5 Signs Your Company Is Ready For Business Intelligence

5 Signs Your Company Is Ready For Business Intelligence

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Article credit: Sage 

Is your company ready for business intelligence? You’ve recently equipped yourself with a nifty accounting solution and finally got on top of all that information that used to lay scattered about in the bottom drawer.

You’re booking in stock, creating neat invoices and you’ve smartly linked your bank account so you can quickly and easily see how much money is coming in, and how much is going out.

There couldn’t possibly be anything else that can make running your business smoother and more efficient, right? Think again. Think business intelligence.

Business intelligence? What are you talking about?

We’re talking about igniting the usefulness of all that data your accounting software is collecting and empowering yourself with accurate information that will help you succeed.

We’re talking about having the confidence to act and make on-the-go decisions about your business based on real facts and figures.

We’re talking about freeing yourself from the burden of never truly knowing where your business is at and how healthy it is at any given moment.

This is the power and effectiveness of business intelligence and why you’ll start winning as soon as you start making use of it. It can be a powerful asset for your company.

How do I know when I’m ready for business intelligence?

The beauty of business intelligence is that no matter how big or small your business is, there’s always a place for it in your arsenal of business success weapons.

Whether you occasionally need a quick glance into the health of your business, a deeper look into the finer details behind the stunning graphs and charts, a means to track and monitor who owes you money and by when, or a more in-depth analysis of your financials over a few months or years – business intelligence has your back.

Here are a few tell-tale signs that you can look out for to be sure you’re ready for business intelligence:

1. You’re not sure whether your business is in the green or red

Unless you monitor your business closely to immediately identify and address what’s causing your profits to shrink, things are likely to get worse.

A good dashboard will be able to show you how well your business is performing by monitoring monthly sales trends, managing your expenditures and tracking your profits and profit margins.

By having information such as this at your fingertips, you’re able to determine trends that will impact on future business decisions.

2. You don’t know how much cash you have available to spend

For small business owners, how you manage your cash is especially important because the money you received today may not be enough to run the day-to-day expenses of your business tomorrow.

This is why you need visibility into how much cash is coming in and how much is going out as accurately as possible – and through business intelligence, this information is easily available.

Use a financial hygiene dashboard for an overview of cash transactions
Use a financial hygiene dashboard for an overview of cash transactions

3. You have no idea what your best-selling goods are or who your best customers are

Knowing exactly which of your products or services is selling best and identifying who your top customers are is power for any business owner.

With this information, you’re able to plan ahead when it comes to ordering stock, positioning your products or services and nurturing existing customers.

The more you form relationships with your customers rather than simply managing transactions, the more sustainable your business becomes.

4. You’ve lost track of who owes you money and for how long

It’s important for any business owner to know exactly who owes them cash, how much, and when they can expect to receive it.

Without having visibility into this information, it’s like you’re delicately balancing your company’s cash flow with one hand while walking a tight rope, in the dark.

A good business intelligence solution will not only reveal this information but will also make it possible for you to easily follow up on the overdue amounts before they seriously impact the health of your business.

5. You’re not sure where you spend most of your money and why

As a business owner, you need to know how much money you’re expected to pay your suppliers within your given credit terms in order to optimally maintain your cash flow.

A good dashboard will help you to fully manage your suppliers, which will ensure you maintain strong relationships with your creditors (the person or company who you owe money to).

As you actively communicate and keep up with payments, you’re better positioned to negotiate more advantageous terms that will help your business in the long run.

If any of these statements ring true for you and your business, you’re ready to start using business intelligence and benefiting from the value it adds.

Every day delayed is another day you could have taken advantage of all that data at your fingertips transforming it into actionable business insights that will help take your business further.

Get an overview of your sales - what's performing well and what isn't
Get an overview of your sales – what’s performing well and what isn’t

You’ve got me – what now?

Convinced it’s high time your data starts working for you? Good.

Now, it’s often thought that implementing a business intelligence solution is complex and costly. Some business owners think that massive costs and IT resources are required to gather the information.

