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ERP Vs. All-In-One: Is There A Difference?

Posted on May 5, 2021May 9, 2023 by Brian Kinney

More often than not, the terms all-in-one business management software and ERP (enterprise resource planning) software are used interchangeably. On the surface, they’re very similar. Both are used to help businesses:

Increase workplace efficiency
Grow profit margins
Facilitate employee connectivity and collaboration
Enhance organizational transparency

However, all-in-one and ERP software are not the same thing—and the difference really matters.

Odds are, your business has considered adopting an ERP or an all-in-one business management software. From manufacturers to field service technicians to contractors, both types of software solutions allow businesses to accomplish more.

Industries change, but the questions that you and other business owners have about software solutions stay mostly the same.

“Will I be able to virtually connect with my employees, subcontractors, customers, and vendors?”

“Will I have a system of record with access to all of the data I need?“

“Will I be able to customize and automate workflows and other processes?”

“Will I have a clear and all-encompassing picture of my finances?”

questions about all in one business management software

Let’s explore the ways that both ERPs and all-in-one software can help you answer these questions, and where the differences can really impact your business.

All-In-One Business Management vs. ERP Software

Looking at the big picture of any business, the goals are almost always the same—increasing profit via increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

Choosing the right software solution will require a more granular approach to addressing what your goals are.

Is your business focusing on pushing a singular, uber-successful product or an abundance of moderately profitable items? Do you work with a large number of small vendors or a small number of large vendors? Does your business have multiple locations—or more importantly, is your business planning to expand?

You may not have all of these answers yet, and that’s ok. Choosing the right software solution isn’t about knowing everything, it’s about knowing what you don’t know and charting a course to seek out these answers accordingly.

Business Size

One of the most common misconceptions about ERPs is that they are only practical—or affordable—for large enterprises. While it’s true that ERPs were first developed for large-scale organizations, the operability, usability, and affordability of these systems have since trickled down into the small business world.

There exist ERPs that are best suited for large, multi-continental enterprises. You may not need a software service that can power 500 factories or handle 10,000 employees. What you do need, however, is the power and consistency that this type of software offers.

David vs Goliath business competition. Great difficulties for small business against big corporations

This is where all-in-one business management software comes into play.

ERPs host and transmit all of a business’s data, but they often require additional modular integrations to reach their full potential. For a massive, Fortune 500 enterprise, adding additional software systems on top of an ERP isn’t necessarily a deal breaker.

For an SME, however, budgets are a bit tighter. It’s important to seek out a solution that provides the same level of quality data management as an ERP while taking the entirety of your business into consideration, not just a portion of it. After all, there’s more to your business than just silos of data.

All-in-one software solutions are tailored to both the fiscal and human needs of SMEs.

Customization Capabilities

Similar to most aspects of life, “fit” is one of the most important variables to consider—the software solution that is best suited for your business needs may not be the best solution for another business.

For example, let’s say your company is a mid-sized perishable foods packager and distributor. Some of your needs are no different than most other companies—you need to make smart hires, handle complex process scheduling, and reliably track financial records.

But when it comes to finding the right ERP or all-in-one solution, the most important variables are the ones that set your business apart.

When it comes to inventory management and transportation, you’ll need to allocate additional resources to account for the shelf life of your products. Are you able to easily create, scan, and implement barcode labels? When food packaging goes wrong, what additional health and safety protocols need to be enacted that wouldn’t be relevant to a traditional discrete manufacturer?

ERPs are often constrained to a particular niche. While a single ERP may be able to handle supply chain management or project management-related tasks, what happens when those functionalities need to be integrated with the other facets of your business? Is ERP software built for this kind of interconnectivity or will you be forced into adapting additional, time-consuming, and often expensive integrations?

All-in-one business management solutions, on the other hand, are more tractable. Offering the same transparency and data management capabilities as a larger ERP, they are equipped for customization that isn’t limited to a single business silo—they are backed by a team of professionals who see to it that their product fits all of your business’s specific needs, not just a select one or few.

Implementation

Getting your new software off the ground is always a multifaceted process. A big chunk that leads to successful implementation is simply choosing the right software solution, but an equally large portion falls in the hands of the rest of the people involved. Namely, three distinct parties are in play—your management team, your employees, and your software’s implementation team.

Migrating to any new system takes time. Moving the entirety of your business’s data can come with varying degrees of hiccups and speed bumps. Whether you choose an ERP or an all-in-one, the support team behind your new software will play a critical role in its successful adoption.

