A business system isn’t hardware or software. A good business system is a tool that helps you do your job better. It’s the way that you do any part of your business. It’s how you do things. You are using systems all the time, you just may not be using them efficiently.
A business system can be simple or complex, depending on your needs and the size of your company. It could be as simple as a clear process for hiring new staff or as complex as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
I regularly urge business owners to get everything they know about their business out of their head and onto paper. I’m urging you now to do the same with your systems. Start writing out how you do things in your business. At a minimum, write out how you treat your customers or clients, how your paperwork for each sale flows, how your production systems work, how you market to clients, and how you do your bookkeeping.
Do this in detail. For each area, make a very detailed description of every step in the process. Include what you do and why you do it. Include the subtle parts that make your company uniquely you. Include the parts that you are proud of. Include the tricks that make it efficient. Include what you tried that didn’t work and explain why. Each system should become a very rich, highly detailed system. Why so much detail?
Because this is the beginning of being able to consistently deliver results. And the beginning of being able to consistently deliver results even when you aren’t around. Documented (written) systems make delegating much more manageable. Delegating is one of the keys to success in growing your business while still having a life.
Maybe you don’t want a bigger business. Maybe you want to keep yours small. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go on a long vacation and turn the keys over to someone else to run and make money for you while you are gone? Without systems, that wouldn’t be remotely possible. With systems almost anything is.
Here are some of the main benefits of having a good system:
You Can Save Money
The time required to manage your company’s accounting and inventory is already an expense. If you don’t have a good system in place, then the burden falls on one person or several people who could be doing other things for the company instead. When you use software for these tasks, you can save money on labor costs and free up employees’ time for other things that benefit your business.
You Can Focus On Other Important Issues
Another benefit of using good business systems is that it allows managers to focus on other issues that are important for the company instead of constantly worrying about how much inventory they have or how much money they owe their suppliers. This frees up time so they can focus on making strategic decisions and improving the bottom line rather than just keeping everything afloat financially all the time.