With the implementation of appropriate management software, businesses can improve their control on cash flow, customer relationships and even monitor the activities of employees more accurately, experts say. According to them, the must-have small business software include ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management).

ERP helps to plan how much raw materials or labor are required for the company’s activities in a given period, while CRM records the contacts made with clients. The CRM system stores information like the last purchase made, the purchased volume over time, when the last contact was made and, finally, customer consumption habits.

With the advancements in cloud technology (the system that stores programs and files on the Internet), the cost of management software greatly diminished, and it is common for technology companies to offer software with different features and characteristics, ranging from basic to more advanced functions and purposes.

The most common model of software business is for the customer to pay a monthly fee for the license and, most of the times, having the right to remote support, or resolving any problems through the Internet with the help of the software company. With this small businesses do not need to invest in a department or a professional information technology.

Some examples of useful software are Manic Time, a task organizer that shows, at the end of each day, how much time workers spent on their computers, so that the manager can control their productivity, and Wave Accounting, a cloud-based accounting tool named best free accounting software for small businesses.

Management software is key to the success of a business, so this should really be a niche to bet on. There are lots of paid solutions out there but, if the budget is really short, take a look into open source alternatives for business software.