Choice of the Systems and Improving Business Performance

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

        Off the shelf is software which is ready made and presented to everyone. Users usually will need to pay to be able to access to the software. This software is usually easy to install and also user friendly. Which means it is easy to use. Usually the off- the- shelf accounting software can be apply to most of the business and can be customize certain character to fit the necessitate of the company. It can prevent the users entering incorrect information which the few layers of error detection that the software own. It also produces reports that are usually be configured to the wants of the users. There are some off- the- shelf software packages are special made for certain industry. These packages will have extra functions that are needed by certain industry. The off- the- shelf accounting software will require the software supplier to install and it will take some amount of time for the installation progress. It will also require maintenance after certain period. This type of software is available as an online service and it require user to log in into the supplier’s site to get an access to the software.

1.1 How it help James managing and ordering goods

        All accounting software will have a set of basic functions. Most of the software contains the function of accounts payable and receivable, inventory, fixed assets, and analysis.

        Advantages of using the off- the- shelf software is that it is more affordable compare with other software because the development costs for the software are distribute by a bigger amount of users and it might also meet most of the requirements of the function your business need. Another advantage of using the off- the- shelf software is that it is used by many users all around the world, when you have problems with the software you can search for the solutions that face by the other users and can refer to the solutions suggested by them. One more advantage of using off- the- shelf software is that the design, improvement and testing are the responsibilities of the suppliers.

        Everything will have both pros and cons. The disadvantages of the off- the- shelf software are there will be some hidden cost such as the upgrading cost, licensing fees and others. Another thing is that this software is fixed software, so users might have to change their style of doing business to match the way the software works and also because the software is fixed there might be many unwanted function that a business do not need. (Carter.P, 28 September,2015.)

        For James’ case, the function of accounts receivable and inventory can help him to improve the problems of his business. By having the function of accounts receivable, he can easily manage the ordering of goods and also the money he should be receives after selling those goods. By using an accounting system it can save up a lot of time for James. He does not need to open up the customers file one by one to see who has pay and who has not. He just need to access to the account and all the information is in there. So during the end of the month, James can easily check which debtor owes how much.

1.2 Other three software James can consider

        Other than the off- the- shelf software, James still have a few choices which he can consider to use for his business. The few software James can take in as considerations are Bespoke, in-house development, and outsourcing.

        Bespoke software also means as customized software. By using this software, users can design all the function they want to works with their business so that users do not have to change their business process to match with the software. The price of this software will be more expensive compare with off- the- shelf software. This is due to the cost of building an off- the- shelf software will distribute all the users that purchase it but the Bespoke software is only customize for one person and the buyer will have to be fully responsible for the price. (Southward.I 23 March, 2015)

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