Table of Contents
- What is Business Management Software?
- What are the common features of Business Management Software?
- What are the benefits of Business Management Software?
- How much does Business Management Software cost?
- Key considerations when purchasing Business Management Software
What is Business Management Software?
Business Management Software is an integration solution that allows businesses to store, organize and automate their core processes, such as sales, marketing, human resource management, administration, and employee management.
Effective business management software typically includes productivity, team collaboration, communication, project management, asset management, office management, invoicing, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools to help businesses work effortlessly across all domains.
What are the common features of Business Management Software?
- Customer relationship management: Manage and optimize interactions with prospects and customers. Business management software stores and organizes customer contact information, including their names, addresses, and emails, to ensure that customer data is up to date. It also helps sales professionals identify and prioritize sales opportunities by tracking potential deals and assessing the health of the sales pipeline.
- Employee management: Track employee tasks and performance to improve productivity and streamline employee management processes using varied tools and functionalities of business management software. The platform provides a unified employee database to store all employee-related information, facilitating employee task management and performance monitoring, besides allowing employees to log their working hours.
- Financial management: Plan and manage financial transactions for your organization. This business management software feature typically encompasses various functionalities, such as accounting for accounts payable and receivable, budgeting, and financial reporting. It may also include features, such as tax management and audit trails, to help businesses adhere to financial regulations.
- Inventory management: Check inventory levels to ensure accurate stock control using the inventory management feature in business management software. With this app, businesses can track real-time inventory levels to get complete visibility into available stock, locations, and movements. The tool's inventory management module may include other functionalities, such as inventory valuation to assess the unsold inventory's worth, barcodes to track inventory using unique identifiers, and serial number tracking to check individual components.
- Performance metrics: Track and measure key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the performance of various business activities. Business management software allows users to define and monitor KPIs relevant to their business goals pertaining to various departments, including sales, marketing, and finance. It also offers customizable dashboards to display real-time performance metrics that can be used to track activity progress and identify trends or anomalies.
What are the benefits of Business Management Software?
- Increases data accuracy: Business management app often includes features that automate data entry processes. Minimizing human intervention in data entry reduces the chances of error and ensures the recording of accurate information. The software also offers data validation checks to ensure that the recorded information meets specific criteria or predefined formats and prevents data entry errors.
- Saves time and money: The business management tool automates repetitive tasks, eliminating manual efforts and time spent on administrative work. It enables users to manage their finances, track expenses, and set budgets. Moreover, it helps them keep track of tasks and prioritize them based on urgency, allowing users to focus more on revenue-generating activities.
- Enhances productivity: Business management software eliminates bottlenecks and confusion that can arise from manual processes by allowing users to streamline workflows and standardize processes. Additionally, it centralizes data, making it easily accessible to users. Instead of searching through multiple files and systems, employees can use this tool to access the desired information quickly. The easy accessibility reduces time spent on each task and improves productivity.
- Facilitates communication and collaboration: Business management tools include communication and team collaboration features, such as real-time messaging, document sharing, team calendars, Gantt chart, project timelines, video conferencing, and notifications to facilitate teamwork and communication among employees. Communication and collaboration features in business management software speed up decision-making and ensure timely project completion.
How much does Business Management Software cost?
Most business management software solutions on the market are priced on a "per user, per month" basis, and their entry-level pricing plans range from $2.5 to $89* per user, per month. An enterprise product that's priced higher may include additional features such as artificial learning (AI) capabilities, project management, training management, advanced workflow automation, personalization, and advanced analytics.
*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of July 18, 2023.
Key considerations when purchasing Business Management Software
- Consider your business size and requirements. Large businesses often have complex requirements, requiring more controls and automation capabilities to handle business processes. They need business management tools to handle a high volume of transactions, extensive data processing, and multiple users. Compared to small-and-midsize-businesses (SMBs), large businesses may also need extensive customization options to manage unique business needs.
- Check data security options. Business management software often contains confidential and sensitive data, such as financial records and internal documents. Therefore, data security should be an essential consideration while evaluating potential business software solutions. Look for a tool with multi-factor authentication (MFA), disaster recovery, access controls, encryption, and regular software updates to safeguard data against internal threats and prevent potential data breaches.
- Assess sales and marketing capabilities: An ideal business management tool should support sales and marketing activities, including lead generation, email marketing, customer segmentation, and campaign management. It may also include features for contact management, marketing automation, customer relationship management and sales pipeline management. As an SMB owner, it's crucial to inquire about features that may help you meet your sales and marketing business needs.