While implementing an ERP will often cover most of your traditional business processes, it’s possible that you’d need to integrate additional software modules. Common integrations would include online banking portals, e-commerce platforms, or something within Google Workspace.

In terms of the logistics and ramifications of integration, what is the main differentiating factor between all-in-one business management software and ERP software? All-in-one business management software solutions take the entirety of your company into consideration, not just the industry specialty that the ERP focuses on.

Because of this, all-in-one solutions are much easier to get off the ground. The need for secondary integration is minimal. For example, the need to externally integrate accounting software or document storage protocols will not be necessary—those features are routinely included in the best all-in-one business management software.

Day-To-Day Usage

Who will be using your software solution on a day-to-day basis? Will it be exclusively used by your C-Suite? Will your accountant be involved? Or is this software that everyone in your company can benefit from?

No matter your answers to these questions, it’s important to find a software provider that will be able to onboard all relevant employees to complete the tasks they need for their roles.

All-in-one business management systems are ideal for handling the human processes of your business—tracking productivity, handling HR-related issues, and managing customer relationships. Visibility and transparency are key. Most, if not all of your employees, will need access to these types of functions. But don’t worry, you can set permissions for various roles.

As far as ERPs are concerned, they’ll be able to handle most of the same processes. While all-in-one business management software is excellent at managing and automating human processes, ERPs handle large amounts of data. Think inventory management, data entry, and financial reporting.

Both ERPs and all-in-one solutions provide immense value for your business. Which begs the question: which type of software has more overall value? While an ERP might present value to a few specialized employees with crucial roles within your business (i.e., a plant manager or company executive) an all-in-one solution benefits every employee, regardless of job description.

Often, the best and most actionable data your business has to offer comes from the employees on the front lines. All employees work better with better tools at their disposal—not only will upgraded technology allow them to be more productive, but they’ll also feel more included in company operations and workplace culture. After all, your business functions best with happy people.

Finding The Best Software For Your Business

What does your business need to succeed? The answer is different for every ongoing concern. Maybe your claim-to-fame as a business is your product or service, but you need a better way to find new talent. Or, perhaps, you have all the talent in the world, but you need a better way to stay organized.

The true answer to “What is the difference between all-in-one business management and ERP software” isn’t just about the technology behind the software—it’s about what your business and your employees can do with it.

With an ERP, the solutions it offers are clear—a “manufacturing ERP” will tackle inventory needs, supply chain management, and handling custom building requirements. A “construction ERP” will handle meeting OSHA requirements, gathering project materials, and facilitating subcontractor management.

Those are great, necessary features that are a key component of success. But with an all-in-one business management solution, you’ll be able to utilize those features while connecting to the other various pillars that your business runs upon—accounting, HR, project management, remote work, and so much more.

In essence, think of an all-in-one business management solution as an “ERP+”.

Focus less on the final outcome, and start focusing more on the systems and solutions that will enable you to get there. Because the truth is that both all-in-one and ERP solutions can help your business reach its full potential, it’s a matter of how well they are connected and how well you utilize them.

10 Signs That It’s Time For An All-In-One Business Software

Posted on April 14, 2021January 22, 2024 by Brian Kinney

Is your business prepared to grow by 50x in the near future?

The answer is yes—if you’re prepared. A profitable business model and hardworking employees are baseline requirements, but it takes more than that to push your business over the top—it takes an all-in-one business management software platform.

In the spirit of preparation, take a minute to assess what a 50x growth would logistically entail:

Hiring new employees (and onboarding them)
Purchasing new materials and equipment (and cataloging them)
Expanded remote capabilities and office space
Keeping track of 50x more documents
Expanding your CRM capabilities
Increasing your accounting workload

all in one business management software growth

The list above is surely incomplete in terms of the new costs, challenges, and variables that come into play as a business grows.

Many of these challenges can be addressed by utilizing all-in-one business management software. It’s understandable that your first thought may be “I don’t need that, at least not yet.”

The key word? “Yet”. Though business management software can help businesses of all sizes, it’s absolutely imperative to organizations that are poised to expand their business. So, don’t be behind the 8-ball—here are 10 signs that it’s time for your business to enlist an all-in-one business management software solution.

