Now you’ve completed step one. You’ve identified that it is time to make a change to a new system and you’ve analyzed what isn’t working and what you want your new system to help you improve. Now it is time to choose the best one!
A good place to start is to document the issues with your current system. Things to think about:
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What is it about your current business management and
accounting software that's causing you pain? - What do you want to accomplish?
- What is your current system limiting you from doing?
You need to prepare a top-down strategy. This is the time to figure out what you want to achieve with your new system. Some questions you should ask yourself are:
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What type of information does
management need to make better business decisions? - Which processes can you automate?
- What processes do other departments want to improve? How much savings would that create?
- Where can you eliminate manual and paper processes?
- Where can you increase revenue or reduce revenue leakage with a new financial system?
- Where do you see the largest potential for labor savings – in finance, in other departments, and in IT?
Your financial system no longer needs to sit alone, if fact competitive companies are realizing the benefits when other systems interact with the financial system. It is important to make sure any new system plays well with others.
Finally, you need to run the numbers. Comparing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of an on-premises system with a cloud-computing system isn’t necessarily apples-to-apples. We can help you to factor in the fully loaded costs of everything needed to support that piece of software (hardware, software, maintenance, security, back-up, IT, and so on). Then finalize the ROI model so you know you’re making the best decision for your business. 3rd and final step coming up next!