Did you know that only 56% of new businesses make it to the 5th year? While it is good to make an enthusiastic start to business life, without the grit and hard work needed, many businesses quickly fall by the wayside.
If you are a business owner what do you need to know? Choosing the right software for startups is a crucial step. After all, if you are not organized from day one, you are preparing to fail.
How can you know what software will benefit your company? Why not follow along with our in-depth article to find out?
1. Intuitive Software
When considering a piece of software, check out whether you can use a limited trial edition first. This will give you a good idea of the total potential of the software.
Crucially, it will also help you understand how quickly a person can learn to use the software. A fast-growing business may need to onboard or train existing employees to use it quickly.
If you are training employees, give them incentives for learning to use the software. This could include a gift or you could use a certificate of recognition template to create a company certificate for them.
2. Cloud-Based Software
If you will work with remote workers or employees that work from home, cloud-based technology can give you serious advantages.
They can often access the service from any device, either by using an application or web browser. The service will be maintained by the software provider directly which can help to ensure its security.
3. Fully-Functioning
As you work with trial versions of different pieces of software, measure them against your expectations. You may have a list of 10 essential features you need from the software. As you use each one, why not see how each performs and give it a rating out of 10?
Software can come with a dizzying array of options and functionalities, often more than you need. By sticking to a list you can see which of them meets your needs most effectively.
4. Suitable Pricing
Modern software providers will often provide a range of pricing and payment options. Some may give you the option to pay for the software outright at the beginning. Others offer a subscription-based service.
Calculate how much you will use the software over the next three years and then search for software that will provide the best deal for that period. If you are strapped for cash, you may want to consider if any open-source alternatives are available.
5. Positive Recommendations
While software companies often provide guarantees as to their own experience in your industry, it is often better to speak to the users themselves to get an idea of their experience.
You can do this by researching who the users are, and then contact them for a referral. In other cases, if the software item is relatively small, you can research review sites on the internet. Ensure that the sites you use are independent reviewers, and not influenced by sponsors.
The Best Software for Startups and Much More
If you are starting up a business in the current economic environment you are probably interested in prioritizing the efficiency of each department.
Knowing the right software for startups can help you to hit the ground running and make the initial progress you need to. Later you can scaleup up your software usage as your business expands.
If you are interested in IT and business subjects, then we want to help. Check out our blog pages for more information.