Then, once information has been gathered, they believe time needs to be spent organising the data so it can be used.

While this may have been the case a few years ago, it couldn’t be further from the truth now.

A decent accounting solution already includes standard business intelligence that helps you get an instant view of the data your business gathers.

However, a great accounting solution comes equipped with business intelligence that helps you solve the aforementioned problems and more.

Explore your accounting solution today and ask yourself the following questions when it comes to business intelligence:

1. Is all the information I need to monitor my business ready to use and easily available?

You’re a business owner, not an accountant. We understand you have little time to figure out how to create reports. You need to focus on running your business.

So, the ideal accounting software needs to provide you with dashboards and reports that are ready to use, easy to consume and highlights vital information that impacts your business.

2. Am I able to take a deeper look into this information if something needs investigating?

Gorgeous and visually striking dashboards are great but they sometimes lack in their ability to provide real, action-oriented value.

What if you need to look a little deeper into the information that makes up these flashy graphs and charts?

This is where interactive dashboards come in handy – and we’re not talking about simply reorganising your view of it.

Make sure your accounting solution is equipped with business intelligence that allows you to easily click through and view the details behind the dashboard so you have full visibility into what’s going on in your business.

3. Can I easily customise or create new reports from scratch?

For your business to succeed, your reports must focus on information that is relevant to you and can help you make smart business decisions.

For example, you should have the ability to easily customise your sales reports to show which products are selling fast, as well as products that are not doing as great.

You should also be able to make small tweaks, such as adding extra rows or columns and adding your company logo.

And when you get more comfortable, you’ll also want to be able to easily create your own reports from scratch – depending on your requirements.

Whatever the case, the need for business intelligence regardless or whether you’re just starting out or you’ve starting growing is becoming more and more evident by the day.

Instead of waiting for the tidal wave of data to come tumbling down on top of you, heed the warning signs and ensure you’re proactive in raising your business way above the high-water line.

About Us
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.

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The Value Of Enterprise Management To Growing Businesses

The Value Of Enterprise Management To Growing Businesses

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Article credit: Sage 

If you’ve been working in the business technology space, you may well have encountered the acronym ERP, and heard that this technology is a vital backbone to enterprises and mid-sized businesses.

Search for information on ERP, though, and it’s easy to get confused. This is because every vendor that says it sells ERP will have their own understanding of what the term means. If you dig deeper, you’ll find the way ERP is used by businesses can vary widely depending on the industry it’s part of.

ERP stands for enterprise resource planning – but this isn’t helpful in describing what it should or could do for your organisation.

Instead, we believe you should think of good examples of ERP as enterprise management software – allowing growing, medium and large businesses to manage vital day-to-day processes such as inventory management, accounting, human resources and customer relationship management (CRM).

At the most basic level, you can say enterprise management software supports how different business units work by sharing information through a shared database.

How can enterprise management software be powerful for your business?

This depends on the needs of your business and industry it’s part of – and that’s why implementations of ERP can vary so much.

However, we can drill down to some of the core ways enterprise management software can help employees of all organisations work more effectively through smashing the barriers between business units.

It allows you to see your data in a single place

Instead of using multiple pieces of software to get information, integration into one single database allows managers to see what’s happening to every side of the business – from finance and HR to sales, inventory and distribution.

It can update data in real time

It can be invaluable for managers and employees to see a global, real-time view of data. Without enterprise management, you might not know how much inventory a business has and what it requires at a given moment in time. For many industries, such as manufacturing and distribution, this information is crucial.

It can help maintain existing customers and find new ones

With one source of information for both billing and relationship tracking, it allows a business to serve customers better, as well as automate certain processes, which can free up time for employees to spend on more useful activities.

Problems with ERP

One reason why there seems to be confusion around ERP is due to the changes in the way the software has been implemented in the past.

ERP has been criticised for taking a long time to implement, as well as being expensive and difficult to use.

