Essential Software for Every Business

Businesses of every size have the need for software in order to run smoothly in today’s world. If you are starting a new company and need to know what types of software to consider, or if you believe your company is missing an important program somewhere, there are a few types of software to keep in mind as big heavy-hitters.

Human Resources

It is nearly impossible to hire new employees now without coming into contact with some kind of software or web application. If your company is small enough that you don’t have a dedicated HR staff either, this software becomes especially important in keeping the office hiring process easy and streamlined. In addition to software that is dedicated to helping you hire, there are also programs that can help with day-to-day operations, such as benefits and payroll. If you are not sure what you need your HR software to do, it is worthwhile to spend some time learning about HR programs in general, and the pros and cons of the many different options.

Communication and Collaboration

Communication is the ultimate tool for generating ideas, keeping employees on track, and working as a team. If you have any remote workers, a strong method of communication becomes even more important. Luckily, there are many different ways to handle this, many of which are free or included with other services you likely have already purchased. For example, If your company email is provided through Google, you will have access to Gmail and the associated video calling services, and the ability to collaborate on cloud-based documents and folders through Google Drive. Likewise, if you have the Microsoft Office suite for your business, your employees will be able to share links to cloud documents and collaborate in a similar way. If you are looking for more public online options that will not require a share each time, there are many options such as internal wikis or task boards. At a minimum, make sure your employees have access to phone and email services.

CRM

Once you have software to hire employees and keep them in touch with each other at work, you can start thinking about customer-focused software. Customer Relationship Managers (CRM) are programs designed to help you track customer information and foster the business relationship with your current and potential customers. There are plenty of successful CRM examples to demonstrate just how powerful CRM software can be at assisting your company in converting leads, holding onto customers, and increasing sales. If you are considering going without a program and managing your customers yourself, consider the legwork that will go into identifying marketing “bites,” managing follow-up, curating personalized marketing and offering customer support, when all these steps could be partially or completely automated.

Finance and Payments

There are several stages of your company’s financial health that should be handled by software. Consider that sales and revenue must be tracked, as well as expenses, payroll, unpaid invoices, banking and taxes. If your business is still very small, and you have a sufficiently savvy employee, there is a chance you may be able to track this with whichever generic spreadsheet program you have available, but the chances for mistakes are high. It is much easier and more efficient for most businesses to purchase or subscribe to software to assist in these types of processes. What type of software you need may vary, but there are places where you can read up on the types of programs available, or even take a questionnaire and get recommendations on which programs might best suit your needs.

Depending on the type of company you have, as well as its size, you may need many more types of software on hand, but these cover the basics. If you choose to select at least one program from each of these sections, you will have help with all the most vital pieces of your company’s daily operation.