October 2022 - Striven

Month: October 2022

Small Business Software: Is An ERP Software The Right Fit For Your Business?

Posted on by Matt Bernot

Does your growing business need business management software? What makes a good ERP software for small and medium sized businesses? What are the benefits of an ERP software for your small business? These are the questions that need to be answered in order to help you make the best decision for your small business. 

It’s understandable to question the necessity of an ERP for your small business. Many business owners are still stuck on the fact that ERP systems used to only be feasible and practical for Fortune 500 sized companies. However, this is no longer the case. But before making any big decisions, it’s important to consider the following: How much can a business management software benefit your small business?

How To Make The Smart Choice

There are many areas of ERP software that your small business will find useful. Whether it’s in the form of customer portals, accounting, ease of implementation, or sales, the outcome of your success with small business ERP software will vary depending on how well you choose the right ERP software and how well it is implemented into your business.

Thanks to the increasing popularity and demand for business management software, there are many more options for small business software than most people initially realize. In recent years, there has been significant growth in ERP software to fit the needs and sizes of any business, which is why an ERP software might just be the best solution for your small business as opposed to piecing together many different software solutions for different features.

However, it’s not just just about the quantity of services provided by a small business software but rather, whether it fits your business needs and/or is moldable enough to fit those needs.

Costs and Considerations

Every business is unique, so the cost of a small business software matters in terms of what features a business can afford to pay for. However, among the best small business ERP options, accounting, centralized document management, customer/vendor management portals, mobile compatibility, CRM and sales, and inventory management are some of the things to look for in how an ERP software can fit with your business needs and with the best small business ERPs, can be included with one, low monthly cost.

The Benefits of Small Business Software

A Single, Streamlined System

The best thing about small business software is that it’s a  single streamlined system. This is useful for a variety of reasons: better organization, faster updates and access to information, saving time and money, better data security, and better communication. It erases the needs for too much manual work that can divert your focus when you should be focusing on important factors that grow your business.

Flexibility Of Use

The great thing about a small business software is that it provides flexible solutions to issues such as needing information outside of the office, accessing information on a multitude of technological devices, erasing the need for messy papers that can easily get lost beneath the rising piles. Additionally, it is easier to share information through a system where everyone has permissioned access.. No matter what products or services your business provides, there is no doubt that all businesses benefit from using a cloud-based business management system.

Better Customer Service

It’s not an exaggeration to say that good customer service might be the only thing that a lot of customers look for when deciding between one business or another. With the best business management software, the ease of access to customer information, including purchases, questions, requests, etc, are all easy to access with a centralized database. According to The Harvard Business Review, “…customers who had the best past experiences spend 140% more compared to those who had the poorest past experience.” Once again, customer service is often the distinguishing feature from one business to another.

Ensure A Smooth Transition With Your Small Business Software

In order for your employees to use the new small business software properly, sufficient training must be provided. This way, you and your employees are using the full benefits that come with ERP software. Being aware of your team and providing them resources to train through the new changes will build teamwork, confidence, and allow for full and better uses of the resources provided by a small business software.

The Takeaway

While it takes careful planning and consideration to jump into purchasing and implementing a small business software, being aware of the diverse and various ERP software systems to choose from can ease those worries. Keep in mind, choosing the right software to fit the needs and budget of your business and being aware of the costs to maintain success in the long-term is key. 

Small Business Management Software: 2022 And Beyond

Posted on by Matt Bernot

Everywhere you look, new small businesses are springing up. In this extremely competitive environment, incredibly talented entrepreneurs who are offering everything from phone repair to dog walking to proofreading to artificial nails are attempting to get the ‘business’ side of their business off the ground. No matter how big or small your company is, you should now realize how critical good management is to small businesses of any variety. This is not a simple task, as there are numerous aspects of running a business, each of which—if neglected even slightly—can have disastrous consequences.

Small business owners that are looking beyond 2022 will find a wealth of options for management software that make big promises. In this article, you’ll learn about the most important features of any small business management software of the future.

