WHAT DOES YOUR BUSINESS ACTUALLY NEED?
A simple guide to choosing the right digital solution for your business — written in plain English, with no confusing jargon.
Today, almost every business needs technology in some form. But that does not mean every business needs a complicated system. A small business may only need a professional website. A shop may need a POS system. An online seller may need e-commerce. A growing organisation may need an MIS or ERP.
DO YOU JUST NEED AN ONLINE PRESENCE?
If customers mainly need to find out who you are, what you offer, where you are located, and how to contact you — a website may be all you need.
A website gives your business a professional presence online. It allows potential customers to learn about you at any time, on any device — even when your office or shop is closed.
A website is your digital office. It tells people who you are, what you do and how to reach you.
- Who you are and what you offer
- Where you are located
- How to contact you
- Your products or services
- Your previous work
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DO YOU WANT CUSTOMERS TO BUY ONLINE?
If customers should be able to browse your products online, place orders, and potentially pay online, you may need an e-commerce platform.
Instead of customers having to visit your physical shop, they can interact with your business online — and you can sell beyond your town, city or country.
E-commerce is selling through your own online shop, where customers can browse and buy without visiting you in person.
- Browse your products online
- Place orders from anywhere
- Pay online
- Shop even when the store is closed
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DO YOU SELL PRODUCTS EVERY DAY?
A POS system helps you manage everyday sales. It works alongside the way you already sell — whether at a counter, a till or a service point.
Instead of relying on notebooks or spreadsheets for everything, your sales information can be organised in one place and understood in seconds.
POS — Point of Sale. The system that records each sale your business makes and keeps your daily selling information organised.
- Sales
- Products and stock
- Receipts
- Prices and customers
- Sales reports
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DO YOU HAVE A LOT OF BUSINESS INFORMATION TO MANAGE?
As a business grows, important information spreads across emails, papers and spreadsheets. An MIS brings it together in one organised place.
The goal is simple: turn scattered information into organised information that management can actually use to make decisions.
MIS — Management Information System. A system that helps a business collect, organise, manage and view important information.
- Employees and departments
- Customers and projects
- Stock and operations
- Reports
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DO DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS NEED TO WORK TOGETHER?
An ERP goes further than an MIS. Instead of each department operating separately, information can flow between different areas of the business automatically.
An ERP generally makes sense when a business has grown and its operations have become more complex.
ERP — Enterprise Resource Planning. A system that connects the different parts of a business so information flows between them.
One department’s work automatically updates the next — no repeated data entry, no missed handovers.
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE A UNIQUE WAY OF WORKING?
Sometimes a business does not fit neatly into an existing product. You may have a process that is specific to your organisation or your industry.
Custom software is designed around the way your business actually operates. Rather than changing your business to fit the software, the software is built around your requirements.
Custom software is software built for your exact way of working — not a one-size-fits-all product.
- Built around your processes
- Works the way your team already works
- Grows and changes with your business
- No paying for features you do not need
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
ARE YOU SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ON REPETITIVE TASKS?
If employees repeatedly perform the same tasks, technology may be able to automate part of that work — using simple rules, workflows, or artificial intelligence.
Automation is not simply about replacing people. It is about helping people spend less time on repetitive work and more time on valuable work.
- Generating reports
- Sending notifications
- Processing information
- Answering common customer questions
- Organising data & creating documents
- Moving information between systems
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
DO YOUR CUSTOMERS OR EMPLOYEES NEED TO USE YOUR SERVICE ON THEIR PHONES?
A mobile application makes sense when customers or employees need regular access to your service through smartphones — wherever they are.
If your audience lives on their phone — a booking platform, a delivery service, a clinic with mobile patients — a mobile application may be the right interface.
A mobile app puts your service inside the smartphone that your customers or employees already carry every day.
- Customer accounts
- Bookings and orders
- Notifications and payments
- Internal employee tools
- Service access on the go
The right solution should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage.
SO, WHAT DOES YOUR BUSINESS NEED?
Answer each question honestly to find a useful starting point. Many businesses need more than one solution — that is normal. Start with the problem, then choose the technology.
START WITH THE PROBLEM.
THEN CHOOSE THE TECHNOLOGY.
The right technology should make your business simpler, more organised, more efficient and easier to manage. At Stanova Digital Solutions, we help businesses understand their needs and choose or develop digital solutions that fit the way they work.