1. When Growth Is Imminent

Growth is exciting. It can also be nerve-racking, stressful, and full of growing pains.

upward growth trend of Bitcoin superimposed over a gold bitcoin token

In a hopelessly-romantic, Hollywood-esque way, it can be easy to believe that growth will hit in one tsunami-like surge—a big “aha” moment, a mega-deal with a corporate giant, or an upward profit chart akin to the likes of Bitcoin.

Not featured on the big screen, however, is the groundwork that is laid slowly behind the scenes—years and years of trial and error, finding the right employees, and testing the waters of various markets.

Albeit slowly at first, growth can actually materialize in an instant—that marketing campaign you launched went viral thanks to some verified retweeters and suddenly, you’re fielding calls from what will end up being the largest accounts your business has ever managed.

The point here: growth is built slowly, but can unfold all at once. Don’t be unprepared for that moment. You’re confident in your business—be just as confident in your ability to produce results.

As the old adage goes, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Look at business management software in the same light—invest in an ERP for the company you want to grow into, not for the company you are at this very moment.

2. When Customer Relationships Need More Attention

Customers are the backbone of your business. Attaining a loyal customer base is hard work—it’s easy to become wrapped up in the exuberance of an influx of new customers.

Before your customers are customers, they’re leads. Is your sales staff equipped to not only handle managing additional customer relationships, but the additional amount of fresh leads coming in?

Help your employees assess the profitability and priority of each opportunity with an automated sales funnel. With an influx of new leads and customers, you may think hiring additional sales staff is the answer. While that may be a step you want to take at some point, it’s important to focus first on maximizing the efficiency of your existing employees.

Some of the biggest benefits all-in-one business management software brings to growing businesses lie in its CRM processes.

customers enjoying all in one business management software

Automating marketing campaigns, visual dashboards to track the entirety of your sales pipeline, instantaneous synchronicity with the rest of your finances, and customer feedback portals are some of the tools that can help you attract and retain a loyal customer base.

3. When You Find Yourself Making “Educated Guesses”

Going with your gut is a natural instinct. In the early days of your business, it was probably even profitable. Heck, you’ve probably made a gut decision today. But as your business grows, decisions will require more than just a hunch.

Data-driven decision-making (DDDM) will enhance your productivity and profitability across the board. Every business contains nuanced differences in its approach—analyzing the data that is relevant to your business is what counts.

ERP systems with customizable dashboards and report-generating functionality bring you the information you need to make an informed decision at a glance. Your business is unique—the business management software you choose needs to mold to your needs, not the other way around.

4. When Tedious Tasks Eat Up Your Day

Some days, work might not even feel like work. On other days, an hour might feel like a lifetime. The reality is that not every part of your job is thrilling—those mundane tasks you dread are often some of the most important (crunching numbers, taking inventory, etc.)

While these are important tasks, it’s just as important to not let yourself spend a disproportionate amount of time focusing on them.

Automation is the key to working smarter—automate the tasks that eat up your time, and use that time to focus on the bigger-picture goals that will help bring your business to the next level.

All-in-one business management software will help you do just that. From accounting to inventory to sales, many parts of the process don’t require immediate and constant attention.

Aside from automation, delegation is important, as well—monitoring the status of all assigned tasks without filling your inbox with unnecessary back-and-forth “confirmation clutter.”

5. When You’re Spending Too Much On IT Systems

Repair costs are a necessary evil. Laptops bear the brunt of coffee spillage, and interns overestimate how many monitors they can carry at once. It happens.

colored networking cables plugged into back of equipment

But what about the cost of non-accident-related expenditures? Software updates, new servers, and backups for those can chew up a budget very quickly.

With cloud computing, you’ll be able to exert more control over your finances. A cloud-based ERP removes the need for excessive hardware spending, costly software upgrades, and backup costs. All of these needs are handled off-site—and at a flat, fixed, predictable rate—so that you can focus on your business, not the tech behind it.

6. When You Need To Double Down On Regulatory Compliance

Regardless of the industry you operate in, you most likely have someone in your organization tasked with monitoring compliance. Whether you’re a manufacturer, contractor, consultant, or educator, rules are rules—and it pays to follow them.

Most of the work of a compliance manager will come in the form of keeping track of documents and ensuring on-site traceability. Checking off boxes may seem mundane, but it’s arguably the most important part of the job.