Scheduling

For small businesses with rotating shifts and flexible service hours, this is a must-have feature. Hiring a receptionist is an option for most businesses, but if the software you use is optimized for data input and organization, you’ll save time and avoid mistakes by allowing everyone to have access to all pertinent schedules. Perhaps it would be better to invest in small business management software to perform this task than to risk the typical errors that go along with manual data entry. This leads us to the next element:

Payroll

The scheduling and payroll functions of small business management software must be trustworthy and precise. What if your company was overpaying its employees by hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, or worse, was facing a lawsuit for underpaying its employees? Thus many successful companies create paystubs and documentation and to have better records and less stressful paperwork. Paycheck disbursement is another important function of your small business management software. Paper checks are becoming obsolete. The most popular ways of distributing funds are direct deposit and money transfer services like PayPal, Zelle, and Venmo. The future of small business management software is already here, and it knows how to ensure all your company’s Ts are crossed, and I’s are dotted.

Accounting

Your small business management software should also allow you to keep tabs on your company’s financial flow. Client payments are essential to the survival of your business. Checking the books at the end of each day will provide you peace of mind that your business isn’t slipping behind or, conversely, allow you to celebrate its success. By having accounting features directly embedded into a business management system, it’s possible to maintain a system of checks and balances so that executives, managers, and other relevant parties can keep tabs on profits and cash flow.

Transactions

Payment processing is an integral part of running a business and should not be confused with accounting. Your consumers will certainly pay using credit or debit cards due to their convenience, but they may also pay with cash. The future of small business management software will lie in its ability to seamlessly handle payments, allowing you to keep the sales flowing without interrupting business operations. Being able to keep track of all of the invoices and payments received, no matter the method, is crucial.

Increased clarity over bank reconciliation, inventory management, and expense tracking is another key component of small business management software. Being able to know when items are in and out of stock so that stock levels can be properly maintained will go a long way to helping a small business shore up its financial transparency. 

Communication

Your next choice in small business management software should also include an easy-to-use method of conveying information to your employees. A number of services provide encrypted message boards where you and your coworkers can freely exchange sensitive information that can be tracked and monitored. Whether it’s internal messaging about a project or ask, or a customer asking a question about their product or service, it’s important to have a reliable method of communication baked into the software that your business uses to run its day-to-day operations.  

The Takeaway

To sum everything up, when looking for small business management software, you should verify that it has these bare-bones capabilities. Finding software that performs multiple, or perhaps all, of these tasks will make life much easier for your company.

Small Business Accounting Software Should Account For More Than Just Accounting

Posted on by Matt Bernot

It’s hard to understate the benefits of accounting software, especially for a small business. After all, accounting is a crucial aspect to all businesses—all it takes is one misplaced decimal or mistake to throw off all of your finances. But there is more to small business accounting software than just preventing errors. For one, your financial data is more secure with small business accounting software. Compared to alternative data management, cloud based storage—like the kind that accounting softwares use—is far better at protecting your data from unauthorized personnel.

Small business accounting software also allows for better communication between your business and customers or vendors with the inclusion of customer portals. For a small business, this is great news. Forbes considers maintaining high levels of customer service to be one of the main factors in success. Customers and vendors can also view invoices, bills and make payments from their integrated portals.

At the end of the day, small business accounting software makes the whole process of accounting simpler. Small business accounting software can generate financial reports in seconds so that your business can prepare for tax season, easily view profitability metrics, and make quick decisions when necessary, all while saving time and cutting back on excess labor.

Additionally, small business accounting software makes the process of accounting less complicated due to its ability to centralize and sync data. Meaning, that information is always up to date across all departments in your growing business. This is also why small business accounting software doesn’t just benefit your accounting department, but the rest of your business as well.

Accounting and Human Resources

One of the best examples of how small business accounting software helps your company outside of the accounting department is with regards to human resources. For your employees to be fairly paid and happy in their respective roles, your human resource department needs to keep track of lots of moving parts. Between the salary each employee earns, how many hours worked, time-off taken, breaks, overtime, and even benefits, the human resources department has a lot of data to keep track of. This is data that the accounting department also needs access to in order to make sure that the books are properly aligned at the end of each month or quarter.. Given the ability to centralize data that small business accounting software provides, the human resources department and accounting department are afforded joint and easy access to the data that they both need. Businesses need to have a certified accountant to have successful data management and use several software providers. 

Accounting and Purchase Ordering

Centralized data in small business accounting software once again shows its utility when it comes to purchase orders and stock. The main duty of accounting is to manage your business’s expenses and at one point or another, your company will have to purchase supplies in order to keep running. When your data is in sync and communication is facilitated between your departments, it becomes easier to make sure that your expenses and receipts match. This kind of environment also lends itself to transparency between departments which in turn leads to smoother operations overall. 

