Using small business management software

Running a small business is not an easy task. It requires a lot of time, money, and patience on your part. Technology has been able to help many small business owners effectively run their business without dealing with the hassles of the past. There are a number of small business management software tools which will organize your business and make everything flow together smoothly. Here are some of the small business management software solutions you need to consider when you are running a small business:

• E-commerce software
• Timecard software
• Accounting software
• Reporting and order processing software
• Customer support software

You can contact a software design firm to create software for your business that will manage all of these different needs or you can purchase them individually. It is important to make sure the software you choose can easily integrate with your other software or will at least dump reports into Excel and Word where you can create documents and spreadsheets that will organize them.

E-commerce software
To make your website friendly and usable for your customers you need to purchase some type of e-commerce software. This software will be used to allow your customers to buy your products in just a click or two versus mailing or faxing in an invoice or calling you to order the products. Online solutions are the rage and they provide a higher value to your company over having a fax line. E-commerce software must easily integrate with your website and must be easy to use and understand in order to walk your customer though the process. Paypal is a great way to accept payments online and it's free to use. Several small businesses use Paypal to accept payments as they find it's very easy to use and much easier than trying to set up your own payment program.

Timecard software
If you do not have salaried employees you will need to find a good timecard software program to track your employees hours. You can purchase a complete timecard system that clocks in your employees when they use a key fob or log into their computer. If this isn't an option for your business because it is expensive, consider using Timecard Manager 8 by Econsoft.com. This is a wonderful program for small business owners. You simply need to install the software on a central computer where each employee will clock in and clock out each day. Then it will help you calculate their pay, taxes, benefits, etc. It's a great solution for small business owners and much easier to use than the old paper and punch timecard programs.

Accounting software
Every small business needs accounting software to manage their cash flow and handle the needs of the small business. QuickBooks continues to lead the list of accounting software programs for small businesses as it handles all of your accounts receivables, accounts payables, inventory, marketing reports, and many other things. You can purchase the online version if you need access to your books besides just on the company computer system.

Reporting and processing software
QuickBooks can handle all of your reporting and processing and it will send you reminders when your inventory status is getting low or when your invoices need to be mailed out. It is valuable to have a good reporting method for your business so you can predict future sales and growth for your small business.

Customer support software
Do you have software that you sell to your clients or do you offer some type of service to them that may need support from your business? Customer support software is one of the best programs to have as it allows you to have real-time chats with your customers to make sure they are getting the help they need. Kayako.com offers a great help desk customer support software solution for every small business type.