We have spoken before about what to look for when choosing your accounting software; but let’s take
that one step further and look at what you should be looking for in a vendor.
Here are a few tips on things to look out for
when selecting a vendor.
1. The
initial financial outlay is not the Total Cost of Ownership
The vendors should include all costs
transparently in the initial quote, so that you are not blindsided by sudden
additional amounts for experts needed for implementation and integration,
training, monthly support, call out costs or upgrades, to name just a few. When
evaluating your Total Cost of Ownership, you need to look beyond your initial financial
outlay and add any ongoing costs over a set period of time, say five years.
2. Case
Studies and references
A solid vendor will have an extensive list of
case studies and client references readily available. Ideally, you should look
for references from people in your industry or similar, so that you can get a
fuller picture of how the software – and the vendor – might work for your
business. Although praise for the software is important, that should be your
minimum expectation; you need to know how the clients feel about working with
the people that make up that organisation.
3. Does
size matter?
When you are dealing with specialised software, as
is the case with financial software, should you go with the big name brand or
the smaller niche brand? Well, would you rather have access to a general sales
person or the owner of the business? A smaller vendor is also likely to have a
deeper understanding of and interest in your individual needs. You need to find
the balance between their being big enough and having been around long enough
to give you the security of an established, secure company, but small enough
that you can still talk directly to the boss.
4. Training
and support
Even the most user-friendly software will require
some element of training and support. Ensure the vendor you choose offers full
training and ongoing support from specialised qualified staff. If your
financial software is designed to be used by non-financial users, you want to
ensure that your supplier will take the time to train your people to make the
most of the system.
5. Do they
have a plan for the future?
Does the vendor have a
development plan for their software or will you have to replace the whole kit
and caboodle in a few years? Do they work with a client driven development
mindset or do they just add features they think will be interesting to design
or develop? Knowing that you are making a long term investment in something
that has a long term future and that you could contribute to and be a part of
can make your investment a deeper proposition than just another product
purchase.
The best software won’t get you very far without
the right relationship with your vendor, and those relationships can only be
built if you know who you’re dealing with.
