From the AgileStyle Blog

Moving your Business Processes Online

Do you ever wonder to yourself: “Why do we do things this way?” Often the answer is: “Because that is how we have always done it”. If that is the answer, it might be time to think about whether there is a better way. With all of the connectivity, technology, and tools available on the internet there is almost always a faster, cheaper way.

Making the leap from paper-based to web-based business processes can be a daunting task. There is a lot to think about and, lets face it, change is hard. Despite this, the simple act of reviewing your processes can be eye opening; It makes you evaluate how efficient your processes are now, and think about how efficient they could be.

A business process is any replicable activity that businesses use to achieve specific outcomes.

Some examples are sending invoices, creating reports, distributing customer satisfaction surveys, submitting time sheets, and sending marketing newsletters.

Now, you might ask: “Why would I want to move my business processes online, the ones I have work just fine?”

The short answer is: time is money, and your existing processes might be wasting both. Think of it as efficiency through:

• Simplicity
• Organization
• Automation
• Accessibility

Do your staff submit their time sheets by hand?

A basic web application can be created to allow each staff member to fill out their time sheet online and automatically track their hours, sick time, vacation… and then generate the reports you need for wages, accounting, and forecasting.

Do you enter your financial transactions manually into your accounting software?

You could be syncing all of your transactions directly into QuickBooks. Most of the book keeping can be automated: creating customers, receipts, products, and journal entries.

Do potential clients or potential staff fill out paper based applications and mail them in?

Simple online forms can be created to collect any information you want and store it in an easily accessible format.

Do you ever email a spreadsheet back and forth between between staff, or store one on a shared drive?

Convert the spreadsheet to a web application to allow for multi-user access, remote access, automated backups, and more.

These are just a few examples of opportunities to make processes more efficient.

There are some things that will always have to be done manually, and sometimes the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is a good one. However, if you are hanging onto archaic processes simply because they are what you are used to, or you can’t think of how you would change them, consider giving AgileStyle a call.

We can sit down with you and discuss what can be done and what it would mean for your business. Now is a good time to ask yourself: “Could I be saving time and money by moving my business processes online?”

Even if the answer is only “maybe”, give us a call. We can help!