Also, many businesses would naturally have their own specific requirements for an ERP solution, which would require extra customisation and the need for more money to be spent.

Today though, we have enterprise management software that is much more robust and comprehensive than the ERP solutions we’ve seen in the past, supporting more functions within an organisation that are very often industry-specific.

Also, in the past decade, software-as-a-service or cloud computing has made enterprise management software easier to implement for organisations that want to see both short and long-term business benefits, with prices falling for newer and mid-sized businesses.

However, do consider that many companies (particularly in the enterprise space) will still opt for on-premise solutions due to their specific business requirements.

What’s right for your business?

Clearly, business leaders that want a successful enterprise management software solution need to do the right research, determining what their requirements are beforehand – with all relevant stakeholders involved.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution for an enterprise management software initiative – it all depends on what the goals and objectives of the business in question are.

However, if you’re thinking about enterprise management for your growing organisation, here are some basic tips to get started.

Get the support you need 

A new enterprise management software implementation is a big decision for any organisation, so it’s important that there is boardroom or upper management support. Obviously, they don’t need to know every technical detail but they should at least be aware of issues that delay or could cause problems for a project.

Have a clear list of requirements

You’ll need to understand the scope of the project, the specific business processes that will be affected and the technical requirements required. This means it will be much easier for enterprise management software vendors to tailor proposals that match what you need.

Think about usability, mobile users and security

You want your employees to successfully use the system you choose, so make sure you bring in a solution that is easy to use. Make sure mobile and security are considered – you’ll likely have people trying to access your shiny new enterprise management system via a smartphone or outside of the office.

Carefully evaluate your options

Make sure you pick an enterprise management software solution that works for your business, rather make any kind of decision based on big promises and a dazzling sales pitch. You need to use the research as well as input from stakeholders to make a judgement that provides you with a system that is accepted and used by your employees.

Understand what you want to customise and why

Reputable vendors will generally offer enterprise management software solutions that are customisable, or ready for the demands of different industries. The business objectives and demands for retailers for instance, might be very different from advertising firms.

Enterprise management must help your firm

Enterprise management software is increasingly being adopted by small to mid-sized businesses. If it’s cloud-based, it’s cost-effective and easy to deploy, which means companies won’t need huge budgets to deploy enterprise-class technology.

The real future of enterprise management software isn’t about new technology but which applications can immediately help your business and make a difference, fast.

Choose an option that is flexible, easy-to-use and updated regularly, and which fits in with the demands of your industry.

About Us
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.

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How To Create Better Supply Chains And Achieve Global Success

How To Create Better Supply Chains And Achieve Global Success

Article

Article credit: Sage 

The success of a business is inextricably linked to the success of its supply chain. It’s the crucial process that starts with raw materials and finishes with the delivery of the final product.

Supply chains can range in size and complexity. With a product such as coffee, for example, it could involve steps including cultivation, production, processing, transportation and distribution.

Businesses needs to deliver services and goods as efficiently as possible to meet the requirements of demanding customers and their changing needs in the digital age.

Improvements in the supply chain can save a lot of money. For instance, airline manufacturer Boeing recently reached a deal with Mitsubishi Heavy to reduce the cost of producing wings for its 787 Dreamliner by “pursuing increased efficiency in its production system and supply chain through lean production methods, automation and other activities”.

According to a survey from Deloitte, 79% of companies with high-performing supply chains achieve revenue growth greater than the average.

Fundamentally, businesses compete through the capabilities of their supply chains. They determine how they plan, source, make and deliver goods. They also determine the cost and quality of a product, as well as the agility it has in responding to customer and market needs.

With digital, the global market is only getting bigger, which means competition is doing the same. In a 2016 report by GT Nexus, 40% of senior manufacturing executives reported that a supply chain disruption impacted their business in the 12 months previous.

