Choosing the right business software can be difficult. There are an overwhelming amount of options out there. How do you choose the right solution? Knowing what to look for in software can help you to narrow down your options. A lot of companies know that they need accounting software or payroll software, but don’t actually know what features to look for. So that you don’t choose the wrong software solution, make sure to consider these 8 important factors when comparing software services.

First and foremost, it’s important to make sure that the cost of software aligns with your budget. Most modern software is bought as a subscription service rather than an initial upfront payment. These ongoing fees help pay for the maintenance of the software. A lot of business software providers will offer different price plans for different sizes of business - usually a small business package, medium business package and enterprise package. Others will provide customized quotes based on your needs. Take the time to compare the prices of various different software services and compare the features you get with each one. Cheap and free business software does exist out there - but expect it to be very basic. Some software may come with hidden fees, so always check the small print so that you know exactly what you’re signing up to.

As your business grows, your software should be able to grow with it. For example, when choosing payroll software, you shouldn’t be limited to how many employees you can have on your payroll - a good software solution will allow you to manage an ever increasing workforce if you do decide to become a business empire. Many software providers have different plans that you can pay more to upgrade to when you reach that point. Other software may provide unlimited growth at a fixed fee based on your current size - but you may have to agree to a term of several years that you cannot cancel, which may not be ideal if you don't know what the future holds for your business. Choosing cheap basic software may be all you need if you plan to stay as a tiny company. However, if you have any aspirations of growing, it’s important that you don’t feel restricted - having to migrate to different software later down the line may end up becoming necessary and could be a hassle you could avoid by choosing scalable software. 

It could be important to choose software that integrates with other software applications you already use. For example, if you are a retailer, being able to feed information from your store’s POS system directly to your accounting software could allow you to track all income in real time. Similarly it could be useful to link staff rota software to time tracking software and payroll software so that the hours and pay of your employees is automatically calculated.  All-in-one software can be an option for startups to consider - this allows all your business’s functions including accounting, HR, customer relations and inventory management to be carried out from one platform. Such software can be an affordable option. However, some all-in-one packages may include features you don’t necessarily want. Being able to handpick different types of software for different purposes could allow you to focus on the features you actually need.

It’s important that the business software you choose isn’t too complicated to use. User-friendliness is something that is hard to judge unless you actually test out software. Fortunately, many software providers offer free trials. These allow you to test out the features of a program to get an accurate idea of how easy it is to use (some features may be locked in this free trial - and you need to be careful that you are not automatically signed up at the end of the trial). You may also be able to test the user-friendliness of business software by watching demo videos and walkthroughs. Customer reviews can also give you a good idea as to how easy software is to use, which leads onto the next important factor…

Good business software should ideally have glowing reviews. If there are a lot of negative reviews, this is a sign that customers aren’t happy with the software and you should steer clear. If there are no customer reviews, you may also want to avoid signing up, as it could mean that the software has few users and cannot be trusted quite yet. Make sure to read reviews of software to see what people’s praises and complaints are. There may be some software issues that you’re willing to put up with, while others may be a dealbreaker. You should also check the date of reviews - make sure that the recent reviews are mostly positive. You can also look up professional reviews of software at tech and business publications. Comparison guides of software are also very useful as they can help you easily compare all the benefits and drawbacks of each application.

While some business software is targeted at specific industries, other software applications are designed for general use. Industry-specific software such as real estate CRM software or healthcare HR software could have more precise features and labels that you can more easily understand. General software may be more affordable, but may lack certain niche features useful to your industry as well as having some excess features you’ll never need.  It is a good idea to check exactly which types of business software is targeted at. Even some general software may not be suited to some very niche models of business. You will usually have less choice when it comes to industry-specific software - however it may be easier to compare your options because of this.

Nowadays, it’s vital that every software provider offers a good customer support service. This includes 24/7 representatives who you can get hold of with any issues you may have - either by phone, email or instant message. Some software providers go above and beyond offering free consultancy as part of their service. For example, some HR software providers allow you to talk to HR experts about any employee issues you’re having for free as part of their service. Some software companies even go further than this - acting as outsourced bureau services that may be able to take over admin tasks. However, these services usually come at a much greater cost. Read reviews to get an idea as to what people think of the customer service. You can also try reaching out to customer service yourself - if they get back to you immediately and seem very helpful, this is a good sign.

Finally, it’s worth making sure that any software you choose is secure. You can usually trust most big software providers to provide robust security. Smaller software providers could be more risky - you should check that they provide data encryption, cloud backups and multi-factor authentication. Make sure that software regularly gets updates and is not due to expire. Some software providers may heavily discount software if they plan on bringing out new software in the future. This could result in you being forced to migrate when software loses support.