A Business management system can revolutionize the routine and results of your business. But do you know what this software actually is, and how its benefits are useful in practice?

If you think about it, in order to handle your business administration you have to deal with the finances, send documents and data to the accountant, take care of inventory and purchases, watch operational processes, generate reports and cash flow, issue invoices and much, more. There are so many different processes that it is difficult to measure how much attention you devote to each one of them.

Do you know how much time you spend on each of these tasks? What if you could improve efficiency and, instead of typing all this information you used software to handle the majority of this manual work? You can simplify all of these tasks by the automation provided in a Business Management system. In some cases, you can also potentially remove the work normally carried out by a person.

How much would you make if you could devote more time to actually implementing your business strategy? What’s more this kind of software provides powerful insights and data for decision-making.

So, what is a Business Management System?

A business or enterprise management system, is software that allows you to manage different tasks relating to the management of your business. It is a smart platform that automates several operational processes and connects the different areas of the business. Through the use of such software, the employees are more dedicated to the strategic tasks and contribute to the achievement of the established objectives.

The system also centralizes information from one or more sectors. This measure provides a broader view that helps make accurate business decisions. Therefore, it is common for such software to bring benefits that go far beyond just the financial aspects.

Will my business really benefit from using such software?

The main objective of the business management system is to manage variables inherent in the financial and management flow. These include issuing invoices, purchases, expenses, sales, cash flow, work orders, and production. Whilst not all systems are created equal, here are a few industry-standard benefits:

Integration of Company Areas

The adoption of the tool makes it possible to leave aside the different worksheets used for management. This measure still allows all sectors to work towards the same goal. In this way, a more efficient management is achieved . A practical example of this is the relationship between sales and inventory. If the person responsible for inventory is not aware of current and upcoming marketing efforts, he/she might order the incorrect quantity of particular items, leading to potential lost sales or too much stock.

Optimization of Working Capital

With a strategic view of inventory, for example, financial resources are spent efficiently whilst preventing day-to-day hiccups. Less money is wasted ordering too much or too little of any item since sales trends provide a good indication of what to order and when.

Reduced Rework

The business management system provides more accurate and reliable data which is then communicated with other stakeholders. The data is entered just once, decreasing the number of manual processes and the potential failures resulting from them. For example, when a sale is processed, the order information is sent directly to the inventory manager to prepare the order and the finance department to issue the invoice. This is all done automatically and instantly.

Support for Decision-Making

The data of the management system make it possible to identify vital information, such as:

• Month-to-month revenue evolution
• Inventory bottlenecks
• Cash Flow Management
• Sales trends and marketing successes and failures

An important advantage of enterprise management software is to increase operational efficiency. With process automation, managers can focus on business expansion, team leadership, customer service, and strategic decision making. This function is vital for any business, especially one which is looking to expand quickly.

Different types of Business Management Systems?

The market offers various software possibilities for companies of all sizes and segments. Here are the main ones:

Business Process Management (BPM)

Its purpose is to systematize a business’ processes by collecting and organizing information. The system gathers data on the execution of activities and allows better visualization of the workflow. In this way it is possible to view opportunities for improvement. The greatest benefit of BPM is continuous improvement, although this solution is usually bureaucratic because it imposes different rules for the execution of activities.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

The company’s resource planning is the best-known system in the financial sector because of its features and facilities. Its focus is managed resources, which ensure the improvement of fiscal, financial and accounting control of the business. In general, the manager is able to centralize the financial transaction data and calculate the taxes of each entry and exit operation. The main benefits of this solution are:

• Reduce time to manage inventory and finance
• Enable focus to other sectors of the organization
• Decrease bureaucracy to issue invoices
• Eliminate errors by manual data entry and control for more precision
• Integrate data to simplify access
• Generate reports
• Back up automatically in the case of the cloud solution.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

The focus here is on customer data. The goal is to gather as much information as possible to create specific strategies for attracting and retaining users. Therefore, CRM stores items such as:

• Personal information (name, address, telephone number, etc.)
• Customer Activities
• Contacts made with the company (such as phone calls, site visits, emails and other interactions).

What is the best BMS for your business?

The most appropriate software depends on the needs of your business. However, there are fundamental tips for making a wise choice.

1. Analyze the Practicality

The business management system should be easy to handle to avoid resistance to change. The ERP wins in this sense, because it enables the integration of departments. You should be able to easily arrange the data in a dashboard that presents a broad view of the organization. Be aware that practicality directly impacts the execution of business management activities. With this, it controls finances and processes.

2. Check the Cost-Benefit Ratio

ERP implementation is certainly an investment for your company. It may seem like an expense at first, but the cost savings and benefits it provides quickly outweigh the initial and running costs. In addition to automating operational and bureaucratic tasks, it facilitates visualization of data to make strategic decisions. This means that wrong decisions become less likely. The time to implement action is also reduced, because the information is consolidated, rather than incomplete and distorted.

3. Consider a Cloud Management System (CMS)

Software hosted on an external server is online and available at any time. You, or a colleague can access this solution from any device with an Internet connection, as long as you have the necessary password to access the files.

4. Evaluate Security

Management software should have security as a priority. The files need to be encrypted and SSL code must be used for the exchange of information between the access devices and the servers. This will ensure that the communication remains confidential.

The infographic.

Our friends at Zoe Talent Solutions have developed this detailed infographic to help you better understand the benefits and types of business management software. Let us know if this article has helped you in the comments below.

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