In this ever increasing environment of change, the only thing that is certain is uncertainty. There is volatility in the economy and government, rising costs, bank funding limitations and rapid digital revolution.
Technology is breaking down barriers to entry and reducing non-productive time and costs. You can harness the power of change for your business by recalibrating and utilising technology and the ‘cloud’ to deliver untapped revenue streams and efficiencies. It can help to streamline processes and increase productivity, leading to time savings, cost savings and improved accessibility and functionality.
Use technology as your enabler to harness the power of change to your advantage by:
MAXIMISING YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE • Make sure you have an up to date and functional website
• Ensure that when people are searching online for the service or product that you provide that they can find you
• Build a social media presence –form a strategy and be targeted. If done right you can engage your customers quickly and cheaply
Engaging your consumer through digital means is critical and there is a strong link to revenue growth.
UTILISING CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES
• Store and access data and programs over the internet instead of your computer’s hard drive. It delivers accessibility 24/7, which in turn delivers flexibility. This alone will revolutionise how you and your employees work. It is the next evolution of the internet.
• From a finance perspective there are two popular accounting platforms currently in the market, Xero and MYOB Live. If we take Xero as an example, for a small monthly subscription (ranging from $25 to $80 per month depending upon business size, even less if you obtain through a Xero partner) you can access the program and have all of your accounting data at your fingertips 24/7. It is proven to reduce processing time through automation of bank feeds, improved useability and functionality.
You can process your accounting work quicker and cheaper than ever before, freeing you up to focus on the running of your business.
STREAMLINING YOUR PROCESSES
• Many businesses double handle the processing of transactions. Streamlining your processes so that transactions are only entered once will deliver time and cost savings.
• Invest in cloud programs that talk to and share information with each other. If we take a café or restaurant for example, utilising cloud technologies you can take up a cloud Point of Sale (POS) program which feeds into Xero such as Kounta or Vend.
• When the sale occurs it is recorded in the POS system in the cloud, this information is then sent to the accounting platform such as Xero seamlessly, no need for any manual data entry. This also improves the accuracy of the data.
There are many good and price effective solutions in the market and you get the added bonus of reduced costs for hardware.
We can build a cloud solution that fits your business from beginning to end (accounting, sales, management reporting, inventory, CRM, timesheets and much much more) that is automated and seamless which reduces processing time, enables access anywhere and anytime, is cost effective and delivers real time data to you so that you can manage your business. In an environment where margins are tight and declining, is this the competitive advantage you need? Don’t wait for your competitors to obtain a competitive advantage over you!
We have helped many businesses on this journey and we can help you and your business. The more digitally engaged your business, the better the opportunity your business has to survive and thrive in these tough economic times.
