Small Business Management Software Online and What It Can Do For Your Small Business

Entrepreneurs and managers are often saddled with problems that could have been avoided had they based their decisions on facts, provided by their business management software. Gut feeling is mostly based on past experience and lessons learned, however, we forget that the only thing constant in today’s business environment is the element of change. Decision-makers have to raise their awareness that anything can change from one minute to the next; and not all decisions will turn out to be accurate. What is important, however, is to arrive at choices that have fewer risks and adverse effects in the event that changes or when unexpected events render one’s decision unwise.

This is one of the reasons why we are bent on developing cost-effective and user-friendly technologies that integrate the use of real time data. That way, even the small business owners who are still struggling to achieve stability in these unpredictable times, are provided with up to date business analytics information for formulating their decisions. The current advocacy, however, is to arrive at decisions that are flexible, in the sense that one can stay firm on the choices made, but make them adaptable to what is current or relevant. Hence, the importance of ensuring the availability of real time business analytics report.

Still, with several business management software applications in use to run the business, decision-makers are presented with a gamut of information that can likewise hinder them from making the most appropriate decisions. Every business analytics report generated by each system presents statistical numbers, ratios, and values. Those that are new to the discipline of applying analytics find it difficult to make heads or tails of the information. They get confused on what to use as guides in daily operations, or as bases for formulating strategic business implementations and decisions.

How Business Analytics Software Works

Business management software designed for business analysis has the capability to connect directly to multiple data sources. It stores and manages data in a relational database, which segments data into tables or rows. Every bit of information gathered goes into a specific table or row that represents a set of descriptions and attributes, to which the data correspond. In making use of this relational approach to manage data, each table becomes automatically linked by way of data relationships. Thus, allowing the database to support queries with answers that were sourced from the other applications being used by a business.

Supposing a particular query is for an inventory turnover analysis; complete information about transactions, accounts, policies, promotions, suppliers, purchase orders, locations, and any other information related to the movement of inventory, whether coming from the point of sale, accounting, customer relations management and e-commerce systems, will be used to generate the specified analysis report.

Examples of Business Analysis Reports

Business management softwares are offered as stand-alone applications or as part of a business intelligence platform. Typically, software is chosen according to the user’s unique business needs.

Guided Analysis – Business analytics software that gives guides to new users on how to analyze the information presented by the analysis reports. Each analysis report accessible to every newbie user appears complicated, once he or she gets to see the bars, graphs, charts and tables. This type of software is best for organizations that need to support their users with guides on how to interpret business analytics. It serves as a preparatory tool in empowering users to generate analysis reports that provide the answers they need for their decision-making purposes. The guided analysis provides, not only a walk-through of the analysis process, but also furnishes interactive examples of how to classify, compare and organize data.

Such examples include, but are not limited, to:

• Determining the significance of ratio and proportion if used for evaluating quality, frequency, speed, volume, etc.
• Giving users the right ideas about the significance of indices and industry benchmarks, as well as the suppositions these represent when used as reference by every decision-maker.
• Providing learners with experience in mapping out hierarchical and interdependent relationships and in fully grasping why certain concepts are structured as such.
• Making use of drag and drop functions to revise the arrangement or values of elements, by way of resizing and by flipping the arrangement of the analysis from vertical to horizontal and vice versa. This gives them an inkling on how “what if” questions can be provided with answers.

Ad-Hoc Analysis – This analytical tool empowers users to extract analysis reports based on their own queries, so they can take immediate action without the need to rely on IT support. The connectivity of the relational database to the data repositories in all software applications being used by the business eliminates the need to reference and organize the data provided by different analytics reports. The users of business analytics software can customize and build reports to show different perspectives in any format, and by using multidimensional relationships.

To provide an example, let’s suppose a user wants to know which geographical location with the most number of gift cards issued by a business outlet, were utilized by customers. The user also wants to know the demographics and the income bracket of the customers, as well as the goods or services purchased through the use of gift cards. What the user wants to pin down as useful information are the other geographical locations that have the most number of potential customers to target, or the types of consumers to attract, as well as the kinds of products or services to offer online at lower prices.

The user therefore can build their own analytics report using the ad-hoc functions and by harnessing the latest data gathered by the business analytics software from across the web.

Financial Analysis – Software, here, includes in its relational database the financial information generated by all business management software of the business. These are likewise analyzed according to organizational policies and requirements mandated by government regulatory bodies. Examples of financial analysis reports used by business organizations, which basic analysis software is capable of generating include reports that:

• Gauge the performance of the business in meeting its financial goals based on the forecasted sales. In line with this, information about the most productive areas, product lines, services, projects, investment tools and other sources, as well as other elements pertaining to income generation, will provide users with comprehensive data to use in forecasting sales.
• Pinpoint the cost-drivers that tend to prevent the realization of financial goals during the course of a specific business cycle. Such information can be further drilled-down in order to identify the departments, the cost centers, the projects, the activities, as well as the actors involved in incurring expenses that exceed the budget allocation.
• Use historical trends from all departments, as well as gather useful real time data to prepare the budget plans.
• Determine the areas and workflow processes that require further streamlining, or in need of additional control or proactive measures that will permit the organization to attain its cost-cutting goals.
• Identify suppliers, delivery service providers, machinery, equipment and other third-party cost contributors; by making comparisons of fees, maintenance costs, and other charges imposed on the organization. This can be further analyzed by considering the outcomes of “what if” conditions, if this supplier or that service provider was replaced; or if a new machinery/ equipment were purchased.

Other business analysis software includes analysis of the financial statements of the organization’s major customers, suppliers and contractors. The information that can be derived will enable users to anticipate possible risks that a business organization might face in the near future.

When all your business management software is working together, it’s a beautiful thing. Protasker is a great addition to any current software you are using to manage your business.