great if your program provided you with monthly reports on sales progress, revenue, or completed projects?

But with a management system, all the data is entered into the system, which manages to collect and process them to offer you statistics and reports. This allows you to control costs, avoid unnecessary expenses, and, by limiting financial risks, it also allows you to immediately view the health of your business and quickly decide where to intervene.

Having an overview of the situation at the end of the month allows you to observe the progress of the work and improve your strategy. Over time you will be more and more skilled in using the software and, we are sure, this significant change will be an opportunity to introduce a new way of working in the company, more in step with the times!

Now you have the essential information to choose the perfect management software for you: are you ready for your little revolution? Download the document and give a boost to your growth! And if you want more advice from our team of business consultants, get prepared because we have 30 pills in store to grow your business.