Another example, construction managers are responsible for overseeing the safety of their crew and all associated subcontractors. Before the job begins, OSHA compliance needs to be taken care of. If these certifications and qualifications are not met, it could set a problematic ripple effect in motion—delays in compliance could cause a project to go over budget and disrupt your timeline for other jobs (including the schedules of your subcontractors). A bid could also be lost outright due to a lack of compliance, causing an unpleasant impact on your bottom line as well as negatively impacting the trust your employees and subcontractors have in you.

In short, it pays to stay on top of regulatory measures by keeping all pertinent documents in one centralized, easily accessible location.

7. When You Need To Back Up Your Data

These days, data security isn’t solely the responsibility of your tech-savvy staff—it’s everyone’s job. Having a data security infrastructure in place is key, and probably something you already do to some degree. But how much of your data is backed up? And more importantly, where and how?

all in one business management cloud erp

If you are not currently leveraging any ERP solutions, the odds are your data is not sufficiently backed up. Sure, you may have redundancy measures in place on your local system, but more can be done.

In 2021, global cybercrime damage costs around $190,000 per second. Cybercriminals are everywhere and are unrelenting in their efforts to undermine legitimate businesses. If your data is stored in a singular, localized location, you may think it’s safer. But in all reality, this is not the case. If this one data center is breached, your systems will cease to function.

By utilizing a cloud software system, your data is not only decentralized and duplicated across servers, it’s backed by world-class cybersecurity professionals. Sure, your computer’s firewall is great—but having that firewall and a cybersecurity infrastructure tailored to your business needs will prevent any malicious actors from disrupting your business.

8. When Working Remotely Isn’t Efficient

Remote work is here, and it probably isn’t going anywhere for quite some time. In many respects, that’s a good thing—workers are achieving higher productivity levels, both companies and employees are saving money, and every organization’s talent pool has gone global.

There are many prerequisites to achieving successful remote work habits. Deploying proper management strategies, project management techniques, and a new kind of HR department are some of the adjustments that need to be made. But the common theme here is what lies underneath the human-based element of successful remote adaptation: using better technology.

The right all-in-one business management software doesn’t just need to be able to crunch the numbers and track your inventory, it needs to enable your people to be more effective in their roles. Track the status of projects, customer leads, and even new hires all from one place.

If your employees are able to have a centralized location where they can both find all of their work-related data and chat with their co-workers, they’ll be able to be focused and efficient no matter where they’re working from.

9. When You’re Unsure Of Your Employees’ Day-To-Day Schedules

Managing is a tricky job. On one hand, you want to be actively involved in your employee’s work. Their success is often a reflection of yours. On the other, most managers are savvy enough to know that micromanagement is not typically a successful method.

If you’re unsure about what your employees are doing on a daily basis, that’s a problem. Now, you don’t want to go breathing down their necks and asking them what they’re up to every day—that wastes both your time and theirs. The answer lies in the middle.

While you and your employees almost certainly use some sort of calendar app, are these calendars synced? Do you have a uniform, master calendar to access?

Not only should you have access to a universal calendar, but you should also have access to all of the tasks and projects that your team is working on. Instead of sending a dreaded “Hello! Just circling back on the status of this project! Kind regards!” type email, look to your software system for the answers. This way, you and your employees can be less focused on updating each other through emails and chats and be more focused on producing high-quality work.

10. When You Can Tell Your Employees Are Stressed

Hearing employees complain is never easy, especially when it comes to things beyond your control. Sure, there are some things that you wish you could provide them, but not every request is feasible or grantable.

One request that is feasible? Upgrading your software systems.

Stressed office worker with too much demand on thier time

Duplicate data sets, missing files and links, incomplete financial records, chicken-scratch notes strewn across an office—all of these problems slow down employee productivity. Even if your employees don’t verbalize their complaints, read the room. Frustration bubbles to the surface in different ways for every individual, and some may be more prone to silence than outward voicing of complaints.

At fixed monthly payments with top-quality customer support included as part of the base package, an all-in-one ERP is a much better solution to employee complaints than to Frankenstein together with various software that may or may not communicate with each other.

The best part? Most top-quality software is free to use at first.

It’s Always The Right Time For All-In-One Business Management Software

No businesses are alike. Products, customers, strategies, and everything in between all vary to a large extent depending on your industry’s specific needs.

However, people are a lot alike—we are stronger when working as a unified, coordinated front, climbing towards a common goal. While it’s people that allow your business to be successful, it’s software that allows them to reach their full potential.

The world is becoming increasingly digital, synchronized, and competitive. Enlisting the right all-in-one business management software for your business will help you stay ahead of the curve.

