By Wil Parker

If you're starting a new business, you need a good software package to do your bookkeeping and run the show. You may be tempted to make do without software. Don't! You can purchase a good basic bookkeeping system for a new business for a few hundred dollars. The system will pay for itself in no time. You will find you spend less time with paperwork and more time making money. And importantly, a system will give you up-to-date information on how your business is running. Better systems will even help you meet government and taxation requirements.

You also need to decide whether you want an accounting system or a ‘business solution’. An accounting system will only take care of your books, whereas a good business solution will help you run your whole business, including quotes, orders, managing customers, inventory, planning production, doing payroll, and so on.

If you only decide on an accounting system, you'll need to set up paper systems for quotes, order taking, and placing orders with vendors. At first glance this might seem easier, but you will waste a lot of time writing the same things over and over again and you will always be looking for paperwork and files. Worse, you will end up dragging paperwork home to do the accounts after hours. You could even end up forgetting to invoice that rush job you did. Reports are fairly limited from an accounting system alone, unless you are prepared to re-enter a lot of information from paper forms. Our recommendation would be to look from the start for a business system that will manage your whole business – it will save you time and money as your business grows.

No matter what system you decide on, don't buy on price alone – the time you waste due to system inefficiencies can quickly outweigh any saving you make. So it is important that you pick the right system for your business. Make sure it is easy to use, especially for those things you will be doing over and over, like entering orders and creating invoices.

A quick internet search will list hundreds if not thousands of accounting and business systems. You won't be able to evaluate them all, so you will need to obtain a short list, around three systems, that you can look at in more detail.

If you're looking for an accounting system – i.e. you intend to use paperwork for quotes and orders – you can't go far wrong by picking the most popular system in the country. Such a system should have lots of functionality, be easy to use, accountant friendly, and have the latest regulatory and taxation functionality built into it. Furthermore, it is more likely that your staff will already be familiar with it. In the US, this most popular system is QuickBooks. Check with your accountant to see if he has any particular preference that might save you money when you get him to do your accounts.

If you're looking for a total business solution, search for a one designed for the embroidery industry. If you can't find any, then broaden your search to include screen print. You may find an embroidery business system that builds on top of a standard accounting system. This is a great approach, providing the integration is done well. Because they don’t have to be built from scratch, these systems are generally more completively priced and provide greater overall functionality than an all-in-one ‘Embroidery Businesses Solution’.

When looking for the right system, the following tips might help:

• If you have previously used a good business system, use this as a reference point.
• If you use a home accounts package and like it, find out if there is a business version and whether there are third-party embroidery business systems which integrate with it.
• If you know someone running a business, talk to them and find out what software they are using and how it is working for them.
• Speak to your accountant – they should be able to recommend a couple of systems. Also find out what systems they support as this will save you money when it comes time to do your accounts.
• Trade shows are a great place to see all the software vendors in one place. You will be able to judge how professionally the company is by their stand and the people running it.
• Find out the top five small-business accounting systems in your country. In the US, the most popular is QuickBooks.
• Limit your internet searches to ‘Embroidery Business Systems’ with the filter set to your country only.

• Now you can start the elimination process to create a short list of 2-3 products. Use the internet and product brochures to confirm the following:
• The system should be sold in your country and support your currency, taxation, payroll and government regulations.
• The system should be extensible – make sure there are higher levels of product that you can move to as your business grows.
• If you’re looking for a total business solution, make sure it is designed for the embroidery industry.
• Find out how a quote or order for embroidered goods is entered – it must be easy but make sure it includes all the details.
• If you intend purchasing goods from wholesalers, can you import electronic catalogs into the system?
• Make sure there is inventory management.
• The system should provide order tracking.
• The system should include basic production reports and worksheets.
• If it is linked to an accounting package, make sure quotes, orders, customers and inventory can be accessed from the accounting package, otherwise your reports will be very limited.
• How much time will it take to learn the system. If it’s a well known package, it is likely that your staff already know how to use it. That will save you money.
• Can your accountant handle the output from the system? If your accountant has to fiddle around with the data, you are going to be paying for it.
• Find out what services are offered, credit card processing, customer credit checking, check validation, payroll services, online backup, etc.
• The system should include reporting both on screen and printed with graphs. There should be reports on things such as budget, cash flow, inventory, sales analysis reports, expenditure reports, sales order reports.
• Find out about the company who developed the system. How long have they been developing software? Do they offer support?

You should end up with 2-3 systems. If you have more and don't have time to evaluate them in detail, create a table comparing features, benefits, services and support for each system. This should help you filter the list.

Now you have 2-3 systems to choose from, it is important to see the system in action. If the vendor has online videos, watch these, then contact the vendor for a demonstration. This can be done over the internet if they are not local. If you’re looking at a total business solution, make sure you see a full system walkthrough – i.e. you should see the whole process from quote to final invoice. Make sure you see them take a quote for two different garments with two different decorations on each. Note how they select garments and designs. Then ask them to convert a quote to a sales order, take an upfront deposit, generate purchase orders for the garments, receive the garments, create worksheets for the job, and finally produce invoices and receive payments. Ask about order status and tracking and get them to find and re-use an old quote or order. Also ask to see the help and user manual.

During the walkthrough, look at the screens. Are they clear and logical or cluttered and confusing? Are there pictures to show you what is being ordered? The walkthrough should be smooth – you shouldn't see the person retyping the same information and they should not have to switch screens continually.

If you want to try the system yourself and you can get a trial version, you will need to set aside some time to really asses it. A trial system will only be useful if it comes with sample data, otherwise you will be typing everything and it will take too long. Again the best assessment is to do the walkthrough scenario yourself.

You may be tempted to collaborate with a friend, local software programmer or software company to make a custom solution for yourself. What may seem like a cheap option will quickly grow and cost you a lot more than an off-the-shelf solution. Remember that when you purchase a package, you are not paying for each and every improvement. Development cost is spread among many users so you get a lot of functionality and continual improvement for little money. Off-the-shelf packages also offer support and training.

When you are starting a new business, you will have lots of decisions to make. Picking your business software is just one. The issues discussed and guidelines provided in this document should help. If you pick a well known solution from a reputable vendor and you were happy with the demonstration, you can't go far wrong.