Managing a company efficiently is about organisation, focus and process as a massive 55% of businesses don’t make it to their fifth birthday. The observers offer useless ‘insight’ as to why this occurs. I continuosly observe three key reasons why this tragedy occurs so often and to so many people with different backgrounds, education and skill.

The first reason is insufficient market understanding.

Refusal to look at the water ahead. For example Individuals have the idea, build the product and then expect the market to appear and purchase. In networked age there is no excuse for lack of research before spending any time and cash on creating a product until you have robust evidence there is a market.

The number two reason is lack of understanding of the basics of business.

The majority of folks starting a business know their trade, how to deliver a service or manufacture a product, but not how to run a business.  Having the ability to understand and track the balances in the Income statement or the balance sheet is a vital. The basic knowledge of accounting is not very often imparted coherently by the business publications, online resources and those with the knowledge such as CPAs and bookkeepers. This domain is further exacerbated by technology vendors and their affiliates peddling small business accounting software at fledgling businesses.

Small business accounting software isnt a complete answer.

Until recently ERP software solutions and packages were only affordable by corporations who had figured out that the back and front office systems need to be wired together to give a comprehensive view of the business. One software developer NetSuite had the vision to see the gap in the market and began offering its small business ERP software. NetSuite competitors have seen the gap as well and as a result cheaper easier to use solutions have appeared.

The final reason companies fail is because of a dirth of process and procedures that provide the vital disciplines and consistency a business must have to work effectively.

Technorati Tags: erp for small business, erp solutions and packages, netsuite competitor, sage software, small business accounting software, small business erp

You have probably heard of SAP software. It’s a software package deployed by a major percentage of medium sized and large enterprises all over the planet. The prime use of the system is to connect the entire enterprise together and enable hundreds and often thousands of workers to record, share and recall information concerning the physical and financial processes of the enterprise. Large firms are managed by smart individuals who comprehend the strategic benefits of this category of software, such as how it can give them an appreciation of why issues are happening inside their company or where there might be opportunity for refinements.

This category of system is commonly known as ERP. It is very complex, very costly and can take along time to deploy. An installation of ERP software is a major capital expenditure but this doesn’t stop substantial organisations purchasing these systems.

Until recently software like this was not within reach or financially viable for small businesses. As a result small businesses have not been aware of the substantial benefits that ERP systems can deliver. Small enterprises have been wrongly convinced by aggressive manufacturers such as Sage Software and Intuit that small business accounting software is the solution. These platforms most often have no capacity to allow their users to connect the whole firm or perform common tasks such as customer relationship management.

The success of Web based CRM software from businesses like Salesforce.com is a good example of the small business accounting software organisations misleading or misunderstanding the small business community.

It is for this reason that small business ERP firms in the same category as Salesorder.com have begun to make great strides in the market. They deliver saas which includes all of the major features a small enterprise requires at an affordable price. What is even more compelling is these systems are simple to operate and can be rolled out in a short amount of time.

Now ERP platforms are no longer the privilege of big enterprises.

Technorati Tags: sage accounting software, sage software, small business accounting software

I have been wrestling for along period with my bookkeeping and I wanted to share with you a shortcut that I uncovered after a lot of trial and error. People in small enterprises tend to prefer doing more important jobs like finding, understanding and keeping customers in preference to looking after their accounting. All organisations have to pay special attention to their accounting if they want to avoid issues.

I asked my bookkeeper for advice and he convinced me I should use Sage Software which turned out to be a small business accounting software package. I just went out and purchased the package without even considering if it would suit my needs. On reflection I am glad I didn’t waste too much money on this as this software is possibly the worst and most disorganised software I have ever had the misfortune to use. To be honest whenever I find the word accounting attached to the word software I am immediately reminded of the first piece of advice I must share with you and that is just about all small business accounting software assumes the user possesses good practical knowledge of accounting.

I had to discover a solution that would work for me so reluctantly I swept my schedule and set aside quality time to find an answer. The great news is I found a really good answer, it’s an online system called salesorder.com.

Possibly the best business technology I have come across, salesorder.com works on the internet and is really well designed and of course lets me do my job anywhere I can access the Internet. And here is the coolest bit I want to tell you, the team at salesorder.com know their subject, just like their service they are easy to work with and better still are happy to spend quality time with their customers (even the free ones) helping folks like me to understand and address real problems in my company and to top it off they have taught me the accounting I need to know.

Technorati Tags: sage accounting software, sage software, small business accounting software