Managers and other important personnel of SMEs as well as large enterprises struggle to keep pace with today’s speed of operations. To keep up, they need to optimize business processes, and use tools to make sure processes are being streamlined while mitigating risks.
However, when considering the thought of streamlining some processes, you may start thinking about automation. With all the rage around automation, and the benefits that it is supposed to bring, it makes sense. At the same time, streamlining the right way doesn’t require you to automate every task.
In fact, one of the keys to building a better workflow is to understand that some processes are better suited to human input, while others are ideal for software. Software can excel at performing time-consuming, number-crunching and repetitive tasks.
So what processes should you consider streamlining with software and tools? Here are a few you could consider to smooth out business operations:
Payroll
When your company has several employees, you need a way to track their income and ensure they’re paid on time. Payroll software helps you do that and a lot more; you can use it to calculate bonuses, deductions, withholding taxes, salaries, and more. Automating payroll will not only allow you to get every detail correct with little effort, it will also save you from human error and wasted time if the function was performed manually.
Tools such as Wave Payroll make it easy for companies to manage payroll and most of such applications can be linked to the business bank account or credit cards and automatically imported for each transaction. And some solutions being cloud based offer an easy way to share information or collaborate with the company’s accounting department. These functions make payroll generation a simple process than if duties were performed manually.
Document signing
When it comes to getting a signature, the process of getting someone to sign on a document can be streamlined. Wouldn’t you love to get a signature in seconds, and that too via email or on iOS or Android device? That’s now possible with tools and software, some of which should enable you to change any document into an electronic form by integrating data validation and fields.
Esignature tools such as CudaSign enables the ability to upload documents for signing. When documents have been signed by the receiver, these modern tools will collect them and notify the user. Some of them integrate with SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics, Salesforce, etc., which enables users to optimize their organization’s business processes. Documents can be exported to a wide range of locations including Dropbox.
Customer Relationships
Comprehensive customer relationships are a necessity for any consumer-focused business today to remain competitive. However, such initiatives must be executed carefully to reap a high return on investment. One of the keys to forming and maintaining excellent relationships with customers is to use a customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Solutions like Infusionsoft enable businesses of all sizes to manage customer relationships from initiation to conversion. Most of these solutions assist users in viewing the sales pipeline as well as track meetings, messages and important calls. CRM software can be accessed from PC as well as mobile applications.