Your business may be at a critical stage in its development, when your manual systems will no longer support the pace of your business. This can happen at anytime in a business’ growth, but in most cases it begins when you have between 3 and 5 staff on the road. You may already have some software systems in place, but you’re finding that they no longer fit the size, amount, or complication of your current work load.

In either case, it may be time to think about the next phase of your business growth, by considering business integration software and hardware systems. The important thing is to find one that suits your needs for today and will continue to support you and your business as you grow in the future.

In this article I will try to cover some of the key things you need to consider as you evaluate and decide on a system that best suits your business’ current and future needs.

If your company is involved in any of the service industries then your day-to-day activities probably include the following:

• Providing service, support and maintenance to your Customers
• Receiving, managing and tracking service jobs
• Scheduling jobs and tracking work in progress
• Maintaining inventory of parts, spares, and supplies
• Managing staff and contract labor requirements
• Controlling job budgets and profitability
• Invoicing, accounting and financial reporting

A good business integration application saves you time and money, the list of ways that technology can improve productivity in business has grown continually in recent years, by eliminating the need for many of your manual processes.

Almost every aspect of business life can be improved with the help of technology, and productivity is a major factor in business if you want to stay ahead of the competition. If improvement in your business is you aim, then technology in the workplace cannot be underestimated.

Before you even think about the technology required, you’ll need to take an important, but sometimes overlooked, step. You’ll need to build a business case for your new investment. Although you may have a gut feel that tells you that you’re making the right move, it may not be so obvious to other decision makers in your organisation.

Start by measuring your current productivity levels and the cost of not making any change at all. It’s always helpful to have a “base line”, especially when you start to think about budgets and return on investment (ROI). And this step may indicate that your business may not be at the stage to implement advanced systems.

Gather some numbers such as predictive error rate, labour hours spent on out of date processes, the cost of stocking unused spare parts, and the cost of losing a percentage of your customer base due to poor customer service.

Define your goals and objectives and gather some ballpark numbers so that you can clearly talk to your organisation’s decision makers about the cost, benefits, and potential ROI of the proposal. Even if you are the key decision maker in your business it is more than just a formality, the process of building your case will help you define where the problems and opportunities are so that you can be sure that your suggested solution will really address them.

The technology you implement in your business will of course be entirely dependant on the business you have. However devices such as computers and Internet applications should be common to all businesses regardless of the size. The Internet is no longer just a computer related gadget but is now a powerful business tool that aids marketing, sales, advertising and job productivity.

Achieving company goals should be one reason for implementing new technology. There is a huge range of software packages available that are company specific and are aimed to boost business productivity.

Every business is unique and each will have their own technology requirements. For most businesses there will technology devices that are common and these will probably include:

• Desktop computers.
• Mobile technology for staff both in the field and working from home, including laptops and personal digital assistants (PDA).
• Mobile phones with internet facilities.
• Digital cameras with memory disks that can download photographs directly to personal computers.
• Up to date communications systems including video conferencing and voice over internet protocol (VoiP).

Many small businesses may think that this sort of technology is beyond their budget, especially the small start up business. But prices in business technology have fallen drastically and there is always the option to lease technology.

Ask yourself the following questions to help decide if it’s time to upgrade your business systems:

• Are you having difficulty accessing the information needed to make business critical decisions?
• Do you think you are losing money on jobs because of poor productivity?
• Do you have difficulty or suffer major delays in getting your invoicing out?
• Are you falling behind current industry trends?
• Is the level of your customer service falling off?
• Are you looking for ways to beat your competitors?

To get the most out of your new system, you will need to do more than simply add software or hardware to your current processes. There is nothing worse than automating outdated and inefficient systems, in a lot of cases all that happens is that you are able to do the wrong things quicker.

The more you understand about the problems you expect the new system to solve, the more beneficial your final choice will be. Discuss what changes need to be made to your current processes. What works? What doesn’t? Consider not only how technology can automate current processes, but also examine other ways they can be improved, don’t just rely on a technology fix, look for ways to eliminate ineffective or redundant processes all together.

There is nothing more frustrating than doing something that doesn’t need to be done at all. Make sure there are no “sacred cows”, if you find yourself saying, “We have always done it that way”, this may be a trigger to see if there is not a newer more efficient way to do it.

Encourage your team members to be candid about what they find frustrating, redundant, or ineffective.

Examine how your organisation interacts with customers, suppliers, and your organisation’s other functions; look for weaknesses and ways to improve these communications.

As part of the review process of your current systems here are 5 questions you need to ask and answer:

1. How fast do you need field information to be available to the rest of your business?
2. What do you need to accurately record, schedule and complete your jobs?
3. How is inaccurate information negatively affecting your business?
4. What information do you need to make strategic business decisions?
5. How do your current systems fit in with e-business initiative?

Before you’ve agreed on the process and the timeline, have your team members share their expectations for the new system. Conduct a session to brainstorm ways the existing system can be improved, including new functions and processes that aren’t currently in place.

Have team members create a list of key functions they feel the new system needs to provide for you. Then have them prioritise these items as critical, most wanted, or nice to have. Encourage team members to distinguish between functions they want and functions they definitely need. Achieve a general consensus within the team defining the rank of each function and then combine those items into a prioritised list.

Once you have agreement, put your mandatory requirements into a formal Required Functions List. Your Required Functions List should be a short, one to two page prioritised list that includes all your must-have functions. This list will help you quickly eliminate systems that don’t meet your needs.

Selecting a business integration package that integrates with your accounting system ensures complete control and flow of information between your back office and the operational functions. An integrated application can automatically transfer data from your field staff to your accounting database, eliminating manual intervention and transcription errors while providing up-to-date job profit and inventory information. Look for a smooth-running service and maintenance application that can easily and reliably interface with your financial data and supply in-depth information across the business.

The right package should maximise the productivity of your staff. It frees them from tedious, time-consuming tasks and allows them to focus energy on providing customer service and getting the job done. With greater, more immediate access to tools and information, your field staff can add more value to their customer service – giving your business the edge on the competition.

1. Effective job management tools, which include the ability to accurately estimate jobs and compare actuals to estimates.
2. Integration with internet and mobile communications such as e-mail, SMS, text chat, PDA’s and mobile phones.
3. Scalability to allow for future growth.
4. Back office integration with propriety accounting software including, general ledger, accounts receivable and payable, order entry, work order and purchase order capability and inventory control.
5. Real time updates to and from your accounting system.
6. Easy to learn and use browser based graphical interface.
7. E-commerce capability.
8. Advanced reporting features.
9. Minimum implementation time.

Once you have completed these steps you next need to think about what systems are available, do your research, the Internet is a good resource for this. Gather your information and then pick the three best systems to evaluate in detail.

1. Estimated licence costs for full implementation.
2. Estimated hardware costs, and preferred suppliers.
3. Estimated installation costs to adapt the system to your business needs.
4. Estimated ongoing communication costs.
5. Cost and time frame for full implementation.
6. Annual support and maintenance costs.
7. Training plan and costs involved.
8. Back office integration plan and level of assistance provided.

I hope that the information provided in this short article assists you as you move through the process of possibly revolutionising your business by utilising a business integration system that best suits your current and future needs.

John McKenna is the founder of ElectricalBusinessSecrets.com an internet based mentoring/membership site specifically designed to assist contractors with the business side of their contracting business and Dedicated to Lifting the Profits and Wellbeing of the Electrical Contracting Industry Through Entrepreneurial Excellence

For more information please go to www.ElectricalBusinessSecrets.com