Every year, businesses pour 4 trillion dollars into technology. A large portion of that spend goes directly into program and software licenses.
Why is tech, hardware, and SaaS that important?
Because computer programs are what powers a lot of the productivity and innovation that businesses are built around.
Are your buying software endeavors at an all-time high but you aren't sure how to go about picking the right program for your needs? Are you looking for outright program recommendations rather than having to go through the process of hunting things down on your own?
Either way, you're in the right place!
Below, we walk you through some program picking considerations to keep in mind as you search for unique products that work for you. Then, we offer a few specific software recommendations that we think you might enjoy.
Things to Consider When Buying Softwares
Buying software or applications that can help your business run effectively can be a tedious process. After all, the number of applications that are available to business owners in today's market is immense.
To help you narrow down your program choices, consider these factors:
What Are Your Needs?
At the end of the day, if you're shopping for a computer program, you have a need to fulfill. What is that need?
Are you trying to streamline your bookkeeping? Are you trying to boost your team's ability to communicate effectively?
Whatever your need is, know it and don't get distracted from it. In theory, you're going to want to pick a program that is built around your need and offers minimal distractions in the way of miscellaneous add-ons that'll slow your team down.
Price
Anytime you're purchasing something for your business, price should be a key consideration. To that end, when you're shopping for the perfect program to power your company, take a long look at what your prospects are going to cost you.
As you price compare, remember that it's always better to pay a little bit more for a program that works as opposed to paying less for one that doesn't.
In today's software market, companies will typically charge a flat fee for their programs or a monthly/annual fee with the added benefit of free updates.
Cloud vs Local
Computer programs are progressively moving to the cloud. That's good news for most business owners because it enables them to buy weaker computers for their office without sacrificing their employee's ability to run robust applications.
On the flip side of that coin, cloud-based programs (programs that you access through your web browser) are not programs that you can buy outright with a flat fee. They're almost always programs that you license on a monthly/yearly basis.
If this licensing arrangement bothers you then buying one-time fee, local-based programs are the way to go.
Just be aware that local programs do not typically have free updates and are becoming progressively antiquated.
Customer Service
When you're rolling out a program across a business, you're going to want to have the ear of a good customer support team. After all, the last thing that you want is a program snag to lose your company money.
Consider a company's reputation towards customers service (which you can research online) before choosing to scale your operations around their product.
Software Recommendations
Now that you understand a little bit more about how to shop for the right computer programs, let's talk recommendations!
It's hard for us to make specific recommendations for your business because we don't know which niche you operate in, what your needs are or anything else about your company.
Despite that, we can recommend some excellent general business program choices that we feel benefit everyone.
Slack
R.I.P email. Slack is the new means of communication among teams in a business setting.
Slack is essentially a well-built chat tool. It offers unique features like "channels" which allow teams to communicate in subgroups that are most relevant to them and reduce the amount of clutter that people have flooding their inbox.
Furthermore, Slack is free for small teams and charges reasonable licensing fees if you have greater needs.
G Suite
Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive... These are all applications within the G Suite family that allow businesses to perform a variety of tasks for free.
You read that right! No comparing prices with this great line-up of tools.
Unless you have enterprise-sized needs and need a ton of cloud space, G Suite will empower your business to work more productively without setting you back a penny.
QuickBooks
If you're running a small business, how is it that you track your financial books from month to month?
Is your answer to that question "Excel" or "Sheets"? If it is, stop what you're doing and look into QuickBooks.
QuickBooks is a hyper-streamlined bookkeeping tool that automates almost as well as this type of software. It automatically tracks your bank accounts, inventories and more to ensure that you're able to understand every facet of your financial life.
Like our other program suggestions, QuickBooks is cloud-based and charges a monthly licensing fee.
Buy the Best Software for Your Business
Buying software, applications, programs and all of the other knick-knacks that keep your company running can get overwhelming. But with the help of our tips, we think that you can cull your program options and stumble on the perfect pieces of technology that can help get your company to the places that it's meant to be.
Best of luck with your software shopping and feel free to check out more of the business building content on our blog.
