Many organizations stay with their current accounting or business software system far too long. It’s comfortable to use something that’s known and understood. There’s usually fear involved (or at least a strong apprehension) with switching to something new and unknown. Plus, there are significant time and resource issues, including the cost to change and the time needed to learn the new system.  But comfortable doesn’t always cut it – especially when it comes to the financial health and long-term success of your business.

Your business software should fulfill your business needs.  It should mesh with your existing business practices and easily adapt to technological innovations. Ideally, you want software that’s simple, intuitive and closely matched to how you already do business.

So how do you know if it time for your business to consider its software options?  Impetus for change usually falls into one of these categories:

Change in Business –

• Your business has grown:  added customers, added complementary products or services, added locations, added employees, or even layers of management.

• Your business has contracted: fewer customers, services, locations or employees, perhaps with more specialized products and services.

• Your business model has changed: Perhaps the once complementary product or service has become the primary focus of your business.

• Your business has new requirements: International, regulatory, or organizational.

Keeping Pace with Customers, Suppliers or Competitors-

• Customer demands are increasing: better service, more value, on-line ordering or self service, EDI, faster delivery, more education or expertise, targeted messaging, and, as always, lower prices. 

• Suppliers are also increasing their demands: e-commerce or EDI requirements, accurate forecasting, and bulk orders.

• Competitors are also pressuring the market.  If they have it, you better have it too.

Erroneous, Duplicate, and Mismatched data in existing applications-

• Your information is not always correct in: inventory, pricing, availability, lead times, or delivery times.

• You have too much of some inventory and stock-outs on others.

• You rush order frequently, increasing costs.

• You have no idea of which customers or jobs are profitable.

• You re-key information, introducing potential errors and slowing processes.

• You have several overlapping data sets: one for marketing, one or more for sales, one for order entry, one for purchasing, one for production, one for accounting, one for service.

Better and  More Timely Decision-making Capabilities-

• It takes days to get information compiled to give you an accurate snapshot of your business.

• Getting new reports takes even longer.

• Sales forecasts and pipeline reports are often inaccurate.

• Cash management is hampered by poor information and inefficient processes.

• Your decision making is hampered because you can’t find out:

  • Who are the target customers your hottest selling product?

  • Which employee services the most profitable customers?

  • How much of the staff’s scheduled time is billable?

  • What is the profit on individual jobs or individual customers?

Total Cost of Ownership is too High-

• Maintaining an antiquated proprietary system, hardware or software, is getting more and more expensive.

• It is not scalable: Adding additional users / locations is not possible or feasible.

• Too few features force extensive use of spreadsheets and lost employee productivity to manipulate data.

• Changing a business process is expensive and time consuming, using requiring lengthy custom software re-writes.

• Integration costs of older disparate systems is expensive and often temporary:

• Training costs are high for new employees.

Mitigating Risk-

• You lose customers when you lose a sales or service person because the customer information is lost with them.

• Your data is not protected from employees: either accidentally by poorly trained employees or maliciously by disgruntled employees.

• Your data is not protected from outside threats: viruses, worms, or natural disasters.

• Your software vendor is not financially stable and may be purchased or go out of business.

• You rely on support from one or two people.

Raising capital –

• You need auditable financial records for bank financing, lines of credit, loans, or public offerings.

New regulations-

• Your business is facing new government regulations: Sarbanes-Oxley, Gramm-Leach Bliley, HIPAA, etc.

• Your company size now falls under different regulations from OSHA, the Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC, COBRA, the Affirmative Action Act and/or the Family and Medical Leave Act

• Your business has new state or federal reporting requirements.

If you need a consultant to help you determine which package is right for you, click here.