On the side of purchase ordering, small business accounting software can also help with keeping track of stock. A central feature of accounting software is its ability to track accounts, and when combined with inventory management, means that your company has a better sense of how much inventory there is in addition to what items are most in need of restocking. Your management will always know how much it will cost to restock your inventory, whether your small business currently has the funds to do so, and how the budget can be rearranged in order to meet your inventory needs.

The Takeaway

Accounting software is certainly beneficial for your accounting department but its benefits and advantages are much more farther reaching. For your entire business, small business accounting software offers increased security, enhanced customer service, and most importantly, centralized data that can be accessed at any time by anyone in your company. Afterall, it doesn’t do you or your company well if the accounting department exists in its own silo. Small business accounting software contributes to all of the departments in your small business, human resources and the c-suite being just a few examples.

The Importance of Integrated Accounting Software for Mental Health Practices

Posted on by John Fay

If you own a growing private mental health practice, maybe you have considered investing in mental health management software. If you’ve done some research, then you know how beneficial mental health management software can be for your practice. But what you might not have read in your research is how important integrated accounting can be when making a choice between mental health software solutions. Beyond the usual benefits that accompany cloud based accounting, your private practice can especially benefit from mental health accounting software.

Why Cloud Based Accounting Is Better

Ultimately the best advantage that mental health accounting software provides is its efficiency and accuracy as compared to spreadsheets, pen and paper. Excess labor and miscalculations will be a thing of the past with mental health accounting software. In turn, this will lead to detailed financial reports that can be completed in seconds instead of hours. With mental health accounting software being cloud based, these reports and data can be updated and shared automatically, providing your growing practice with data transparency. It’s especially important to consider how conveniently data can be shared between departments. Mike Whitmire from Forbes states “Accounting works with each department on a regular basis,” so the ability to share data between departments through cloud accounting software can really save your staff time and avoid unnecessary problems.

But while there is transparency within your private practice, you don’t have to worry about security leaks. Mental health accounting software is more secure than any alternatives, as Norton points out when talking about cloud based storage, “The data that you save with cloud service providers may likely be safer than the information you’ve stored in your computer’s hard drive”. This security extends to the rest of your mental health software so that you make sure that your private practice is always HIPAA compliant.

Mental health accounting software isn’t just for tracking and calculating expenses.. Mental health billing software also manages payroll information, from salary earned, to hours worked to time-off taken, and much more. All of it is made simpler for the human resources department. This feature is especially important for your private practice, where doctors might have to spend odd hours helping patients and not sitting down to take care of logistical documentation.

These are just some of the main benefits that private practices can gain from mental health accounting software. Maybe you’re wondering why you should look for integrated accounting instead of buying a separate software program to manage that facet of your business. Well, there are two big reasons why an integrated accounting feature will be better for your private practice.

How Integrated Accounting Makes a Difference

A big advantage to integrated accounting software is the ability to sync data. You won’t  have to worry about whether the data will transfer or share between two programs because there won’t be two separate software programs, just one, unified software system. Synced data allows for quicker financial decision making and can offer benefits, too. For instance, your private practice can send invoices electronically and because you have your accounting software integrated with your practice management software The process is almost effortless compared to using multiple, disconnected software systems that don’t easily share data between them. Mental health accounting software also facilitates the logistics of insurance claims. Because data is centralized in one system, your staff no longer has to hunt down information in order to properly file claims—it’s already synced together.

However the simplest reason why an integrated accounting option is better is because it’s more cost effective. Why pay for two separate programs when you can pay for one instead? Additionally, there’s the benefit that the staff working in your private practice will only have to learn one software program instead of two, decreasing the cost of labor and time getting up to speed.

Patient Focused

While all of this certainly makes work more efficient for your staff, integrated mental health accounting software helps your patients as well. As previously mentioned, patients can receive their invoices electronically, meaning they can receive their invoices quicker and more securely, but there are other benefits for patients as well. Patients can pay electronically too, ultimately increasing a patient’s payment options to suit their needs. They can view their past bills, see their transaction status, and ultimately have a clearer and easier picture of what their financial obligations are in relation to their healthcare..  

Perhaps most importantly is the customer portals that accompany mental health services software. Patients and staff can have communication that is convenient for both sides. If they have a question about their most recent bill, patients don’t have to spend half an hour on hold while trying to contact someone, and staff can immediately help patients with the most up to date data that’s all in one place.

