First Watch Technology

The software features must fit your business needs. It is nice to have all of the bells and whistles in a software package just as it is when buying an automobile. This is where you will need to ask yourself:

• Do I need “X” feature or do I want it?
• Will it make my life easier?
• Will my business run more smoothly?
• Are you ever going to use the feature?
• Is the feature applicable to your business?
• Is it worth your time or money?
• Is the feature simple to use?
• Is it comprehensive enough?
• Is the feature easy to access?
• Will it fit in with the current process you have? Or will it create more steps?

Sometimes you will find that the features you want and need are going to be different.  The features themselves have a potential of producing change in your organization. For instance it can be an arduous task filling out forms of information about each client.  If at the end of the day or year the features save you time then you will be able to devote that time to cost saving business measures.

You’re capturing data but now what?

That data your keeping needs to be useful to your day to day business operations. Data organized correctly will give you the tools to help run your business more efficiently. 

• For instance, organized reports would show that shaving minutes off of each towing call will save hours each month. Those hours could be used responding to more calls while increasing profitability.
• We have clients that have saved thousands of dollars from fraudulent insurance claims. This is possible because the authors and consultants were also wrecker operators and owners of wrecker towing companies. Hopefully the authors you are consulting with have a great understanding of the industry.
• You will be able to recognize software that was created by someone that didn’t have firsthand knowledge of your industry. That is because you live and breathe in that industry.
• The reports and data need to give you the pulse of your operations. That pulse is flat-lined when the data analysis is worthless unorganized information.

You are purchasing the software. Make sure you know what you are buying before you cut the check.

The data that you are capturing is vital for operating a successful business. Is the data replicated or backed up at a secondary off site location? Unfortunately many customers are not very concerned about backing up data. That is until the data is lost. Multi-million dollar corporations have ceased to exist because data was lost, destroyed, and never recoverable. Storing data in two different geographical areas prevents losing information due to fires, tornados, floods, and hardware failures.  You will want to know the answers to the following questions. The answers will be different for each software vender that you contact.

• Who needs to back up the data? The software might be programmed to back up itself automatically. You might need to back it up yourself. But either way you will want to know the answers to these questions.
  • How often is it backed up or need to be backed up?
  • When is it backed up?
  • How is it backed up?

The software needs to assist your company’s goals for; efficiency, data management, and data analysis. The application has to be easy to use or navigate. The application needs to open and operate rapidly. If you are waiting for forms to load this will rapidly become a painful nuisance.  It needs to work for you and not the other way around. Sometimes the vanilla application off the self will meet your company’s needs. But other times customization is desired. But that usually comes with an extra cost. But if customized software suites your needs then the cost will be absorbed because it is the right tool for the business. This needs to be discussed with the software company in the very early stages of the discussions. Many software companies will not customize their software.

In the near future we will be listing some of the obvious and not so obvious services that the software and vender should be providing you. This should also help you determine what characteristics to look for when purchasing software.