You’d be hard pressed to find a business these days that wasn’t dependent on technology in one way or another. From basic word processing functions, email and Internet access, through to business accounting packages like MYOB and QuickBooks, we’re all out there pointing, double-clicking and tapping away.
But as your business expands and you outgrow the off-the-shelf packages that you can buy at your local retailer, how do you work out what is the most appropriate software for your business?
I can’t buy off the shelf anymore – what can I do?
Regardless of the size of your business, a structured evaluation process is critical before making your decision. Many large organisations come to rue the day they selected their new software, as have many small to medium enterprises.
We suggest that your evaluation includes the following steps:
- Articulate why you are making the investment. What are your objectives? (If you don’t know where you’re going, any path will get you there!)
- Understand what your functional requirements are and get hands-on experience on how the software deals with those requirements.
- Clarify the vendor’s support and services offering. If you can only get your questions answered by calling the US – at your cost – during their business hours, you won’t be making many calls and could end up with a white elephant.
- Research where else you can get expert assistance. An overseas vendor may provide the software, but there may be a thriving local services industry.
- Understand what the situation is in respect to ongoing product development, and your situation with respect to upgrades. You may have to pay on a monthly basis or an annual maintenance fee to get access to upgrades (don”t overlook this in your budgeting). If Australian taxation rules change, you don”t want to be out on a limb with your software.
Plan for success and manage the implementation.
Once you have made your decision, the implementation needs to be carefully managed. The following are critical contributors to the success of the implementation project:
- Don’t go it alone, make use of the expertise of the software vendor or specialist consulting firms who have practical experience in the software.
- Go vanilla! In software parlance, this means don”t make programming changes to the system. Most packages provide a wide variety of options (set by parameters – like with Microsoft Word under the Tools Options) with which you can configure the software to meet your requirements. If you don”t go vanilla you risk not being able to upgrade, having a complex implementation and serious cost overrun.
- Make sure that the people who will use the new system are involved in the implementation so that their input is included and to minimise resistance.
- Use project management techniques to monitor the implementation, understand what activities are required, what deadlines exist (e.g. production of a Business Activity Statement, alignment to financial year end) and who is doing what.
- Look beyond just implementing a piece of software. Are there any other things that need to change to make use of the system? You’ll definitely need training for your staff, but will you need to change your business procedures? Will you need to inform your customers about anything or will the change be transparent to them? Many organisations overlook the impact the software has on the day-to-day running of their business.
Your business system has the potential to increase your efficiency and business effectiveness, but it can also cause you untold headaches! Making the right decision and ensuring a successful implementation is critical.
