Software must improve productivity — for you, your employees and your business!
Some superior business software costs little more than a basic product, but can do a lot more. There’s a simple way to determine whether or not a system is worth it: If it doesn’t increase your productivity, it’s a bad investment.
Investing in new business software is a complex task. There are so many factors to consider that the process often dies gradually, resulting in no decision. Justifying the expense can also seem difficult.
Emphasize One Criterion Above All: Productivity!
Business software certainly needs to address many needs and accomplish different jobs. With the right approach, these are relatively easy to evaluate. Most importantly, consider how the system will perform:
- Will you have to wait for tasks to complete?
- Will you have to do extra work (e.g. in Excel or Access) to get the information and reports you need?
- Is the marketer analyzing your needs or telling you what you want to hear in order to get the sale? Half-truths are not uncommon.
- Is it a business management tool or basic accounting (bookkeeping) package?
Time Is Money
It’s trite but true. Everyone could use more time to do things that promote sales, control costs and inventory, or perform tasks that eliminate the need to hire another employee.
Some low-cost, entry-level software products are slow — and get even slower as their database size increases. This really bogs down things like opening files, entering data, searching, generating reports and so on. The low initial investment actually turns into a great waste of time and money.
Just one man-hour of wasted time per week often equates to something like $1,000 annually. Multiply this by the number of software users and the time each is wasting, and you’ll quickly realize how much your system is costing you. There is a better way.
As always the SWK team can help you select, implement, train, and insure your success with Sage BusinessWorks, Sage 100 ERP, Sage 500 ERP, and Sage ERP X3.
Contact us today at 877-979-5462 to learn how we help over 2500 business throughout North America.