The vast majority of companies that reach a certain size need business software to maintain and improve the efficiency of their operations. Once the employee base grows to a certain size and the business an organization engages in becomes sufficiently complex, using manual processes or simple spreadsheets to track finances, employee work hours, production output, sales volume and other needs becomes cumbersome, tiresome and riddled with errors.

Enterprises in certain industries may not think that business software like customer relationship management or enterprise resource planning software apply to their verticals. However, both of these systems have seen strong development and expansion during the past several years, and their advantages can easily be harnessed by a wide variety of organizations.

Here’s a look at two very different industries that can both benefit from the use business software:

Professional services
Companies in the professional services market have to be particularly oriented to details, whether they relate to the timely completion of work for clients or to the efficient receipt of payment for those services. Budgeting time and funds, both for individual projects and for the business as a whole, is an ongoing concern that needs to be managed effectively for a professional services firm. High visibility into operations and consistent planning for the months and years ahead are needed for professional services enterprises to grow.

Business software allows these organizations to track pertinent operational information and use it to actively influence current and future ventures for the better. Software like Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics ERP, as well as NetSuite, provide the tools that make effective management a reality. Both the base functionality of these systems and industry-specific add-ons help companies become more focused, more proactive and more effective.

Just a few benefits to consider are: contract, cost and progress tracking for individual projects; automation for a variety of processes such as billing and approvals that gives employees more time to focus on higher-level tasks; financial insights that help business leaders determine where extraneous spending occurs; and customizable templates and reporting features that hone in on the metrics most important to a company.

Healthcare services and providers
Healthcare as an industry has to deal with a much larger group of regulations relating to both conduct and finances than do many other businesses. Despite the increased regulatory atmosphere, some healthcare businesses are exposing themselves to unneeded risks and operational inefficiency by using outdated approaches and tools to manage operations. Issues with data entry mistakes, spreadsheet errors and disconnects between the accounting department and billing software are some of the most common problems.

Microsoft Dynamics GP allows healthcare services organizations and providers to address a variety of specific needs, whether a business operates as a physicians’ group, a specialty care facility or many others that fall into the spectrum of healthcare. The software itself provides a strong base from which components developed specifically for the healthcare industry and for general business use can be added. Tools such as eOne SmartConnect allow healthcare companies to import and export data from a variety of sources, for example connecting the main ERP system to external billing software. Advanced financial reporting, accuracy in pulling patient data and multi-entity management for larger organizations are just a few of the major advantages that can be realized.

Using business software to improve operations is no longer limited to specific industries and platforms developed with just one vertical in mind. The advanced nature of current systems means a wide variety of companies can realize significant returns on investment and better operations through ERP, CRM and other systems.