By now, we are sure you’ve heard about custom software solutions. But, do you actually know what they are?
In this digital age of online solutions, cloud storage and electronic payments, it makes sense to capitalize on the perks of modern communications to make your business more efficient. But, even if you are a hands-on owner, there are just too many aspects of your business that you need to keep an eye on. From your employees, stock, and vendors, to your sales, invoicing and customer management. In addition, you need to find new ways to grow your business and customer base. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it all done. Is it even possible to personally supervise your day-to-day operations while maintaining your sanity?
Enter, custom software web applications.
There are a wide variety of readily available business software apps you could subscribe to. Modern business software systems will significantly lessen your daily workload. And, help you manage your business more efficiently. Generally, these software developers offer some kind of recurring subscription and the most common management solutions to cover your business’ needs.
There are a few different types of business software platforms you could choose from including but not limited to:
- Employee management
Clock in/out, timesheets, employee portals, etc. - Inventory management
With or without online sales management. E.g. Shopify - Supply chain management
Vendor/supplier tracking, work orders, inventory, etc. - Customer relationship management
Customer portals, customer tracking, email targeting, etc. E.g. Salesforce, Hubspot - Data management
Data consolidation, sharing, encryption/security, etc. - Field service management
Dispatch, work orders, project tracking, etc. - Accounting
Invoicing, receipt management, automatic billing, etc. Quickbooks is a popular choice. - Scheduling
Booking and online appointments, event calendars, etc.
Booking and online appointments, event calendars, etc.
Unfortunately, most of these business software systems only specialize in one-two types of solutions (e.g. inventory or scheduling). This means that you would need to pick a different piece of software to cover every area of management.
Great! Now you are juggling 4-5 different platforms with different logins and passwords, user permissions, billing, and subscriptions. It also seems you are not using any of your platforms to their full extent. There are many functions that you’ll likely never use because they simply don’t apply to your business!
It is still a big improvement since you’ve been able to automate a lot of menial processes. Also, with alerts and notifications, you are not neglecting any part of your business. But, wouldn’t it be so much better if you could combine all your software management into one? To keep only the things you like (and use) and getting rid of the rest?
This is where a tailored approach to software development comes in handy…
With custom programming, you can acquire a custom software that works for your business, using all the functionalities you need, and none of the ones you don’t. For instance, your custom software can be a combination of timesheet tracking, inventory management, and invoicing. Or it could be sales and project/work order tracking, with dispatch and scheduling. Not all businesses are alike or even operate similarly. So, it makes sense to use a business-specific software system that meets your business needs.
If you want to learn more about the benefits of custom web apps, stay tuned for our next post “5 Ways Custom Web Apps Support Growth for Commercial Clients.”