Business leaders are exploring ways to get and stay ahead of the competition but there are also ways they are being challenged by a changing marketplace. For example:

  • Customers are more digitally savvy, which means they have higher expectations when it comes to the availability of products, and the time between order and delivery.
  • A global marketplace means more competition from around the world.
  • Regulations in many industries are being tightened up.
  • Technology such as sensors and analytics are increasingly available, allowing businesses to predict customer demand and distribute products more efficiently and effectively.

Successful supply chain management

To face up to these issues, business leaders and managers will want an effective supply chain management strategy that allows them to control the flow of goods and services across the company.

To help, we spoke to Dr Muddassir Ahmed, a supply chain management expert who has written extensively on the topic. He believes there are four key pillars to a successful supply chain management strategy, which can allow businesses to take charge of their supply chains, keep up with customer demand and increase profit.

Pillar 1: People

If you’re a business leader, you shouldn’t need in-depth technical knowledge to understand what’s happening at every level and area of the business. To make informed decisions and think strategically about the supply chain, you should count on experts hired for specialised analytical tasks.

Muddassir says: “If you work with a business analyst on your supply chain management strategy, you’re free to spend more time defining the roles and responsibilities of everyone in the company, maintaining their development plans and making informed decisions that drive profits up.”

What you need to do:

Spread out the responsibility! Get experts in to help make informed decisions at every level and area of the business.

Pillar 2: Systems

As well as expert analysis, businesses need the technology to plan, forecast and handle inventory alongside financial information related to the supply chain. As a business leader, you’ll need to evaluate what business software is most suitable for your needs.

For example, a small company could initially be fine with spreadsheets to handle accounting information, forecast and track inventory. However, as it grows, it will encounter critical business challenges – with such basic tools, it won’t be able to perform necessary actions such as gauge what stock is required, or predict future growth.

Nick Castellina, vice president and research group director for the Aberdeen Group, says: “If you have too much of a product and it goes unsold, that’s a cost to the business. Conversely, if you don’t have enough product, you’re missing out on business.”

If your company has expanded in size, and it’s a struggle to manage your supply chain, you should be asking these questions, with feedback from all relevant teams:

  • What system or solution do we need to run the business?
  • Can we make accurate forecasts about our supply chain and future growth?
  • What are our business requirements today and in the future?
  • What are the key business challenges we need to solve?

Options include dedicated accounting software, while larger businesses will typically migrate to ERP or enterprise management solutions, when it becomes apparent these challenges exist.

What you need to do:

Ask questions of your company. Understand your needs and demands, which will help you with picking the right systems that will allow you to work most effectively.

Pillar 3: Processes

Simply having the right technology isn’t enough when it comes to managing the supply chain. As a business leader, you’ll need to set plans in motion to analyse how your company operates, providing training for all the systems we’ve already mentioned. It’s key to keep up with customer demands and market changes.

With the support of technology and your analyst, you’re in a good position to examine your firm’s financial information and inventory data. Key questions you should ask include:

  • What are the cost of your processes and how long should they take?
  • How long does it take to send customers products?
  • What is the overall productivity of your workforce?

“Look at how things are changing in the business and validate your gut feeling with real numbers,” says Nick. “The point could be to prioritise individual parts of the organisation you want to get more of.”

If you find that process prevents your supply chain from being efficient and effective as it should be, make sure you’re providing the right training for your teams on the front line.

What you need to do:

Look at your company processes. Make sure that employees are working in effective ways, and whether your supply chain is working as it should be.

Pillar 4: Execution

If your supply chain management strategy is working, then you’ll likely find customer satisfaction rates are up, supply chain costs are down, employees are using core systems and processes, and profits are being maximised across the whole business.

But this isn’t a quick fix – as a business leader, you’ll find that you’re spending much of your time working out how to achieve your key business objectives. You should also open yourself to the possibility you will fail – and learn from mistakes.

The key to good execution and the meeting of business goals is to make informed supply chain decisions based on accurate data. Inaccurate data may lead to assumptions that are simply wrong.

Nick says: “If you make supply chain decisions based on inaccurate information, about product costs or needs of the customer, for example, your decisions could reduce rather than grow the profits of the business. Make decisions based on data you trust and review results regularly.”