The more efficiently a software handles the processes of a private practice, the more time can be spent taking care of patients and focusing on their treatment.

The Takeaway

Choosing a mental health services software is an important step to take for your growing private practice so, when you compare your options make sure to look for a software that includes mental health accounting software. Not only will it improve the efficiency of your accounting team and reduce miscalculations, it will benefit your whole practice. With secured, synced data, every process will be more effective and help both the staff and your patients.

Business Management Software For Electricians: Improving Service Metrics in 2022

Posted on by Matt Bernot

When it comes to customer service for electricians, there are many aspects to keep in mind in order to grow a connection between your business and your customers. A business management software for electricians is the perfect way to keep your business running in an easy-to-navigate system that ensures KPI improvements and keeps customer satisfaction ratings high.

So how does an electrician project management software change and continue to nurture the customer experience? Due to the nature of the work being done where the majority of the time is outside of the office, messages from customers need to be easily accessible and cloud-based Electrician scheduling software is ideal for managing many areas of business, including keeping track of messages and ensuring fast response times.

Why Service Metrics Matter

Nowadays, customer connections are extremely important to maintain because of the amount of capable companies just like yours. To be chosen out of the competition, customer care must be prioritized to keep ratings up. The first thing most people will do is go to Google to search the ratings and reviews left by previous customers.

When you’re sending your electricians to an on-site job, things can easily go awry if customers are not prioritized. Imagine this situation: the customer can’t get a hold of your employees for some scheduling issues, they are frustrated due to the lost time they had to wait and figure out the time of arrival, they meet the electrician but despite the top-notch work done, their experience is clouded by their disappointments in low response times. That disappointment can easily become a complaint or low star rating that dissuades future customers from choosing your business.

How to Improve Customer Service Metrics With Electrician Estimating Software

It should be noted that communication between customers and a business is not just done through verbal or textual communication, but through visual communication via colors and overall brand style choices. Every interaction a customer has with your business is a form of communication—it either improves or worsens your chances of being their electrician company of choice. According to SuperOffice, “80% of buyers will pay more for a better customer experience.” To show why your business is the right choice, start by choosing an electrician management software.

1. Providing Control To Customers

With an electrician estimating software, the customer portal alone can improve communication by allowing customers to view tasks in real time along with paying bills and viewing the status of current jobs. This allows them to feel in control.  As a result, it creates an overall better experience that will be reflected in your ratings. Additionally, ease of communication with your off-site electricians from the office can be a big improvement to create awareness of the tasks at hand, if any unexpected problems arise, or if they need additional equipment. 

2. Improving Average Reply Time

As noted before, replying fast is a surefire way to make customers feel like they are prioritized and as an added benefit, makes for better KPIs. A way to ensure faster responses when you have limited time to sit down and answer customer questions is by sending a quick response that you have seen their message and will reply shortly. Customers thrive on updates even if it’s just a note that their electrician will be responding later. Sure they might ignore the message once they’ve seen it, but the important thing is that they get the message and they do see it.

3. Allowing Customers Transparent View Of Job Status

By using an electrician project management software, it allows customers to see the much more detailed reports of the dispatches and arrivals. It creates a seamless stream of information that is available to view by customers and everyone involved in the process, perhaps another type of contractor who may be working in tandem with the electricians. Any doubts or worries they have will be alleviated when they are aware of the goings on of a current job. It is similar to online shopping when customers want to track their package. They check for updates, when their package will ship, and where the package is on the map. It doesn’t make the package arrive any sooner, but it does improve their mood regarding the transparency of the services being provided.

Choosing the Right Field Service Management Software

There are many options when it comes to choosing an electrician estimating software, however, be aware of hidden fees and upgraded features that are designed to keep you spending additional money not presented in the initial features. The best electrician software should include service metrics, scheduling and dispatching, work order management, customer portals and much more that is designed to help your business grow by keeping it in one management system. 

Most importantly, the right business management software will give you all of the features you need at one upfront and affordable cost, eliminating the worry of having to keep paying for additional features and add-ons. The last thing your business needs is to be hindered by having to wait and pay more for additional features that you need today.

The Takeaway

When it comes to businesses heavy on field work and out of office duties, the best tool is a cloud-based business management software that organizes your business needs and allows work to be done seamlessly outside of the office. While that alone is enough to heavily grow profit margins, customer service tools including customer portals and service reports upgrade the customer experience and in turn, differentiates your business from its competition.