We are continuing with our comments about how you can increase your business value by hiring us to create custom software made with FileMaker Pro to run all your essential business services. If you want to see Part One of this series, you can find it here.
How can software developed with FileMaker help you to sell your business? There are numerous factors which make a business a sale-able commodity, not the least of which is that it is profitable. But for our purposes, we will examine those factors in your business which can be enhanced with business automation software developed with FileMaker Pro.
What are the factors that enhance your business value through software?
- Encapsulated Business Processes
- Automated Workflow
- Integrated Data
- Coordinated Employees
Last week we looked at point 1, Encapsulated Business Processes. Now let’s take a look at another way that business SYSTEM software can increase your company value.
First, what do I mean by SYSTEM software? This is more than just any business software. SYSTEM software will Save You Stress, Time, Energy and Money. That is what we build with FileMaker Pro; software which will help you to run all aspects of your business.
So the second way that custom business software can increase your business value is through:
Automated Workflow
Every business has a way of doing things, that often have to be done in a certain order, and in a certain manner to be successful. Those are exactly the processes which we want to build into your custom business software with FileMaker Pro.
An Example
Let me give you an example from a client of ours. This is a printing company. Print production has a lot of moving parts. They were tracking all of their print stages through printed work orders. The stages were things like Design, PreProduction, Printing, Laminating, Shipping, Invoicing. (They actually had seven stages.) To keep track of each stage, they had a wall with seven plastic holders attached to it. As each part of the work was completed, that department would take the printed work order, write their notes on it, and put it in the holder for the next stage of the process, who would then do the same thing.
Needless to say, by the time they were partway through their work, that printed work order was a mess of hand-written notes from the various departments. It was hard to read, and it was error-prone if somebody put the work order in the wrong box. Or, heaven forbid, they needed to do some rework, then it would have to go back to the previous department, and the process would repeat again. It was a very messy and very error-prone process.
So we captured this process into the software, and created a digital “work order wall”. Now as the work proceeds from department to department, all the information needed for each stage is captured in the system. There are start dates for each phase. The digital work order card is color-coded depending upon its due date. Anybody from any department can view its progress as it makes its way through the system.
We have created an automated workflow based on their previous process. But now it is neat and orderly and much less prone to error. This is what I mean when I say “automated workflow”.
Summary
We believe that custom business software should make your life easier. We create business software SYSTEMs which Save You Stress, Time, Energy, and Money. And having a system with a built-in automated workflow will increase the value of your business when it is time to sell it.
Check out some of our free and paid software solutions in the HighPower Store.