8 Types of Software That Can Boost Profit and Reduce Costs for a Small Business
Setting up and running a business can be very difficult and can also entail a variety of time-consuming and challenging processes and daily operations.
The more time spent on inefficient daily operational processes, the less time can be spent on serving customers/clients, carrying out projects, and planning the future direction of your company.
Thankfully, technological advances mean that many of these processes can now be automated or streamlined so that they are carried out in less time, and often more accurately as well. Here are eight types of software that can help you to boost the profits and reduce the costs of your business.
Communications Software
Effective communications are vital to the running of an organization. Thankfully, email systems such as Google’s Gmail and Microsoft’s Outlook are free to use, and you can even set up groups of staff members.
Video call software such as Zoom is often free for limited amounts of time, and also offers the full range of features for a subscription fee.
Website-Building Software
The vast majority of businesses, no matter how small, will need to have some form of online presence in 2020.
To set up a website, you will need to purchase a domain name, choose a web-hosting service, and build the website itself. Thankfully, many web-hosting services include all of these features in their packages.
Customer Relationship Management Software
Customer relationship management, or CRM, software is used to streamline and record customer contact details, interaction histories, and other important data relating to customer information.
Think of CRM software as an advanced address book that allows you to record everything that you need to know about a customer and any contracts you may have with them.
This field involves optimizing online content to rank higher on internet search engine results pages. There are many pieces of SEO software aimed at writers and website owners.
Accounting Software
Finance management can be one of the most difficult and time-consuming daily business tasks, and can easily distract you from other operations.
In addition to this, it is also highly prone to human error. Using accounting software such as Sage can make finance management much easier, quicker, and more accurate.
Project Management Software
Visual representations such as Kanban boards can be very useful when it comes to project management.
Instead of having countless sheets of paper or whiteboards covered in scribbles all around the office, why not use project management software to help guide the way?
OLAP Software
OLAP, or online analytical processing, is one of the newest technological developments that allows analysis of data, usually for the purposes of future development and marketing campaigns. Check out the article by Smartbost entitled OLAP 101: What it is and How to Apply it to Your Marketing for advice on how OLAP software can boost your profits.
SEO Software
Another important factor of online marketing is SEO, or search engine optimization. This field involves optimizing online content to rank higher on internet search engine results pages. There are many pieces of SEO software aimed at writers and website owners.
Cybersecurity Software
No business operation is complete without a robust cybersecurity system.
Cybersecurity involves any measure taken to keep business and customer data secure from potential leaks, hacks, or theft by cybercriminals. Cybersecurity software includes authentication programs and antivirus protection.