Need An Alternative To QuickBooks?

Posted on March 31, 2021May 18, 2023 by Matt Bernot

Taking stock of everything that goes into your business’s accounting processes isn’t always as easy as popping numbers into a spreadsheet.

There are many great software products that will handle all of your basic accounting needs—QuickBooks is one of the most popular choices among small business owners due to its affordability, intuitive UX, and reliability.

However, one crucial aspect of accounting and accounting software tends to be routinely overlooked: it goes far beyond the numbers.

QuickBooks is great for crunching the numbers. For small- and medium-sized business owners, this is often priority #1. Once this need is met, what happens next? Will QuickBooks be able to offer your business the additional tools required to grow?

Just because QuickBooks and Quickbooks Online provide a viable solution for many small businesses doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best choice for yours.

If your business is even starting to feel as though it requires a more robust, personalized, and human approach to accounting software, it’s time to start asking some of the important questions that will lead you down a better, more productive path.

Why Do I Need A QuickBooks Alternative?

You may already know that your business is ready to make the switch to a more full-bodied accounting solution, or you may not. If you’ve already enrolled in Quickbooks or QuickBooks Online, the reasons for leaving may be less apparent at first.

Financial management goes well beyond accounting—understanding, analyzing, and improving upon your organization’s complete financial health requires connectivity to all silos of your business. This means your accounting software solution should integrate seamlessly with your CRM, inventory management, and project management solutions.

In an ideal scenario, housing all of these processes under one roof (an all-in-one software solution) will improve all aspects of your business. In fact, 64% of companies that make the switch to ERP software noted an increase in business performance.

Outgrowing QuickBooks isn’t simply about outgrowing accounting software—it’s about exploring new methods, approaches, and technologies that are vital in achieving and sustaining long term, year-over-year growth.

Any single-purpose software, no matter how proficient, can ultimately only be just that. For your entire organization to operate at its maximum efficiency and potential, it takes a software that seamlessly connects every corner of your business.

An all-in-one software solution provides more than just accurate numbers—it increases efficiency and accuracy across the board. Don’t spend time tracking down documents and transferring files between software applications. If all of your data transparently lives in one place, you’ll be able to find single, accurate, and universally accessible data sets with ease.

ERP software with natively integrated accounting is much more cost efficient than QuickBooks in terms of the total services offered. While QuickBooks provides excellent and cost-efficient accounting services, it doesn’t offer the complete suite of functionalities that ERP software can.

As your business scales up, you’ll need a full suite of features that can scale with it.

6 Reasons To Integrate Your Accounting and CRM Software

How To Know When You’re Outgrowing QuickBooks

It’s much easier to know what you’ll gain from something than it is to know exactly when to implement the plan. Is there ever a good time to “break up” with QuickBooks?

If you can answer “yes” to some or all of the following questions, it could be a sign that your business is beginning to outgrow QuickBooks:

Is it difficult, impossible, or too time consuming to import and export data between QuickBooks and other systems/software?
Do you find yourself manually re-entering data in multiple places?
Do you have more than 30 users that need access to financial information?
Do you feel like you and/or your staff could be doing more to reduce errors?
Are you relying too heavily on workarounds to manage information?
Is it difficult to manage the oft-changing budget requirements of tasks and projects?
Are you having trouble updating, keeping track of, and/or monitoring your inventory in real time?

But what happens when you’re ready to add additional inventory? When you need variable billing services? When some of your employees are working remotely?

Even if you find yourself answering “yes” to many of the questions above, it’s natural to be hesitant about making a software switch. Transferring the entirety of your data may seem like a logistical nightmare at first glance. Fortunately, that’s far from the reality.

The main reason that this type of data transfer isn’t as painful as originally perceived has nothing to do with software—it’s all about the support staff behind the software.

Beyond taking care of the back-end, development-centric hurdles, the software you move on to in your post-QuickBooks journey should have a stellar team of professionals that assist throughout the onboarding process.

Whether you want to proceed with a slow, management-first rollout, a hybrid (business or product specific) rollout, or an immediate “big bang” rollout, the choice should be yours—with intelligent recommendations from software professionals, of course.

In short, look for software that has a support team who really understands you and your business beyond the numbers.

What To Look For In A QuickBooks Alternative

We’ve covered the “why” and the “when”—naturally, it’s time to talk specifically about the features to look for in a QuickBooks Online alternative. Beyond accounting, it’s important to explore what other ERP alternatives have to offer. After all, your finances are just one piece of puzzle.

