Key Business Software for the SME

They are vastly important in providing employment for people and they offer a wide range of services and innovations across sectors. There’s a huge range of diversity within SMEs, but one thing they all have in common is a need to operate as efficiently as possible in what can sometimes be a challenging market.

Business software is an increasingly important component of any business, and there is a lot of different software available for companies to use. This article takes a look at some of the key software for SMEs, as well as examining the issue of why all this software matters.

Microsoft Office
It is thought that upwards of 80% of all companies run some version of the popular Microsoft Office software, which makes this a practical must-have for all SMEs. While there are other software options available, some of which are getting more popular thanks to the rise of brands such as Apple, the Microsoft Office platform is still the go-to software for businesses.

One of the reasons for this is that it is so well-known. It has been used for more than 2 decades now in some capacity, people are familiar with it and it has become a vital part of millions of businesses. With options for word processing, presentations, spread sheets, databases and more, Office has a wide range of capabilities that businesses are sure to find useful.

Payroll software
Another piece of software that SMEs should definitely consider is payroll software. If you are working as a sole trader then you will probably be able to take care of your payroll by yourself; however, if you have employees, payroll software definitely has many benefits. But what can payroll software do?

It can do things such as calculate the tax and NI you and your employees owe, as well as working out sick pay, maternity and paternity pay, holiday pay and more. It is easy to update the system with new employees or people who are leaving, as well as enabling you to generate reports and utilise forms that have already been approved by HMRC. In short, it cuts down on a lot of the bureaucracy that is associated with maintaining a payroll.

Skype
Communication is vital for all SMEs and Skype is a piece of software that can help you with this. It enables you to make phone calls over the internet, and if the person you are calling is also using Skype, that call will be free. It also enables you to call mobiles and landlines for a fee, and offers other features such as file sharing and videoconferencing that make it popular with business consumers.

Time reporting
When you are working on a project for a client, it is important to keep on top of how long you spend on the work. This enables you to provide accurate invoices and account for your time – and this is why time reporting software can be so useful for SMEs. It can help you to prove what you were doing and when, as well as offering useful data for in-house analysis, helping you identify areas where you could be more productive.

Social media platforms
This isn’t technically software in the traditional sense, but SMEs can definitely benefit from utilising modern social media platforms. From Facebook to Twitter, LinkedIn and more, social media is a useful way of connecting with the people who use your business and connecting with likeminded professionals.

So, even though you might block your employees from using their own social media sites while they’re at work (as 31% of employers apparently do), it can still be very useful for your business. The latest figures suggest that social networking sites account for 22% of all time spent online (that works out at around 110 billion minutes) – and that’s a huge market you really can’t ignore.

Why does software matter?
Finally we come to the all-important question – why does this software matter? One of the reasons, as mentioned above, is that it’s all about tapping into markets, as with social media.

Software, particularly payroll software, is all about making processes easier and more efficient, enabling your company to be more productive and better fulfil its potential. Of course, software isn’t all that’s involved with making an SME successful, but it can certainly play an important part in making sure you have all the modern tools you need to make the most of your business and really allow it to shine.

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