Business software set-up and trouble-shooting

When software is installed, there is an expectation that its proper functioning will lead to improved productivity - lower transaction processing costs - and better management decisions, as a result of better, or faster, information.

Often these expectations are not met. In the worst cases, the software system can be actually hindering business processes, rather than helping.

Research has shown that as SMEs move through stages of business development, the financial management needs become more specialised. Because of this, inadequate accounting systems are increasingly a problem for both established and growing businesses.

Off-the-shelf business software
The advantages of the popular off-the-shelf software packages include their reliability, stability, widespread user-base and support, and (sometimes), the flexibility obtained at relatively low cost.

Sometimes business methods can be bent to fit the software – a valid choice. But some functions can’t be compromised, and that’s when the work-around costs, (such as the cost of using spreadsheets) or the cost of better software must be considered.

On the other hand, the relative inflexibility can force a business to change its procedures to do things in a way the software demands. The result can be awkward procedures, data entry errors and less timely information, and even sometimes unwittingly affecting the business model.

And of course there are always things a software package simply won't do at all. In those cases, a manager's need for vital information requires additional procedures, or resorting to complicated spreadsheets, which can be hard for new staff to learn, are notoriously prone to error, and can cause wasteful duplication of data entry and procedures.

Getting the balance right
Getting all the right information on time from your system and keeping transaction costs down is a balancing exercise. Sometimes information would be "nice to have", but the cost of getting it is too high.

On the other hand if vital information is simply not available from your existing software, a cost-effective work-around procedure must be found for the sake of the business. Sometimes a simple manual process can bypass an inflexible software process, and significantly reduce the transaction costs.

A needs analysis is necessary,
and is the first step in determining your business software requirements. You start this with a careful listing of all your reporting requirements, including routine and Key Performance reports, taking your business model and operating methods into account.

Determine the data sources
When your reporting needs have been listed, then you must go through each report to figure out the source data, and where it comes from – the physical transaction and the information generated - such as a customer invoice, or a cash receipt, or a payment.

Calculate volumes
When the data sources are identified, the next step is to estimate the number of these transactions on a recurring basis. This is crucial, because the number of transactions multiplied by the time required to produce each will be a significant limiting factor on the software program you choose to record it.

High transaction volumes just do not fit into the capacity of smaller, cheaper software systems, and this can be easily determined before doing all the setup work on the wrong system.

Start by clearly defining the information needs, and then combining the software with clear and simple office procedures.