Many businessess whether small start-ups or large corporations have found themselves encumbered by antiquated or non-compatible accounting software. Usually this is due to the lack of forethought and focus on several key areas.
- What do you want the software to do for you? This is a critical question that must be answered because the absence of understanding is costly. Part of the mystification is that most businesses think soely on their present accounting/management needs. In actuality, there must be a thought process guided by a firm grasp of the past as well as a reachable future objectives. What do you want the specific task related functions of the software to be? Do you want the software to manage hard assets of the business, payroll, report on inventory data, or look at various payment transactions and associated costs? Also, in terms of the past it is knowing how you then processed and the logic behind that approach. For example, my father was an accountant for a good portion of my early childhood. I recall, his office located in a snug, aging cluster of businesses in the downtown area. He seemed to have a strong influx of minority based businesses and offered a variety of services.
Obviously since this was the early 80’s the technology was much different then than it is now. I did recall him using a computer and associated accounting based software, but his filing process seemed to be very basic. My brother and I had the joyous privilege of trying to locate and store files and categorize them according to business type and year. So then, if he were now trying to upgrade his system for the 21st century he would have to first take his “old system” into consideration. Understanding why he filed the way he did and what information his customers expected for him to produce would be important. He may need to have an accounting software that was customizable, allowing him to scan old documents and import data for either merger or retrieval purposes. In terms of the future, he would need to have an accounting software that was flexible enough to adjust to the market as his overall business model would also need to be.
- How stable is the vendor that you are considering? Clearly organizations like the BBB (Better Buisness Burea) and Dun and Bradstreet can provide any reported misconduct, or financial insolvency of a company. In addition “trade references” or refferals that can be contacted are also a great way to ensure stability. Does the company have a website and a local representative? That representative may have a large territory but if they are accessible, convey their value additive service concisely, and have a working knowledge of the industry those are all factors of influence.
- Is the software User Friendly? I remember a sales position that I had not long ago where the use of a calculator was a neccessity. Mine was the basic $12-15.00 generic SI-6678 brand with no bells and whistles. In contrast another student had a Texas Instrument Calculator(TI-68) with probably 50 keys. As matter of fact his was so difficult to understand that I tried to use it and ended up needing assistance simply to turn it off. Just for the record you actually have to push several buttons in sequence in order to turn it off! My sales buddy then had a calculator more properly suited to handle calculus and other complex math equations. My calculator was a basic one with numbers and the (+ - x and division signs) which would serve well in the sales arena. I mean nobody wants to be sold by someone who appears to be too glossy and complicated. That’s usually when you get the objection, “Sounds good Sam but let me think about it and get back to you.” What they are really saying is “This stuff is too confusing and I don’t want to let on that I am doing the backstroke in the nile here with no hope of coming to shore.”
The same principle applies to accounting software. If it is not User Friendly then there are going to be unproductive segments of manhour/manpower used trying to interpret the data and corresponding reports. Even if your accountant or bookkeeper is familiar with the accounting software then you still have individuals such as an office manager, or department heads that may need to also understand the accounting software. The whole point usually of having accounting software at your local office is so that you are only having to take maybe quarterly or semi-annual reports to him/her to review for you. So you also need persons within the office who may only have limited accounting backgrounds to be able to interpret the data so they can properly lead and delegate in their assigned areas.
- What is your budget? This is important because businesses can overspend thinking they are being forward thinking when in fact they are not. A key component of success in business is one’s ability to manage resources. If you overspend and cannot justifty the ROI (Return on Investment) then what is the whole point? What is the point having a $15,000 dollar accounting software and system and the business go under because production was not able to offset that cost. That is a self defeating process and no business wants to go through that needlessly. In addition, it is equally important to understand that while you may have someone who has been with the company for many years and understands the program, they may retire or leave. Then you have to spend ramp up time trying to re-explain the system and also clue them in on the previous employee’s process of financial management.
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