Types Of Software For Scaling Businesses
Over the years, business software has gone from being a luxury into being a necessity. With the way that modern businesses are operated, it would be nearly unfathomable to run a business of any size without several different types of software being required.
Attempting to run the accounting side of a business without the software would be a nearly impossible feat, and that’s just one part of many aspects of the business. Even the phone systems of a business can benefit by using software designed to help with contact management.
There really aren’t many components of a business that couldn’t benefit from at least some form of software. These are a few of the different types of software that can help your business to operate more efficiently.
Communications
The backbone of any business is communication amongst the team. Even though your business may only be open for a few hours a day, as a business owner, you will need to be available 24/7. The sooner that you learn about a potential issue, the sooner that you can make a decision to solve it.
Using communication software will help to keep you and your team in direct contact. One of the preferred methods of communication for businesses in the modern era of technology is to use emails.
Gmail, in particular, is one of the more popular email services available and can help to keep your team in contact with one another. However, emails can sometimes be a little slow in terms of response times. Most people don’t check their emails nearly as often as their text messages.
That is where apps like WhatsApp and Slack can help to improve on an already fast method of communication. These apps will operate on a more relaxed and personal basis while still maintaining a level of professionalism.
Being able to message your team directly can help to keep everyone in the loop and up to date with the most current information.
Other types of communication software include:
Internet SaaS
Web browsers (Internet Explorer; Google Chrome; Mozilla Firefox; Safari)
Word Processors
Microsoft Excel
Language translators
Database Management Systems
Multimedia Software
Accounting
Anyone that has ever attempted to do their own taxes without any software knows how frustrating it can be. However, attempting to file the taxes without the assistance of any software is almost impossible to complete without major errors.
Using accounting software can not only help with taxes for your business, but it can also help with daily operations as well. One of the most common factors with business failure is having a poor cash flow and a lack of working capital.
Using accounting software can not only help to give you a more accurate picture of your current finances, but it can also help you to create budgets and make plans for the future. There are several quality accounting software options available, but it’s pretty difficult to beat the quality of QuickBooks.
This software takes care of almost every single aspect of business finances and is widely regarded as the best available and by a wide margin. However, the software is pretty expensive and will cost much more than the competition.
Even if it might be worth the price, in the long run, the cost may turn potential customers away. For those looking to save a few bucks on their software, Wave is free online accounting software that can perform most of the basic accounting tasks.
Obviously, it won’t come with all the features of QuickBooks, but it can help you to run your business more efficiently than if you are currently using no software. Best of all, it will provide these services and features for no charge at all.
Other types of accounting system software:
End-user programs
Database software
productivity programs
Phone Services
Communication within your team is extremely important, but so is communication with the world that exists outside of your team. As a business owner, you will need to be able to easily contact and talk with tons of potential partners, investors, vendors, retailers, and many others.
It can become pretty difficult trying to organize and recall the date of each individual. This is where software such as Dialed can come into the picture. The first thing that Dialed will provide you with is a personalized business number.
Instead of having to use your own private number, this business number will operate on your phone and allow you to keep the two parts of your life separate. The other features include the ability to organize your clients with customizable labels, prioritize VIP callers, and create contact sheets that will record all previous calls and texts with the contact.
As if that wasn’t helpful enough, Dialed even offers up spam blocking in order to keep your line free from annoying disruptions. Running a business is more than just making and selling a product. It’s about selling your business plan's overall mission to others.
Dialed can help you to build these necessary business relationships by helping you to get organized and look more professional.
Project Management
No matter how successful your business is currently doing, you should always be planning for the future. When a business stops undertaking new projects that focus on growth or expansion, it often marks the beginning of the end.
Whether you are attempting to expand your business or simply run it efficiently, you will need to manage multiple projects at a time. Instead of trying to juggle all of the assignments, deadlines, and personnel involved, you should use software to help you.
There are quite a few software options available with the goal of helping project managers efficiently manage their projects, but two of them stand above the rest. Asana is a very popular online service that aims to help teams stay organized, track their progress, and easily delegate tasks.
An added bonus of using Asana is that it easily integrates with the extremely popular communication software Gmail.
Another project management software option that has been growing in popularity is Trello. This program uses the Japanese-based kanban project management method that helps teams to visualize their work.
The kanban workflow management style is highly effective for assigning tasks, tracking overall progress, and defining goals.
Website Management
Regardless of your business type, it is absolutely imperative to have an online presence in today’s society. Meeting a person without any social media accounts is bizarre enough, but a business without any kind of online activity raises serious questions and doubts.
It also comes with some very serious disadvantages as well. Building and managing your own website can be a huge benefit to your business and is often much easier than it may sound.
WordPress is arguably the best option for a business and has helped millions of users create top-ranking websites and conduct ecommerce. However, WordPress can be a little bit difficult to use and is mainly recommended for creating large websites.
For smaller websites that will be much easier to build and maintain, you should consider using Squarespace instead. Whatever option you choose, remember that your online presence will often be the first impression of your business to millions of potential customers.
Much like your physical appearance on a first date, your website will say a lot about your business.
The Takeaway
Running a business without using any software is kind of like climbing a mountain without using any equipment. It’s technically possible, but the risks are not at all worth the reward.
You should consider software at every level of your business operations. Nothing should be overlooked or taken for granted, including the contact list of your phone.
A seven-day free trial of Dialed should be enough time for you to experience the benefits of contact management and help drive home the point that business software is a necessity and not a luxury.
SOURCES
Communicating effectively for business | Business.qld.gov.au
The 4 Most Common Reasons a Small Business Fails | Investopedia.com
The Importance of Business Growth: If You're Not Growing, You're Dying | Datadrivenu.com