What you need to do:

Make informed supply chain decisions based on accurate data, and review the results of these decisions regularly.

The future of the supply chain

New technology is changing the way businesses manage their supply chains. The Internet of Things, for example, can allow enterprise managers to see and understand what’s happening on the factory floor in real time.

Muddassir says: “In the past, if I wanted to do a study in how long it takes for my warehouse people to pick stock, I would have needed to ask them to fill in a form which stated when they started to pick the product and when they stopped.

“Now you can find how long they take by using devices like internet-connected trackers, connected to an enterprise management or ERP system. This technology is becoming more useable and widely available.”

Supply chains can hold a large proportion of many company’s costs. An effective supply chain management strategy allows companies to respond to new market-growth opportunities and help them navigate economic uncertainty, financial volatility, the impact of globalisation and the constant pace of change.

About Us
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.

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Mobile App Add-On Module For Sage Evolution

Mobile App Add-On Module For Sage Evolution

Add-On Module

With mobility now the cornerstone for operating a cutting-edge business, Sage Evolution Mobile is the perfect tool to stay ahead of the competition. Now with an innovative suite of mobile applications, this home-grown ERP solution gives your sales force the ability to extend your business borders by transacting anywhere, anytime.

Available on Apple’s App Store and soon for Android too, Sage Evolution Mobile allows sales executives and management to view customised dashboards and real time information on customers, inventory, expenses and other key business information. The ability to check item quantities and prices with quick searches allows users to create in-the-moment quotes and orders with discounts – this means deals can be negotiated and closed in one meeting. Customers can accept terms by signing on the tablet and an e-mail confirmation follows.

Sage Evolution’s Mobile applications offers you online/offline modes, allowing the programs to operate even when users are out of 3G range and still ensure an automated and seamless integration back into Sage Evolution ERP.

About Us
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.

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Five Questions To Ask Before You Choose Accounting Software

Five Questions To Ask Before You Choose Accounting Software

Article

Article credit: Sage 

Want to choose accounting software for your business? It’s no exaggeration to say that getting the right software can mean the difference between success and failure.

Adding in the very best accounting software to your business will make it effortless to manage cash flow and know your company’s financial health at all times. You can issue and track invoices, it will be it easy to keep on top of your accounts receivable payments and you can also chase late payments efficiently.

In this article, we take a look at five factors that you might not have thought about before when you choose accounting software, with some handy insights courtesy of a group of business experts.

1. Will the accounting software grow with me?

Carl Reader is known as The Startup Coach and is the author of The Startup Coach and The Franchising Handbook. He has some wise words when it comes to examining the credentials of the company behind the software.

Carl says: “Look at whether the software provider is going to be around in 10 years’ time. Look at how well capitalised the company is. Has it got the funds to be able to compete going forward? Has it got the staffing, infrastructure and systems that you would expect to allow it to continue going forwards?

“And in 10 years, will it be the same company or is it likely that they might be acquired or pivot their business model, which might mean an uncomfortable transition.”

You hope your business will grow. As it does, what’s required from you as the owner will become more sophisticated too, as will the need to know more about business management.

Yet good accounting software will grow with you, with additional packages by the same software vendor sometimes coming into play as your business develops new requirements, such as payroll or payments processing.

2. Can the right people get the information they need?

Carl says: “Businesses should be run on a grounding of a solid understanding of the financial data by all teams. The more that people understand how their actions contribute to the bigger picture, the better.”

This underlines how far we are from the old days, when financial data was something closely guarded by those who “needed to know”.

In a modern, forward-thinking business, financial data is shared with those who need it – and it’s shared instantly. For example, a sales team might have access to a dashboard showing insights into the company financials that will help with its progress.

This kind of culture is one that promotes success and growth – and at its heart is the right accounting software. The ability to create bespoke dashboards or reports is a necessity, as is the ability to easily share them with key stakeholders.

