Becoming software savvy

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Take a look around your office. Do you have an overflowing inbox or piles of documents scattered across your desk? Owners and managers of warehouses, jobber stores and retail outlets are so busy overseeing employees and helping customers, they sometimes overlook one very important function: bookkeeping.

But there are plenty of software systems designed to help save you time and increase your profitability.

“We’ve found that on average, companies that used business management software were about 29 percent more profitable than those that didn’t,” says Dan DeRosa, VP of product management for small business accounting at Sage BusinessWorks, a supplier of accounting and business management software to small- and medium-sized businesses. “We don’t want to paint a dire picture, but this does say very clearly that for those that are successful, software is an important part of that.”

Key benefits of software use

Dan DeRosa of Sage BusinessWorks shares why so many companies have invested in bookkeeping software:

It allows you to manage increasing demands on time with fewer resources.
It gives you the ability to manage more types of data and business information (in the form of billing, ordering, accounts receivable, customer service and more).
You are better able to compete. The need to expand your business can put a strain on what was an entirely acceptable method of managing your books before growth occurred.
Regulatory compliance is becoming more complex. You are required to handle an increasing array of reporting to federal, state and local commissions.
It helps establish functional structure. If your company has several employees, you can utilize the software to set up parameters, protecting areas managed by someone else. Creating user restrictions enables you to keep confidential information out of their view.

He tells us that software allows you to coordinate a number of functions that you wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, which ties together useful data for easier assessment.

Sage BusinessWorks offers several easy-to-use solutions that can streamline business functions for companies that distribute goods. Peachtree Premium Accounting for Distribution 2006 combines tools for flexible pricing, inventory and customer and vendor management with core accounting features. You can even get a business snapshot each day, track cash flow, order placements and more. Other, more enhanced software solutions offered by Sage can track actual costs during the distribution process on a per line basis.

“We’ve got products that are very inventory focused. If you are a business that’s got a lot of inventory, then you’ve got lots of money tied up in it. (Our software) has the capability to notify someone if inventory decreases below the threshold,” explains DeRosa. Plus, he says, it’s important to be able to tie your inventory to your billing and account system, which their software enables users to do. “Another thing important to distributors is different access to billing their customers. They require information on older bills” and have to manage accounts receivable and identify transactions or invoices, he says, adding that there are lots of tools that not only allow you to manage all of these functions but find information very quickly.

Other software companies offer similar packages. Avanquest Software, for example, has a new suite called Small Business PRO. This customizable accounting program incorporates general ledger, accounts payable and receivable and bill paying as well as other tools, such as customer relationship management, financial reporting, sales forecasting, business plan creation and inventory management. The company says this software offers an exclusive feature that speeds up the monthly accounting process by automatically converting bank statements into accounting entries.

Small Business PRO also enables small businesses to design and print marketing materials and create a customized website in-house.

Avanquest says businesses can authorize and set up new users without having to reinstall the software suite or experience the pressures associated with upgrading to a new system.

Assessing your needs
DeRosa of Sage suggests that in order to determine the right software package, you should truly assess what your business model is. “There is software that goes a lot deeper than what you need and other offerings that are very basic.” He recommends consulting an accountant or talking to other similar-sized and well-run companies in the industry to find out what type of programs they are using. A good software system should be able to provide you with the majority of the following functions:

Accounting — so that you can establish financial and fiscal reports, and analyze balance sheets, cash flow and profit/loss statements.
Billing — for creating and tracking orders, estimates and payments, as well as converting estimates to invoices.
Banking — importing and reconciling bank statements with accounting records and automatically generating accounting entries from bank data is important.
Inventory — your stock is your livelihood, so utilizing software that can also track product inventory, generate purchase orders and quotes, create and/or import product and vendor records and adjust inventory levels is key.
Relationship management — many programs allow you to import contact names, schedule appointments and manage calls and e-mails.
Forecast — with this feature, you should be able to quickly create a business plan and compare forecasts against performance.

For more information, visit www.sagesoftware.com or www.avanquestusa.com.