Running a business is something that anyone can do given the right amount of experience, knowledge, and assistance. However, there are going to be times where you’ll realize that something you’ve been doing is perhaps the slowest and most inefficient way to approach it.
A great example of this comes in the form of software. If you’re a fairly modern business, then there’s a good chance that you’re already using a plethora of different software. Your operating system is a good example, any word processing or office productivity software also counts, and you’re probably using cloud-based software solutions.
Sadly, many businesses heavily underutilize their business software solutions. This causes them to become extremely inefficient and it makes their companies lose out on a lot of potential profit. So, what’s a good approach to using business software? How can you retrain yourself to see it in a different light?
Understanding the Basic Principles of Business Software
First, let’s go through some very basic principles regarding business software and software in general.
Let’s first imagine what software is as a concept. It’s essentially a bunch of pre-programmed commands that are used to manipulate some form of input. This leads to an output that is beneficial to us and is based on the input we gave it. This can sound like a confusing concept to wrap your head around, so let’s use an example:
- INPUT – We enter words and letters into a document using a keyboard.
- PROCESSING – We can format the text, change its colour, font, size, and so on.
- OUTPUT – We can save the document and send it to other people or even print it out onto a physical medium such as paper.
This is a very basic input, processing, and output chain that describes software that we use. Software is obviously extremely complex with lots of different inputs, functions, and outputs. However, this is generally how software works and is what you should have on your mind when you think about choosing business software.
Another great way to think about software is to consider it as an employee that can do things much faster and more efficiently than a regular human being. For example. Let’s take a look at accounting software:
- INPUT – We add values into a system that represent how much we’ve made in sales for the day.
- PROCESSING – We can use the software to average how much each customer spent on your store for that day.
- OUTPUT – We can produce sales reports that show us how much profit we’ve made over the week.
Realistically speaking, a human could do just the same with some paper and a calculator. They could then compile it into a report for you without even needing a computer. But the fact that a computer can do this in an instant while also holding on to years of sales data is why we make use of software.
So now that we understand the basic concepts of business software, how does it apply to our businesses?
Think of a Time-Consuming Process and Consider If There Is a Software Alternative
The business world tends to joke a lot about saving money by firing employees and replacing them with machines, but this couldn’t be closer to the truth. Any time you adopt a new kind of work process that involves sophisticated software, there’s a chance that one of your team members will become redundant.
Any time there’s a time-consuming process that is costing you a lot of money, you can consider replacing it with something that will be far more effective and increase your profits. This is how you should be using software in your business and it’s how you can optimize your workflow.
For instance, if you’re managing multiple different commercial properties then there are going to be countless different amenities, machines, regulations, licenses, and so on that you need to think about. One piece of helpful software for this is Roof Link. Roof Link helps you manage one specific thing; the roof of each property. It offers a deep analysis of your roof, repair and maintenance recommendations, photographs, plans, budgeting solutions, and even weather monitoring to ensure your roof doesn’t come under damage due to weather conditions.
It’s an extremely sophisticated system that could replace several employees and save you a lot of money in both potential repair and maintenance costs, but also the amount of time and effort it takes to manage multiple multiple properties. It’s accurate, fast, and much cheaper than hiring an employee for it. This is the power of business software and it’s time you start thinking about how you can use it more efficiently.
