Time and consistency are both problems for small business owners, so the logic for streamlining operations with apps is not hard to find.  Added to which customers are looking for value for money which drives all business to find efficiencies.  In short the modern business owner cannot afford to ignore tech.

Therefore an increasingly important part of the job of the small business owner has become designing a suite of apps for use in their business, choosing where to invest next and maximising the integrations.

In fact accountants are uniquely positioned to provide an insight into this challenge because at some level so many of these systems must feed into the bookkeeping.  We therefore give our insights.

Build out from the core

All businesses have a core function.  For accountants it is bookkeeping, for a shop it is sales, for architects it will be drawings, for a builder project management.

Whatever software you choose in this core function will impact a lot of other choices you make later on.  If you start with apps that are not part of this core function you risk ending up with a bunch of disconnected information.

We are probably looking for software in this core function that incorporates some of the next most important functions under one roof.  Accountants want the bookkeeping software to be able to handle tax or they will be having to export data out of one system and into another.  Shop owners will want the Point of Sale app to handle stock management.  The builder needs the quoting to feed into the project management etc.

Then again we don’t want our app to spread itself too thin.  Software developers who try to do it all under one roof, often end up doing nothing very well.  There is Point of Sale software that promises to do the bookkeeping, but I am quite sure the bookkeeping functionality will have you tearing your hair out.

Invest for the long term

All software but especially the core pieces of the suite will take a lot to get set up and will be a massive job to move on from.  The last thing we need is for our software provider to go under.  That might make us wary of the cheaper options.  Make sure the app does what you are expecting before you commit.  The devil is in the detail.

It would be good to get a sense of how the software might be developed in the future and how well it is being managed in the present.

Really we are looking for a strategic partner, a supplier who will continue to invest in the functionality of their product and by extension this function of our business so that we don’t have to.  Therefore we need to do our own due diligence and get the lay of the land.

The best software providers pay continual attention to improving the details of their product.

Add carefully

The more pieces of software we throw into the equation the more complexity we add and the greater the possibility of duplication and confusion.  Often there will be overlap between different apps, for example you may have customer email addresses across multiple platforms.

It is important therefore to be clear what each piece of software’s core function is and where there is duplication which will be primary and which secondary.

Over time you will probably end up with apps that streamline in each of the following areas:

• The core function of your business

• Bookkeeping

• CRM

• Marketing and Web

• HR

• Payment services

Add steadily

Each new app will take time to get working and bed in.  Staff will need training.  Customers will need educating.  There will be teething problems.  If we bite off more than we can chew we risk wasting a lot of time and money.  We probably can all think of times we signed up for a new subscription full of excitement only to find a year later that we have barely used it for lack of time.

Keep looking for opportunities

At the same time your existing apps will be developing, adding functionality. We are now in a position to benefit from this immediately if we have our eyes open.

By now we will probably be in front of many of our competitors.  We need to keep ahead of the game.  Keeping looking for the software that will eliminate time consuming, attention sapping parts of your business.  

There are some great resources out there for finding apps and plotting the next steps on your build:

• App Advisory Plus

• Xero Marketplace

Conclusion

What we have discovered at Co- is that this process is an art not a formula.   Done right it can transform your business.

With thanks to: Google, Xero, Dext, FathomHQ, GoalDriver, Inform Direct, Smart Search, JotForm, Calendly, GoProposal, Squarespace, GoCardless, Canva, Loom.