Universal Accessibility

These days, the ability to access financial data from anywhere is more important than ever. Whether you’re on a phone, tablet, or a personal computer, you need accurate information at a glance.

You’re not the only one who will benefit from this—the right ERP will allow you to provide instant access to anyone you specifically authorize. Cloud accounting software allows this data to be securely shared with your external accountant, CPA, legal counsel, or any other financial professional.

Integrated CRM

A common approach for many businesses is to purchase separate accounting and CRM software solutions. While it may seem prudent at first to differentiate between data from the sales and accounting departments, the opposite is true—these two data sets need to properly communicate at all times.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story—just because certain sales figures are positive doesn’t always measure company-wide profitability. Without taking into account the full financial picture of all of your business’s financial silos, recognizing profit is often unnecessarily tedious and time consuming.

Entering data in triplicate, hunting down scattered records, and generating incomplete reports make it difficult to assess a proper financial path going forward. Spending more on new equipment, renovations, and even employees becomes more challenging and time consuming when it’s unclear how much financial ammo you have to spare in the short term.

In short, software communication, connectivity, and transparency are the keys to unlocking the full power of your finances.

Project and Task Management

Projects and tasks are hardly set in stone. Goals shift, obstacles appear, and—most importantly for you—budgets need adjusting. If your accounting and project management software don’t communicate, it can be tough to determine the profitability of each individual project.

According to one Harvard Business Review study, 1 in 6 projects had a cost overrun of 200%, with the average project exceeding budgets by 27%. If contracts, invoices, and expense reports are disconnected from the rest of your financial records, it’s much more difficult to identify projects that are draining resources beyond an acceptable threshold.

Spending less time sorting out the financial and logistical details surrounding a project and more time working on the project itself will not only improve your operational efficiency, it will help give you a clearer, more accurate picture of your bottom line.

Inventory Management

Taking control of your inventory starts with taking control of the way that you view it. By utilizing software to automate, track, and update the inventory aspect of your supply chain, you’ll be able to more quickly add new items, be notified of low stock levels, and intuitively configure a barcoding protocol.

Data from your sales and purchase orders shouldn’t have to be copied or transferred between multiple software titles—the sales reports you generate should include all pertinent tracking information and vendor costs sourced directly from your inventory management system, not from someone who manually copied data from your inventory management system.

Your revenue stream is the lifeblood of your business. Warehouses full of products, fleets of service vans, various legal documents—whatever industry you’re in, the materials you need for day-to-day operations represent one of the largest operating costs that you’ll have to account for.

Instead of determining retroactively how much your business spent on specific items, be proactive—not reactive. Make sure all costs of these purchases are available to be viewed and assessed alongside the rest of your finances in a centralized document storage system.

Wrapping Up Your Search For A QuickBooks Alternative

Accounting software will proficiently handle all of your account needs, but that’s simply not enough.

Your business is more than just accounting—it’s sales, operations, project management, and so much more. The software you enlist for your business should exemplify this by seamlessly integrating every element of your business under one (digital) roof.

man using accounting software with a Striven coffee cup

Our experts know exactly how tough it can be to get reliable, accurate, and—in many cases—free information about what software solutions are a good fit for your business. We’ve carefully cultivated a list of the 10 Best Business Management Software solutions to aid you in your search.

Not every choice is easy—the best decisions seldom are. The best software solutions won’t necessarily be the flashiest or the most popular. Even the term “best” is a relative term—really, the important thing to look for is what software will be the best fit for your business. Adaptability, flexibility, and personalization are what brought you success in the first place. Stick with these same core values when exploring software solutions.

The Best Barcode Scanners and Printers For SMEs

Posted on March 18, 2021May 9, 2023 by Matt Bernot

From storage rooms to the retail floor, barcode scanner technology has revolutionized how businesses manage inventory.

Barcoding technology has come a long way from its grocery store roots in Troy, Ohio—businesses in nearly every industry that need to manage their perpetual inventory efficiently have taken advantage of barcode scanners and barcode scanner software.

Using barcode scanning technology comes with a plethora of benefits and competitive advantages:

Data and inventory accuracy (humans make an error every 250 keystrokes, while a computer’s error rate is 1/36trillion)
Addresses scalability issues (code 39 vs code 128 barcodes provide differing levels of complexity based on your current needs)
Increases workflow efficiency (no deciphering handwriting, manually checking product supply, lower training/labor costs)
They’re relatively inexpensive (the vast majority of scanners are affordable on any budget and can be easily synced with your business management software)

Barcode scanners will help your employees stay efficient, and inventory management software will help you stay on top of your inventory turnover ratio.

