How to choose the best software for your small business

Choosing small business software is an important decision for any small business owner.Your software can either make your operations easier, streamline your organization, and place all of your information at your fingertips, or it can make your information inaccessible, slow down operations, waste time and money, and lead to confusion.

There are a number of different software products available for any small business owner, no matter what kind of business you are running.You need to make sure that the software that you choose has all of the features that you need, and that you aren't paying for too many features that you will never end up using because they don't apply to your type of operation.

So sit down and make a list of everything that you want a small business software to be able to do for you.Do you have a number of employees?Then you will want something that allows you to manage the payroll and, if you have hourly employees, can manage their time cards.If you have an online business, then you will want to consider getting a software that has features designed to work with an online store.If you ship things out to people, then you need features that can organize and control your shipping center and will help you fill orders.

After you have made a list of all of your different software needs, then it is time to look at your budget.How much money do you have to spend on your small business software?

After you have decided upon a price range for your small business software, it's time to look at your operating systems.Are you running your business operations on Macs or do you use PCs?

What is your office network like?If you want everyone in your small business to have access to your small business software, not only will you need to choose a software that offers networking features, but you will have to choose a small business software that is compatible with your network.If you choose small business software that nobody can use because it simply isn't compatible with everything else in your small business, then you've just wasted an enormous amount of money.

When you are considering a particular small business software program, you also need to look carefully at what customer support and services are offered by the small business software vendor.Is there online customer support?What about phone customer support?If you have problems, will there be someone available to help you?Will you need help with installation and customization?Are the customer support personnel friendly and helpful?

The majority of small business software options come with the ability to customize your features.However, there are a number of core features that all small business software choices that you investigate should have.These core features include the following different options:

• inventory management


• sales force automation


• purchasing and vendor management


• contact management


• productivity tools


• financial management


• time and billing


• payroll and employee management


• a web store that is fully integrated


• order management and fulfillment


• customer and vendor center


• shipping module


• budget planning and organization

When you sit down to look at your different small business software options, you should think carefully about whether or not you will be using all of the features that are offered by different programs.You should honestly evaluate your own expertise with software and computers, and choose a program that is right for your level of comfort.Also, don't choose a program that is intended for larger businesses if you just need basic accounting and contact management.Too many options can be as big a problem as too few.