How to Buy Small Business Software: Everything You Need to Know
Business software is something you can’t do without these days. It offers added productivity during the day and can help provide insights you can’t get by doing things manually. That’s why the average business now uses an average of 137 SaaS applications.
Finding the right options for small business software is critical if you want to run an efficient business. Keep reading to learn what it takes to buy small business software.
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Consider Your Unique Needs
There’s software for almost every business function you can imagine, but your company may not need that much flexibility. Each situation is unique, so you need to consider your company’s needs before looking at new software. One place to start your search is by talking with your employees.
They can tell you what functions they need help with and recommend software that can help. It also pays to look for software that isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Many software solutions specialize in tasks. Here are a few business functions you can consider:
- Accounting;
- HR;
- Information technology;
- Helpdesk.
You can start as small or large as you want, so read more now about your software options.
Look for Software Integrations
If you’re like many businesses, you’ll find that you use a lot of software to keep things running. Desktop and cloud software have too many benefits to ignore. You can’t afford to miss the productivity benefits that software brings.
However, that does bring up another issue. How can you merge the data in your software programs and use it in other parts of your business? You can do this with software integrations. Many modern software companies include the ability to connect software. That means you can set up links that allow your software to send data back and forth.
This means you can collect data from your applications and use it in other areas. Without these integrations, this is a manual process. Check the software integrations available with your software choices to ensure you can make links to your other applications.
Check the Pricing Structures
There are a lot of costs with physical products that you don’t get with computer software. Instead of investing a lot of money in material, software owners only need a server to host their software and the upfront cost of developing the program. While this doesn’t mean that there are zero costs with software, it does mean that companies have more margin to work with.
Because of that, you’ll find many pricing options with computer software. Some companies are more affordable and target small businesses, while others charge a premium and target big companies. You also have companies that charge flat monthly rates. Others will charge per feature and user. Look at your pricing options to see which provider offers the most value and has a pricing model that makes sense for your business.
Consider Software Security
Even if you don’t plan to buy desktop software to run in-house, security is something you should still consider when purchasing software. The chances are good that you’re trusting sensitive data to your software provider. The last thing you want is for them to suffer a data breach and compromise your business data.
Check to see what security guarantees a software provider offers. At a bare minimum, the website they use to host the software needs to have safety. You can check this by looking for the lock icon on your website address bar. If you have concerns over how your software provider stores your data, you’ll need to contact a customer service representative to get that information. A company that handles security the right way shouldn’t have an issue easing your concerns about data security.
Learn From User Reviews
You can only learn so much about software by talking to customer service and reading the website. Even if a program appears to have all the right features, it may not be the right fit for your business. If you want to learn how good a software provider is, reading online reviews is a great way to do so. Online reviews offer a way for consumers to tell the truth about their experience with a software company.
Check every review you can to see if there are any red flags about a software application. You want to look for people who commonly experience software issues and suffer from poor customer service.
Utilize Free Trials
One great thing about software is that it generally doesn’t cost much to add a user. Companies don’t need to invest many resources to let potential customers try things out. Because of that, most software offers free trials to customers thinking about buying the product.
Before deciding on your business software provider, make sure you try out the software you intend to buy. Most companies offer a trial of at least a week. You can use that time to test the features necessary for your business. You can also talk with the customer service team to see how well they meet your needs.
Of course, don’t stick with one piece of software to test. You can easily sign up for multiple trials to see what each of your software options offers.
Now You Know How to Buy Small Business Software
You can’t afford to run a business without the right software these days. If you don’t have the latest and greatest tools, you won’t be able to work efficiently as a business owner. Use the guide above to buy small business software that will make a difference in your company. Do you want to learn more about tech and how to use it in business today? Learn more by heading back to the blog.
