When you start in the world of entrepreneurship, there are so many things to do that you don’t know where to begin. In order to put all the chances on your side to succeed, it is therefore necessary to equip yourself with the right work tools to be as efficient as possible and gain in productivity. Because in business, time is money. And indeed, the success of your business is at stake from the very first months so you should not neglect this step. When many young entrepreneurs start up, they usually use software they know well such as Word or Excel. But to manage a business, this is neither practical nor relevant. It is better to work with real programs or other software that can automate tasks so that you can focus all your time on developing your company. For this, we will present here the advantages of a business management software and the best tools on the market today to start.
What is business management software and what is it used for?
These are all-in-one software that will allow you to manage several aspects of your business on a daily basis. Its main goal is to obtain a gain in productivity in order to save time and money to develop your business more serenely. Among the most common features that can be found in a business management software, we often find:
- the integrated accounting software: it allows you to manage your income and expenses or to follow your cash flow
- the integrated invoicing and quotation software: thanks to this functionality, you will be able to edit quotations and invoices to your customers and prospects
- the project and task management software: with this tool, it is possible to follow the progress of a project thanks to personalized dashboards and to work more closely and efficiently with your collaborators
- the time management software: the basis for all contractors. This software allows you and your collaborators to keep track of the time spent on projects so that you can invoice the client for the work done by the minute and by the second. This is not its only use since this functionality also allows you to analyze in detail the working time of each person in order to dissect the heavy tasks and to be able to act on them to gain in efficiency.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software: this is a tool that allows you to gather all the data related to your customers and service providers on a single platform and in a single place. There are even CRM software that allow you to discuss and work with them on a dedicated extranet.
And many more features.
In concrete terms, what are the advantages of using a business management software?
As said before, there are several advantages to getting a business management software.
Time saving
Time is what all self-respecting entrepreneurs lack, because we often have many ideas that we cannot launch due to lack of time. And this is the main advantage of a business management software. No more chores like invoicing, writing legal notices, managing customer data. Everything is centralized and can be automated in one place. There are even ready-to-use invoice templates. You will definitely save time on time-consuming tasks that have no interest in developing your business.
Data security
Business management software is often developed in SaaS mode and accessible online. For this, the owners of these software do everything possible to deliver a reliable and secure service to the company’s directors and managers. It is therefore possible to store company data and other professional documents, or to receive payments online in complete security.
Cohesion and teamwork
This type of software also allows you to better organize and coordinate your teams in order to complete each of your projects in time. You can easily manage and assign tasks to your staff, access shared agendas, track the exact progress of projects or even easily share documents with your employees and collaborators. Everything is done to facilitate teamwork.
Have a global vision of the company’s state
It is important for a company manager to be able to access at any time a space allowing him to have a global vision on the health of his company. This is the best thing that a business management software can do for you. Thanks to this tool, you will be able to have access to analyses of your sales, your turnover or your profits. These analyses, which are more or less advanced depending on the software, will allow you to make strategic decisions in order to drive towards success.
Before choosing your business management software among all those available on the market, it is important to determine the nature of your activity and your needs. Indeed, it is useless to take a software that allows you to collaborate with your team if you work alone for example. It is important to keep this in mind because the more functionality your software will have, the more expensive it will be. You must therefore be careful with your budget.
Alcuin, a corporate training management software to develop skills
Alcuin is a corporate training management software that enables companies to manage and develop their employees’ training plan. This tool enables the company’s strategic needs to ensure its development to converge with the training requests of its employees in order to bring the whole company to the top. Among the modules offered by Alcuin, we find the training request module, the provisional training plan, the planning of sessions, the certifications, the invoicing and the piloting and finally the evaluation of the training.
Axonaut, the all-in-one management tool for VSEs and SMEs
Axonaut is today the best French management tool for VSEs and SMEs. Ultra-intuitive and affordable, it offers various functionalities for a complete management of your company: CRM, quotes, invoices, accounting, cash flow, marketing and HR. You no longer need to waste time on your spreadsheets, everything is centralized in one simple tool! Axonaut also offers a French and reactive customer service, as well as a 15-day trial period without commitment. Take advantage of exceptional promotions at this time only.
Sage
Sage is one of the most recognized business management software on the market, if not currently the leader in the sector. This major player offers solutions adapted to all entrepreneurs, whether you are a craftsman, a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) or a large company. Easy to use, simple and ergonomic, the different Sage solutions adapt to all your needs. Whether it is for the essentials of invoicing and accounting, estimates, inventory management, payroll or sales management and many others, you will find what you are looking for to gain in productivity and reduce your costs. Among the best known solutions, we find Sage 50Cloud Ciel, Sage Payroll, Sage 100cloud or Sage XRT Solutions for example. Rates start from 9€ per month depending on the solution you choose.
Ubister
Unlike Sage, the Ubister business management software suite is not suitable for all types of businesses. If you are a craftsman or a self-employed entrepreneur, this tool is not for you. This cloud solution is better suited for SMEs, innovative startups, and tech companies. If you need a management and reporting tool, if you need to structure your business processes or model your financial flows, Ubister is for you. Its flagship solution SAP business by design will allow you to access different functionalities such as project management, supply chain, CRM etc… for a cost of 15 to 179€ per month per user.
OpenConcerto
With Openconcerto, you can optimize your sales (CRM, order tracking, etc.), organize your processes (inventory, purchasing, etc.), unify your operations (accounting, payroll, etc.) and improve your productivity (business intelligence, OCR, etc.). Unlike other business management software suites, there are no licensing costs. You can use the software for free for many users and for as many stations as you want. In addition, updates are free. Openconcerto only charges you for professional support and maintenance.