A balanced financial case for web tools for key business functions
I outline the case for web applications versus traditional systems in areas such as accounting and customer relationship management. Some key considerations to have in mind before using on demand web applications in your business.
You can use internet based software to run your business. There is software for accounting, business planning and research, customer interaction management, employee expense claim tracking, time capture and sales management available for less than the cost of traditional systems. It’s possible to buy a system containing all of these features. These systems can overall work out less expensive for example Salesorder dot com is very low cost but similar systems like Netsuite – will cost you a lot more. Web systems carefully implemented will just about always show an advantage over traditional systems.
Many web applications can be instantly trialed for free lowering the buyers risk. Some suppliers are happy to charge you monthly whereas others often insist on a longer term and therefore these players for example Netsuite – will cost you a lot more. If this is your first time then do a piece at a time, dont let the vendor have too much of the ball.
Before you choose or purchase a system you should be aware of the business risks.
You may know that the lifecycle costs of web and local based software can be the same. I mean upgrades, installation and tailoring costs. It might be delivered over the web but it’s still software.
The cost of moving from a system can be hidden. There may be undisclosed financial penalties associated with transferring information between systems. The business web application industry is still in its infancy and even well established players like Netsuite – will cost you a lot more than you expect to extricate your critical business data from their systems. Tread carefully. More to come in future articles
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