‘Be your own boss’, ‘Create your own path’ – These and many other quotes make entrepreneurship look exciting and rewarding. Sure, entrepreneurship is rewarding, and that is the reason why so many budding entrepreneurs can be seen today, especially those who establish small businesses as it is an incredible way of enjoying the lucrative benefits of entrepreneurship with the limited resources.

But, is it as simple as it seems? Definitely NOT as small business owners around the world face daunting challenges on a daily basis to achieve the success they had always desired. In fact, many entrepreneurs even find it difficult to make ends meet during the initial stage of their startup.

But, why is it so? Well, the answer lies in the business foundation itself. As we have mentioned earlier, small sized organisations have limited resources, and so, their scope and activities also get restricted beyond a certain limit.

One of the significant areas in which small businesses often lag behind is non-availability (or at times non-utilization due to lack of knowledge) of the technological tools that can make the operations run smoothly. As a result, they encounter several technical pain points, which lead to the organisational inefficiency and revenue loss. In such circumstances, even if they get a profitable project, the chances of on-time and goal-focused delivery become minimal.

Therefore, it is vital to deal with these pain points at the earliest, which can be possible only if you know clearly about them. We have highlighted a few pain points which can be observed in all types of small enterprises.

5 Common Technical Pain Points of a Small Business along with their Solutions

In this blog, we have tried to not only draw your attention towards the technical pain points but also provide suitable solutions for dealing with them so that you can forge ahead with your business plans without any hindrance.

1. Data Management and Integration

Even small businesses generate a vast amount of data which consists of details regarding materialistic aspects, such as purchases, sales, receipts, and payments as well as non-materialistic aspects, such as employees, suppliers, and customers. Proper storage and utilization of data is a factor which can make or break your business, and so, you need to have a centralized data system.

A reliable system or platform makes data management and data integration easy, thereby allowing your employees to have quick access to the data required for taking decisions. If you don’t want the hassles of developing and maintaining the infrastructure in your premises, you can choose a cloud-based system to store your data safely.

In the absence of effective data management and integration systems, organisations can fall victim to data redundancy, data loss, data breach and other issues.

2. Monitoring Productivity of Workforce

It is rightly said that “employees are the lifeline of any business”, as apart from the owner, only they can build strategies for an organisation. However, it does not undermine the importance of tracking the activities of employees to check whether they have fulfilled their responsibilities or not.

No need to feel disappointed if you can’t use those advanced programs or software used in large corporations (which are often hard-to-understand) for measuring the performance of employees. If you search in the market, you will find easy-to-use software, which can help you in monitoring the productivity levels of your staff.

You can assign tasks to your employees via such online tools and keep a record of the start and end time for every task. You can also get additional functionalities, for example, preparing to-do lists, receiving task reminders, and sharing files.

3. Project Management and Control

With every new project, you get a fantastic opportunity to grow your business, and so, to make the most of it, you should be equipped with the resources which facilitate timely and high quality deliverables. But, at times, despite having all the resources, enterprises fail to meet the expectations of their clients.

Therefore, your business needs sophisticated online project management software. You can break down the goals of a project into smaller targets and set the deadlines for each of them. You can even create a team that will handle the project and add all the details in this online tool for others to view.

This way, you can track the progress of the project and even take timely actions if it gets stuck at any stage. Here, you need to understand that downloading free software or buying sub-standard software can do more harm than good. You should adopt a solution that can meet your short-term and long-term requirements easily.

4. Accounting and Cash Flow Management

It is recommended that an entrepreneur should assess the value of their business on a periodic basis to get an idea of their position in the industry. It helps them to formulate policies which can maximise revenue and build a reputation. But, the basic requirement of such planning is the availability of accurate accounting and financial information of an enterprise.

Recording of business transactions in more than one system or by incompetent employees can lead to confusion, and in some cases, even presentation of inaccurate data in the financial statements. To avoid such problems, you need to take recourse to an accounting software or application, which not only suits your business but also has a simple interface.

With an online accounting and cash flow management software, you don’t have to wait for month end or year end to check your expenses, profits, losses or cash flow, and thus, you can make speedy decisions.

5. Communication across the Organization

You can find a plenty of examples where even a slight communication gap has led to multiple errors and failures in satisfying the needs of the customers. Bridging the communication gap is quite tough as you need to deal with the varied emotions of your employees and encourage them to communicate effectively in the workplace.

But, with the help of online communication tool, the information can be shared in a fast manner without the risk of misinterpretation. Whether it’s about a defect in the product or a change in the price, various kinds of issues can be discussed on the business communication platform. It saves time and reduces the chances of miscommunication.

As you can monitor the chats, you will be able to know if any of the employees try to share false information deliberately. You can pass on the important information, such as timings for meetings or official holidays to your employees by using these tools.

Final Thoughts

The debate on identifying and eliminating the technical pain points of a small business will continue for many more years, and the solutions provided by different experts will change with every new development that takes place in the technology.

However, there are certain solutions which will stand the test of time. You just need to find the right solution for your enterprise. You should choose an online tool that can be used for numerous purposes, including but not limited to, purchase, sales, customer relationship management, project management, inventory management, and generation.