At InHouse CFO we're guilty of focusing on software that Canadian small business owners should use to run their business. If asked, you might think that the answer we'd give about which hardware to use would be is that we don't care, cloud-software works on all internet enabled devices and operating systems. Not true, we do care and for 6 very good reasons.
Two years ago, we discovered the cloud-based accounting solution Xero by googling "alternative to quickbooks online". Truthfully, we were so frustrated with Intuit due to their disorganization, general lack of interest in Canada and refusal to create a solution that wasn't Windows-based, that anything was better. A quick road test of Xero at that time caught our attention and we've been avid supporters of Xero ever since.
A lot has been and continues to be said about the radical changes in how small businesses in Canada (and throughout the world for that matter) must carry on business to continue or be successful. These changes have and are occuring as a result of the internet and everything digital.
Tags: CFO for small business, SMB Systems, Sales, KPI
In this article, we are going to speak only of the outlay costs that you, as a Canadian small business owner should budget for subscriptions to the core tools you require to stay competitive in todays' changed business environment. Be cautioned though, that, as outlined in our article, Big Data, the biggest costs you could be seeing are the value of lost opportunities or, worse yet, lost market share from NOT using these tools.
Tags: SMB Systems, Budgeting
While there are always technology solutions that are business specific, there are certain ones that all small to mid-sized businesses (SMB's) must have today. At InHouseCFO we see these must-haves falling into 4 main categories:
On the plane this week I read an ad in the Wall Street Journal by IBM all about "Big Data". What they said in the ad, and have dedicated a whole web presence to (IBM Big Data) is that, while available data about a business and its operations is exploding, it's "the analysis and use of the right data" that's important.
Tags: SMB Systems, Cloud Reporting, Big Data
Management Information Systems, or "MIS" have, with everything else as a result of digital media and the Internet, evolved to a point now where the smallest of businesses can operate like the biggest of businesses gathering key operational data that is relevant, available in real time, and very useful in making business decisions. So much so that for any business NOT to have the information at its fingertips puts it at a very competitive disadvantage.
