If you are getting a small business up and running, you might be looking for how to manage your invoices, your workflow, your data security and other elements of your new venture. This can feel overwhelming on top of everything else. You may be an expert in the area that your business focuses on, but you might know a lot less about technology solutions for entrepreneurs and small business. The tips below can help you evaluate and choose the best solutions even when this is unfamiliar territory.
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Cost
You will always need to be mindful of your business budget, but this is even more true when you are just getting your company off the ground. You may want to look at places in your personal budget to save money so that you can better afford the things that you need for your business. For example, you could consolidate your student loans into a new loan. To preview your potential savings from consolidation with a private lender, try using a student loan consolidation calculator. You might also be able to save money by tightening your personal budget in other ways. Once you know your budget, you can look for the software that you need at the price that’s right for you.
Usability and Security
What do you need your software to do? Most business owners want something that is easy to use straight out of the box. Too often, software is designed by people who love technology and lose sight of the user who simply wants to get the job done. Be sure to read up on customer reviews to get a sense of how intuitive various products are. If you are looking at a product that will be used by your customers, this usability is even more important. You may also want to consider accessibility as part of the overall user experience. Will you and others be able to access it from anywhere? What about mobile solutions? Finally, make sure that the software meets your security needs. Protecting customer data is critical, and you will want to make certain that all of your systems are safe.
Room to Grow
Scalability is another important feature. You need software solutions that can grow and change with your business along with fast-changing technology. Ideally, updates can be added without friction. This is often the case with cloud-based solutions although they might not be right for you in other ways. The key is that you don’t want to have to spend a lot of time and money upgrading as your needs change.
Customer Service
Like insurance, customer service is one of those things you may never need, but if you do, you want it to be good. When it comes to your business, you can’t afford to go through long periods of downtime. You should see how the software company itself talks about its customer service, but be sure to do some research and find out what other clients are saying as well about how helpful they found the company to be when troubleshooting was necessary.