However, one piece is missing—printing the barcodes.

While outsourcing this process is an option, it is often costly and inefficient to your overall operations. If you want 500 SKUs ready to go for tomorrow morning, it will be in your best interest to have a company printer on standby.

Barcode Scanner Software

While the technological benefits of creating, printing, and utilizing SKUs are apparent, it’s not always as apparent which technology will be best suited for your SME.

Addressing your businesses specific needs will require asking yourself a few questions:

Does your business plan on increasing inventory size?

Is your business planning on diversifying the types of products available for purchase?

Does your business use or plan on using an e-commerce platform?

Do I have inventory management software I can use in tandem with my current equipment and SKUs?

Although individual business requirements vary, these scanners and printers are equipped to help SMEs expand their operations, save time and money, and overall increase productivity and profitability.

Barcode Scanners

NADAMOO

Overview: In terms of wireless scanning, this scanner has some of the best range as far as indoor scanners are concerned—about 100 yards. While the NADAMOO scanners function fully on laptops and PCs, they are not compatible with tablets and phones. Ideal for retail, warehouse, and any other setting that requires inventory management, this scanner includes a USB cable for easy data transmission.

Price: Around $35

Other Relevant Details: 20-hour charge, a range of 400 meters, can receive 32 separate data inputs at once.

TaoTronics

Overview: The TaoTronics scanner offers 2-in-1 functionality—supporting connectivity via Bluetooth and USB. In addition, the TaoTronics scanner is supported by most major PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Customization is also a hallmark of this scanner—you can set up a unique code to customize any barcode.

Price: Around $45

Other Relevant Details: 30-hour charge, 32-bit processor scans 200 times/second

Zebra

Overview: Zebra brand scanners—specifically the DS2208 model—are some of the most high-performing and versatile scanners on the market, and are perfect for every industry. Lightweight and ready to go right out of the box, this Zebra scanner scans barcodes efficiently at any angle and is capable of reading both 1D and 2D barcodes, including QR codes.

Price: Around $125

Other Relevant Details: antimicrobial protection, “aim line” for scanning from a distance, auto-syncs to most POS systems

WoneNice

Overview: A solid plug-and-play choice, this USB-connected scanner handles all of the basic functions a barcode scanner needs. The WoneNice scanner syncs with most hardware and software systems, and seamlessly translates relevant data.

Price: Around $20

Other Relevant Details: can withstand up to a 1.5m drop on concrete, inclination angle 55°, elevation angle 65°

transportation management software system. Two men agreeing over a truckful of barcoded boxes

Barcode Printers

Rollo

Overview: This commercial-grade, high-speed thermal printer is an ideal choice for label printing of all sizes (1.57” to 4.1”). Handling inventory and shipping label sizes, the Rollo printer executes at a rate of one shipping label per second. Compatible with most major operating systems and shipping platforms, the Rollo label printer even comes with free UPS labels.

Price: Around $190

Other Relevant Details: unlimited label height, U.S.-based customer service, how-to-videos included with purchase

Dymo

Overview: The Dymo thermal printer prints addresses, file folder names, and barcode labels at a rate of 51 labels per minute. This cost-effective model allows you to create customized labels from software already installed on your computer in addition to templates being available for download.

Price: Around $67

Other Relevant Details: labels available to be printed in multiple sizes

Brother

Overview: This wifi enabled thermal printer enables you to print in both red and black. At a rate of about 110 labels per second, it is one of the fastest options on the market. The Brother is able to communicate and print from multiple devices at once at 300 dpi. It comes with a 2-year warranty.

Price: Around $130

Other Relevant Details: includes an automatic cutter for various label sizes, optional battery extender available for portability

Sato

Overview: While priced a bit higher than most other items on this list, there is one main reason for this—it allows for ultra-secure RFID printing. Ideal for clients with sensitive information, this printer is beefed up with customizable features. With up to 600 dpi printing resolution, built-in tag verification, and a durable metal outer shell, this is one of the premiere label printers on the market.

