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The competitive environment in business today is greater than ever. It is crucial that your business is lean and efficient. One of the leading buzz words today in business speak is "process improvement." This is where we look at all of the processes in our business, whether it be a manufacturing process, an administrative process, or even a supply chain process, and determine how steps can be consolidated or eliminated in an effort to be effective and efficient.

But let's go a step further. How many business systems are you using to manage your daily activities? You probably have one for finances, one for inventory management, and another for manufacturing and engineering. More than likely, it is a difficult and time consuming task to compile data from each system and compare business metrics.

Is there anything out there that can combine these elements? Sure -- it's called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Many larger companies are using ERP solutions from SAP and NetSuite. These systems can come with heavy price tags, but the return is evident in a relatively short amount of time. Even if your company is decentralized, you can centralize all of the data from each location, giving you real-time snap shots of the entire organization.

These types of ERP systems are very complex, and the learning curve can be steep, so rolling out the software in phases is usually a good idea. Providers such as SAP have engineers and software technicians on staff who can guide you step by step, even on-site, to help roll out the software.

Small biz solutions

But what about the small businesses? The ones who can't afford to spend $1 million on a fancy ERP, or even $100k for that matter. Small businesses need real-time, mission-critical information about operations and finance just as much as large businesses and conglomerates, right? There are scaled down versions of ERP in the marketplace, which I like to call "dashboard systems," that allow small business owners to concentrate on getting new clients, rather than wasting valuable time trying to calculate overhead rates. Most of these systems are Web-based, and can be leased for as little as $30-50 per user, per month, or a license can be purchased for $10,000.

That is a much more attractive price tag for small businesses, and the return can be calculated in less than a year. Even if you are adamant about keeping Quick Books, some of these systems can download data into QB and synchronize your invoices and account balances with your online dashboard system. Imagine that.

It used to be that as a small business owner, you would spend your daylight hours selling and networking, and your evening doing the "paperwork." Now, you can sit at a Starbucks with your latte and slice of pound cake, while sending out electronic invoices to clients through your online dashboard system. You can see what your overhead rate is, and even see job costs and profitability all on one screen. This system improves your efficiency to the point where now you can go home and actually have dinner with your family.

The dashboard system performs many other tasks as well. You can schedule jobs, track expenses, and get various financial data instantly without a lot of calculation and headache. You can create job estimates and then track them with actual labor costs and expenses and compare to the estimate. This allows small businesses to estimate jobs accurately based on workscope and use historical data to create pricing models. If your business makes service calls, it can schedule multiple crews and even take into consideration job location to maximize efficiency in driving to and from locations.

Most leased dashboard systems are operated via some Web application, which requires simply an Internet connection and a browser. If you purchase the license, you would probably run it off of your LAN or managed server. And for those of you who are skeptical about your finances being accessible through the Web, there are plenty of security measures that can be taken to lock down your information.

Each person in the company can create their own "dashboard," which allows them to see information that is important to them. For project managers, pertinent data may be all the projects and task lists for each client; whereas for a specific employee, it may be just the project task list that he or she is currently working. General managers can track information on billable hours, job profitability and overhead rate.

Consider leasing the software for the first year, and then if you are satisfied, the smart plan is to purchase the license. Either way, you are still eligible for version upgrades and improvements as the software is enhanced. You will instantly realize significant decreases in administrative reporting time and even quality improvements as a result of the software.

In researching these systems, consider modular designs, so that as your business grows, you can simply add modules such as Inventory, or E-Commerce. This keeps the cost down as you are using only the modules you need at that point in time.

So there it is. There are solutions out there for small businesses that help improve operational efficiency without having to spend a ton of cash. If you are a growing small business, don't wait. Start searching for your dashboard system today.