Business management software has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Systems are being enhanced every day with new features, optimised functionality and more integrations. If yours is a growing, maturing business, it’s only natural that your technology needs are evolving. If your current system fails to keep up with the changes, your potential for growth is limited.
It may be intimidating to replace outdated software, but the benefits are many. There are savings to be made, new capabilities to access and the potential for a fantastic ROI. With all that in mind, here are 10 signs you have outgrown your business software.
- Your systems aren’t working well with each other.
- Your employees don’t get on well with the software.
- Operational costs won’t stop rising.
- Security and compliance don’t come easy.
- You struggle with reporting.
- You regularly experience ‘near misses’.
- Communication between departments is poor.
- Leadership gets blindsided.
- Employees are constantly having to find workarounds’.
- Backtracking and do-overs are becoming common.
Below, we’ll take a look at these points in more detail, with the aim of helping you understand if the time has come to bit the bullet and replace your current business systems and software.
1. Your systems are not working well together
Integration is crucial for modern business management software. If your legacy system is disconnected from other software functions, you are missing out on invaluable business insights. Multiple tools being used together isn’t necessarily a problem, but when those tools don’t integrate well with each other then it’s time to think about finding something better.
2. Your employees don’t get on well with the software
The modern workforce is generally good with technology, and new hires will expect to see cutting-edge software at your company. Things like tedious manual inputs or outdated interfaces will not be inviting, and you need to be prepared to accommodate remote working arrangements where possible.
If your employees are not happy working with your software, they will be less engaged and productivity will fall. You may also struggle to attract or retain talent due to antiquated software and ways of working. Legacy systems that lack features and inhibit collaboration are a hindrance and you need to think about updating them.
3. Operational costs won’t stop rising
Does your current business software still offer good value for money? Are you spending a lot for maintenance, integrations, updates and other IT functions? Are there other costs creeping in that keep pushing your outgoings higher?
If you’re paying a lot for your business software and getting little in return, there are probably more intelligent solutions out there. Many companies are aware of their need for an upgrade but don’t really know what is available to them. Perhaps you need help developing a custom solution that integrates the processes and capabilities your company needs.
4. Security and compliance don’t come easy
When your business software lacks features and capabilities, security risks start becoming an issue. A good system for your business is one that can maintain secure data storage, restrict access based on user roles and offer a transparent audit trail.
These features and more will ensure you keep up with legislatory and regulatory requirements for privacy, security and other things. Centralising your business security and compliance concerns keeps risk to a minimum and improves quality assurance across the board, and a new system may be better equipped to do this. It can also help prevent unnecessary fines or punishment for non-compliance.
5. You struggle with reporting
When reporting becomes a laborious and time-consuming task, it’s a sure sign that you have outgrown your business software. Entry delays may reduce the reliability of data, and the time it takes to implement updates is a tiresome distraction from more important tasks. Whatever the problems you are experiencing, you are missing out on key data insights that could help your business run better.
Real-time visualisation of data is possible with modern software and it drives better business performance. As your company grows, data and transactions become more complex and increase in volume. Your business software needs to keep track of all this accurately and provide options for generating reports quickly and efficiently. Through advanced rerpiting functionality, business leaders can make decisions in order to remain agile in these competitive times.
6. You regularly experience ‘near misses’
A near miss is when something bad almost happens. Something like losing money on a project, delivering the wrong equipment or overlooking a crucial customer support issue. Often, the only thing that makes it a ‘near miss’ is that an on-the-ball employee noticed a problem before it was too late. But as businesses grow these ‘near misses’ become more common, and the greater the risk of the bad thing actually happening.
If near misses happen more than once or twice per month, you have a profitability or customer service bomb waiting to explode. You can’t keep relying on the alertness of employees to prevent things from happening – it’s time to consider some changes to your systems that prevent the risks from happening.
7. Communication between departments is poor
If different teams within your business are not communicating effectively, one team could make a decision that impacts the others without anyone knowing. For example, if an existing client decides to extend the scope of a project with you, this impacts the work of:
- Sales
- Project Managers
- Procurement Officers
- Invoicing Admin Employees
- Support Teams
If a critical change is not communicated immediately, it can have a negative impact on other departments. This is particularly problematic for larger companies, where it can cause things to become quite chaotic. A good business management system can facilitate effortless communication and collaboration between disparate departments to prevent this.
8. Leadership gets blindsided
It can be painful for senior management when revenue shortfalls or profit margin fluctuations happen unexpectedly. Business leaders can prepare for situations when they see them coming, but this can only be achieved with the right technology.
If data is not being updated in real-time and shared between departments, the impending risks are not seen until it’s too late. A modern system will collate all the latest data across all departments and generate reports and analytics that can help senior management see and prepare for these issues.
9. Employees are constantly having to find workarounds
If employees are consistently having to think of creative workarounds to make up for the limitations of software, it’s time to upgrade. Manual data entry and creative spreadsheets are the most common workarounds – staff should not have to export data from business systems and put them into spreadsheets.
Workaround in a business can quite literally add endless additional hours to the working week. This is a waste of resources and can severely hamper employee engagement. Your systems need to work well enough to avoid this problem.
10. Backtracking and do-overs are becoming common
Related to the previous point, the problem of employees having to backtrack to make corrections to data entry, or having to input the same data multiple times is a serious problem. This often happens when disparate departments attempt to work together with inferior collaboration tools and inefficient data streams. It wastes the time of good, hardworking employees trying to compensate for inadequate software.
You will need to communicate with your employees to identify whether this is happening, as it won’t be obvious to you but it could be a real frustration and deal breaker when it comes to employee retention.
Final thoughts
If any of the above sounds familiar, your current business management system probably isn’t enough for you anymore. You need your systems to scale up with your business and sticking with an old system you have outgrown may be harming your profitability and potential for growth.
New systems are an opportunity to boost your competitive advantage. Take the time to review your systems periodically to assess them against business needs. Be honest about your findings and make the effort to look for new solutions where necessary.
How can Eventura redefine the way your business runs?
Eventura have been delivering game-changing business solutions to businesses for the past two decades. We specialise in Sage 200 and NetSuite implementations, and have successfully helped countless businesses move their operations into these best-in-class softwares.
Our expert team of business analysts, developers, consultants and technicians will help you identify all of your requirements, and scope and deliver a business solution that works for you on every level.
Because we also provide a host of other services such as cybersecurity, cloud hosting, backup and recovery, managed networks, Microsoft 365 and managed IT services, we can deliver your project in full without the hassle of additional IT resources.
If you would like to speak to one of our business solution specialists, you can request a free call back here.
