Sunday, March 7, 2010

Doing it twice and checking it thrice?

Somethings done twice or thrice are enjoyable.

Most things are not.

In business especially, having to re-enter data is an absolute pain and slows down the process of getting on with it, not to mention the need to over staff just to cater for this inefficiency.

We are now in an age when technology makes streamlining your business processes and doing things once the norm rather than the exception.

Issuing an invoice to a customer should not only update your accounts and your inventory, but should enable you to print the necessary documents in the process.

So why are there still so many businesses out there still issuing manual invoices or using a spreadsheet to do it?

Fear of technology? Perhaps.

Another reason could be that business owners tend to separate the accounting function from all other business functions and making it an entity unto itself.

Everything is done independently and then flows back to accounting who have to re-enter and process the data before they can produce meaningful management reports.

The alternative?

Forget accounting.  Seriously.

Study your business processes and analsye your requirements.

Look for a solution that automates those processes.

When you have found one that fits the bill, ask if it can handle the accounting aspect as well.

Chances are that the answer would be yes.

Note that unless you are customising a solution for your requirements, it would not be possible, with an off the shelf solution, to meet all your requirements.  If the solution can meet with between 80% to 90% of your requirements, then you are on your way.  With off the shelf solutions, you would need to bend some of your requirements to fit the way the solution works.

What if the answer is no?

Call us.

We would be happy to show you how you can get all that and more in one easy to use solution that has been around for years and has helped hundreds of small businesses work smarter not harder!