One of the best ways to shoot your business in the foot literally, as well as metaphorically, is to get the wrong software. Your business software must be of high quality, able to do the jobs you need done efficiently and without creating further costs in terms of managing data. Your software can either create a truly efficient business environment or give you a lot more work without any real benefit to your business.

The software to avoid

There are a range of so-called business software options which are so bad they’re really liabilities. This range includes:

1. The notorious do-nothing “business apps” which are no more than recycled software, not much better than out of date organizers. If you read the reviews of some business apps on Google and Apple, you’ll see a lot of these apps being literally loathed by users, and with good reason. These things may not even be secure. They may not work with other administration software. They can’t be upgraded until the app developer comes up with a new version, if ever.

2. File sharing software which may or may not be secure and may cost a lot more than they’re worth. Some of these things are glorified versions of email, simply adding files and creating a distribution list of file sharers. Quality varies, but unless you’re using a lot of big files with a lot of people, do you need this sort of software?

3. Big business software packages come in various shapes and sizes. They’re well known for providing a lot of features which are utterly useless for most businesses. Some are not industry standard like MYOB or dedicated enterprise software, and may not work on some business systems.

4. El Cheapo business software, particularly the sort that says you can do all your business on it, is usually a set of spreadsheets which you could create yourself for even less money, and without cluttering up your system with software which is equally suspect.

5. “Business accounting software”can be a true liability, worse than useless. To start with, all countries and the EU have their own different accounting requirements. The software is unusable, if it can’t meet these basic standards. You can get customized business accounting software which is very efficient meets standards, and get support when you need it.

6. Ecommerce software which may be unsuitable for use with major league ecommerce operators like PayPal or the big credit cards is a true own goal. Banks won’t touch this software unless it meets their security standards, and with good reason. It’s not secure. Some types of ecommerce software are literally targets for hackers and phishing scams.

How to avoid mistakes

The way to avoid mistakes is simple:

· Check out enterprise software, which is an all-in-one type of software which can be tailored to provide full spectrum business services for any business.

· Make sure your software conforms to the required accounting standards you need.

· Check with your bank regarding its requirements for ecommerce and ask for their advice about acceptable software.

· Talk to professional business software consultants about your needs.

Above all- Avoid the mistakes, and you’ll save a lot of time and money.

image credit online business software

By Gary

An avid blogger a social media addict

42 thoughts on “Top 6 mistakes to avoid when looking for business software”
  1. Great article! Especially the list of how to avoid mistakes, clarifies a lot of things.
    I will have a closer look at different products now.

    ~Anja~

  2. Nice post,

    These are the common mistakes that every body doing in their business software..
    you have clearly stated the mistakes with possible solution..
    Thanks for sharing…

  3. You may want to add, if you are looking at enterprise software, you may want to add that a review from a current user is helpful. If you are looking for software for a particular industry, stands to reason some other company in your industry is using the software. If they are using other software find out what and review it as well.

  4. Hi lawmacs! I think softwares that charge money is the 1st criteria in avoiding unnecessary softwares. Open source is thriving and many opensource products are free. Everybody can use these free softwares and there are user reviews so that you can know the quality and its effectivity. Go go go opensource NOW!

  5. Innovative Tips! File Sharing Software Should be Avoided because it is insecure as compared to other Business Software! Selecting Right Software according to your business niche is one of the most vital aspect!

  6. Great post! I really can relate to your share. Some software were just designed with time saving in mind but should be interpreted as “for those lazy users only”.

  7. Hello Lawmacs, Thanks for the tips regarding the Business software selection. I admit these are useful but the tips are much useful when thinking about as a vast category. I would like to get some tips regarding the HR Payroll Software! If the Software is priced at decent level and it has good testimonials , should I believe on those testimonials and buy that software?Would love to hear your opinion

    1. I completely agree with all the things you must avoid here…

      With that in mind, I hear Micro Force has some great, quality software. My friends who own a company in Long Island have been using them for years and only mention good things.

  8. I am in a great search of the right software for my company but I don’t seem to find anything suitable, thank for the advices, I hope they will help me!