Price: Around $1,200

Other Relevant Details: includes a responsive touchscreen that sends feedback, has automation capabilities and customizations

Looking for inventory management software that can sync with your barcoding equipment, track your inventory, create purchase orders, and develop custom reports? Check out our top picks for the best business management software for inventory management.

How Small Businesses Can Maintain Cash Flow

Posted on August 9, 2019May 3, 2023 by Scott Hammer

If you run or manage a small business, there’s a lot about accounting that’s in your control: payroll and taxes are just a few. But when it comes to how you maintain cash flow, you’re probably relying on payments from customers.

More than we’d like to admit, those customer payments often come in late. And late paying customers pose a major risk to the livelihood of small business cash flow.

What happens when you’re ready to outgrow your current accounting software?

An Intuit study, as reported by Small Business Computing, found that 69% of small business owners said that “they’ve been kept up at night by ongoing concerns about their cash flow status.”

The same study reports that “33 percent of U.S. small business owners said their company currently has more than $20,000 in outstanding receivables.” At the same time, “the average U.S. small business has $53,999 in outstanding receivables.”

Those are significant numbers for small businesses. One solution to helping solve them? ERP software.

Why Customers Pay Late

Block Advisors, a tax preparation group, has pinpointed one of the top reasons customers don’t pay on time: payment options aren’t convenient enough.

There are other (perhaps deeper) reasons, too. Outdated payment processes, poor communication between your company and your customers, and lack of project insight all contribute to late payments.

Preventing late customer payments is all about establishing clear lines of communication with customers. That means you have to make things easy for them, and you have to remind them (in tasteful ways) of the value your product or service provides.

In many cases, these issues are unavoidable. But, by utilizing the best ERP software, they can be remedied.

How to Avoid Late Payments

Here are some strategies and processes you should have in place to make sure customers are happy. They’ll keep your payments on schedule and your cash doing what it was meant to do: flow.

Understand Who Owes You, and How Much

Before you do anything, you should understand how much your customers owe you, how much has been paid and credited, along with late payments. A detailed accounting software can produce these reports in seconds, allowing you to filter for specific customers and date ranges.

If you’re not keeping track of this information, it’s going to be very difficult for you to properly understand your cash flow. The best approach to tracking? Consider software that integrates accounting with both customer and project data. That way, you’ll always be sure your numbers are correct. Having to pull data out of different systems and check for accuracy unnecessarily wastes your employees’ time.

Accounting software with a powerful customer portal will show you all of your accounts receivable transactions that your customer is responsible for, including invoices, credit memos, payments, sales receipts, check refunds, and journal entries.

Give Customers an Easy Way to Pay You

Know that feeling you get when you’re in line at the grocery store and the person in front of you is paying by check? Frustrating, right? That’s because, to all of us who pay with cards, the process of writing a check has become too painful to watch.

Now think about your customers having to get stamps and envelopes at the post office, finding their checkbooks, writing the checks, finding a mailbox…

You get the idea. It’s laborious and time-consuming for people to pay you with a physical check. By giving your customers an easier way to pay you, you’ll not only make them happy—you’ll get paid faster.

So how should we define easy? A couple of clicks (or less)! Having a portal where customers can log in, find their invoices, and pay them by credit card or e-check instantly is an ideal solution. Even better, they’ll get immediate confirmation the invoice was paid. Customer portals also allow them to track their payment history.

Give Customers Insight into Project Status

Great relationships with customers are built on transparency. The more insight they have into the work you’re doing for them, the more they’ll see the value of that work. And because great relationships enable smooth and reliable payments, you’ll be setting yourself up for success.

Think about it this way: if your customers have to inquire about the status of a project, they’re probably already unhappy. Being proactive and, more importantly, giving customers the tools to be proactive themselves will prevent the need for project conversations in the first place. With software that has a customer portal, they can log in, check the project status, and feel confident that you’re on track.

Conclusion

Running a business well depends on maximizing cash flow, and timely payments from customers contribute significantly to your company’s financial health. But those payments aren’t just transactions— they’re representations of relationships that you’ve worked hard to create.

Having the right ERP software to make sure you’ve enabled a good relationship and a streamlined payment process is only part of the story. When you give customers insight into the work you’re doing for them, you promote the value of that work.

When you’re looking for software that has the right features to make your customers happy and get them paying on time, think about their experience with your product or services. Put yourself in their shoes. What will keep your company top-of-mind for them? What will keep them happy? When you’re able to match functionality with your customer relationship goals, you’ll have found your solution.

Tag: small business financial health