The benefits in terms of costs and time are now well known, but one thing is always forgotten: what is the cost of management software? 

It is clear that especially in this pandemic period in which cost rationalization becomes a priority, more and more companies are wondering how they can lower the costs of a management system without sacrificing quality, efficiency and customization.

There are some strategies, some more technical that concern the type of management software, others more oriented towards Project Management and internal company management.

Do you want to have an overview and understand how to practically lower the cost of management software?

Then keep reading!

Methods to Lower the Cost of Management Software

1. Changing business procedures

It is an often underestimated problem, but even in medium-large companies we still see excellent management systems that have not changed company procedures in the slightest.

A practical example? Let's take the employee who uses SAP or Infor all day, and then keeps in the shared folder on the company server an Excel sheet manually filled with the customer's personal data. 

We need to get into the mindset that when a company purchases and implements management software, all the processes of the company organization must change accordingly.

Otherwise, paradoxically, there is a risk of increasing management times, and therefore also the cost for the company.

1. Training Employees on Software: One Less Cost for the Future

Company procedures may be well defined, the software perfectly functional and customized, but has anyone taken care of training the employees? 

This problem is incredibly common from the smallest e-commerce to the most structured LLC. It is appropriate to standardize the constant exchange of knowledge between employees not only within the company. In addition to this, it is also necessary to prefer a software house for software development that explains the correct functioning of the management system to the person who will be in charge of it in the company, and includes it in the development cost.

1. Streamlining consultants

Let's now move away from considerations on the company's staff and talk about an often overlooked problem: rationalizing consultants for their management software. It is a more common problem for those with smaller businesses, where for example one consultant takes care of the creation of a mini-warehouse management system, another of the creation of the new e-commerce, a third helps to implement electronic payments. Maybe in the end the budget is running out and you have to resort to do-it-yourself, desperately looking for a free accounting management system.

Sometimes the overall vision of a digital consultant helps to save on the cost of management software, especially if the consultant is also able to provide other integrable tools and guarantee the portability of the management software.

Choosing a single consultant also increases transparency and more often allows you to avoid scams. How many times do problems arise in a company because the different bodies do not talk to each other? With a single digital consultant, this does not happen.

1. Tailor-made cloud software

The advantages of creating a custom cloud software are unparalleled. First of all, the cost of the management software will reflect only and exclusively the features you have paid for.

No dead branches and expensive, useless features sitting there, unused.

Plus, cloud-based software is much easier to integrate with other digital services your company already has, and is more easily accessible from different types of devices.

(Want a practical example? Look at Pizero Design's project for the digital canteen, a program that integrates apps, management software for sending orders to the restaurateur and payment tools).

The Cost of Management Software and Open Source

One last factor to consider is the cost of open-source management software. Especially if you are an association or a small business.
Never heard of the technology lock in? This means that your management system is tied to a specific technology, a type of device, or a certain cloud service provider.

This will not happen if the software house you choose to help you develop your management system is openly committed to choosing open source tools that guarantee portability without imprisoning you in a technological lock-in.

Needless to say, the cost of a open source management software it is significantly lower than proprietary software.

Before making your choice of management software, consult the Pizero Design cloud software development page.

And now… Good choice!