  9. i think File sharing is must in software some time we need to transfer our analytical data into other system…great share…

  10. Nice post… Enjoyed going through the tricks to find a good software. Thanks for sharing this post… Keep writing the good content.. 🙂

  11. Thanks for sharing this great ideas on how to choose the best software to use for online business. by the tips you have shared I wouldn’t have any regret soon and make the same mistakes again.

  12. Thanks for sharing this informative post in which you shared your thoughts on how to avoid mistakes in choosing business software. This is really helpful especially to business owners because they will not be a victim of a too good to be true promises of softwares that can be found over the internet.

  13. sometimes cheaper software couldn’t generate the report on which you should actually look at and can cost you big loss which you could over come with decision choosing right tools.Choosing business software whether it is accounting or ecommerce, it is like choosing your spouse and one wrong decision can spoil all the things.

  14. I really like reading this post..There is no point choosing one type of software, paying for it, then 6 months down the line realise that it is not for you. Using a free trial is very cost effective.

  15. Hi Gary,

    You are so right. Business software is a huge expense and most times you have to live with it forever. Many people ‘assume’ that purchased software is protected and learn too late that they are at risk. Best to do your homework or hire a pro, just like you said. Great advice.

  16. really great ideas on choosing the best software to use for online business. i do think that someof the softwareout there are just designed with time saving in mind and appealing only to lazy users

  17. It’s really a good article. Here you nicely discuss what things should be include and what should be exclude when making a buisness software and i really like it.Thanks for sharing.

  18. There are so many different programs out there, sometimes it’s hard to choose the one that stands out above the rest. Easiest thing to do is talk to folks who have tried each one and get recommendations. I personally use Infusionsoft for all of my business. Great contact management, web forms, ecommerce abilities, email, phone blasts, etc. etc. More features than I can even use!

  19. You’re right!This is a very big help for those who are interested in business and also for those who are starting a business. It can help them to give an idea on how to have a good business.

  20. Hai Lawmacs!
    It’s really a Awewsome article. Here you stated what things to be included and what to be excluded when making this type of software.Thanks for sharing.

  21. I have many a times download File sharing software from different sites around web and got them to be virus. This was an outstanding post and Thank you for your treatment of this wonderful subject.!@bose

  22. I think if you are starting your own bussiness then bussiness software is must,though there are points to be considered and you have said that points in a very precise and awsm manner! 🙂
    Thanks for the points 🙂

  23. The most important thing is to read reviews. The thing with software is that once you have bought it, you have to input data and use it. Read reviews and only buy tried and trusted software that has been developed. Don’t be a developers dunce, let someone else do that job, get something that is already proven to work imho!

  24. I think a file sharing software is important for a lot of businesses. If you do not need plenty of storage space, you can avail of the free storage space provided by Dropbox.

  25. Providing us this great ideas on how to choose the best software to use for online business. I will surely follow all the tips you have shared with us to avoid this kind of problem. Thank for the post.

  26. After reading this post, I found my mistake. That is, I always use File sharing software. Now I know the real thing. Thank you very much for providing this information.

  27. There are so many different companies that provide software for business, it can be hard to choose. This post will definitely help folks who are stuck on the fence make the right decision.

  28. A very nice article Lawmacs, it should be a wakeup call for businesses to stop dumping money and start looking into solutions that work for them. I am a great fan of cloud solutions and its time people make their businesses more mobile and stop wasting money on “recycled” software. Keep up the good work and keep enlightening us.

  29. I really appreciate the tips/advice which you provide in this post with regard to buying business software. My advice to anyone in the market is to do your home before buying any business software.

  30. This is a darn good post. the advice that you give in your article is easy to implement. So, software purchaser pay heed to this post and the contents there in.

  31. One thing which people usually don’t pay much attention to is the security feature of the software. Even more important is the perception to the visitors that they are surfing a secure website and the information they are entering will be completely secure. Therefore whatever eCommerce software you are going to use make sure that you make yourself completely familiar with it’s security features.

  32. Thanks for the worthy share i really appreciate your effort for putting this up you are an emblem reader Consider yourself bookmarked,will be a regular visitor from now onwards

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