The very best finance software takes a democratic approach when it comes to financial data. Not all data should be shared, of course, but allowing the right people to know the right information can truly revolutionise a business.

Ask the software vendor the following before purchasing: Is my accounting software designed only for finance professionals or is it for the whole business? And how easy is does it make it to share key data with stakeholders within the business?

3. Will it keep up with tomorrow’s technology?

Roger Knecht is the president of Utah-based training organisation Universal Accounting Center and is an authority on how accounting software can benefit businesses of all sizes.

On the topic of upcoming technologies and their impact on businesses, he says: “Accounting software is helping the business owner be more present in their business.

“With the use of artificial intelligence (AI), we are just in the first phase of this evolution to give business owners the accounting information they need in a way they can use and understand it to make better informed decisions.”

Another incredibly promising technology on the horizon from an accounting perspective is blockchain. The most well-known implementation of this is cryptocurrency, which includes the likes of bitcoin. Cryptocurrency is already accepted by many businesses worldwide and governments are experimenting with the technology, while people use it for investments too.

It’s still too early for accounting software to process cryptocurrencies (most software focuses only on legal tender), yet it’s not unreasonable to ask whether or not the accounting software vendor is monitoring the same technological horizon as you are, or even what its position is on future technologies such as blockchain.

4. Does the software help me remain compliant?

Adam Prince is vice president of product management, compliance and migration at Sage. Talking specifically about accounting software, he says: “Remaining compliant has never been more important.

“Tax, employment law, data protection and more must be high on the list for anybody running a business of any size and are all pushed by the pace of digitisation.

“But the right software helps you get it right without stress or having to sweat the details.”

It’s tough being in business but especially so if you’re a new business owner when there are legal requirements seemingly coming from all sides.

The most obvious is ensuring you take care of tax, because a business that is unable to pay its tax is essentially bust. Another common compliance area is payroll and pensions, where the rules can be complex but software can quickly simplify the workload.

And then there’s the need to keep your data is kept secure so you don’t fall foul of data protection laws.

Good accounting software will certainly help you stay on the right side of the law by providing functions and features that make it easier for you to remain compliant. Essentially, the folks behind the software will have done the hard lifting for you and thought through the processes, making it easier for you to fulfill the requirements.

5. What reports and dashboards do you get out of the box?

Just like in your car, the dashboard in accounting software aims to provide the key information you need at a glance. The very best accounting software includes at least one dashboard and they can be revolutionary for a business. Rather than having to run a report each time you want to see data in context, you can simply take a glance at a dashboard and see live, up-to-the-minute information.

Seeing data in this way means you can become responsive and truly track trends and developments, or simply stop any problems before they have a chance to arise. Compare that to the old days of periodic and basic reports, which forced people to be reactive and to make decisions based on things that had already occurred.

However, it’s not just key accounting information that benefits from being shown on a dashboard. The ability to configure bespoke dashboards (or bespoke reporting) can provide unique perspectives and reveal relationships between data that wasn’t possible to see before. Dashboards can allow different departments in a business to work together more efficiently too because they’re able to see a broader picture.

Therefore, the ability of accounting software to let you go beyond the basic dashboard is simply a necessity. And only the best accounting software includes such features.

How to choose accounting software: final thoughts

Businesses start with an idea and a passion and they should continue to drive you forward. Getting the right accounting software can be about more than taking care of the numbers – it can help to support your mission and goals.

The right software will support your business as it grows and prepare you for whatever the future brings. Making the right choice when your mind is on other things might take effort but, as with all things in life where effort is demanded upfront, doing so will mean significantly less work over the long term.

About Us
Kiteview Technologies (Pty) Ltd was founded in May 2010 to provide the Sage Evolution Business Management solution to the SME market. The management team of Kiteview have combined +30 years of experience in the delivery of small to mid-market Financial & Business Management solutions. This experience, combined with a sound project implementation methodology has helped in Kiteview’s growth, becoming a Platinum status partner for SAGE Pastel within just 1 year.

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