What do we really mean when we talk about management software systems? Even a fairly streamlined business has to be able to do accounting, purchasing, billing and customer relationship management.

That’s really quite the list. And there are a few companies out there who claim to be able to cover off all of these needs in one single package, but a bit of skepticism is called for. Is it really possible for a single business systems and software suite to combine the strengths of the most widely-used single-purpose solutions out there?

For example, Quickbooks may be great for accountants, but it can’t integrate into most point-of-sale systems or handle multiple warehouse locations. On the other hand a comprehensive business software package like ManageMore can’t give the user the kind of upgrade and add-on options, or the support commitment, that a company like Microsoft is in a position to guarantee.

Single-vendor solutions have a few major advantages. First, they can be more easily customized to match your industry, since they tend to be modular – they almost have to be. Second, they make it easier for staff to learn different parts of the system, since it should look and feel the same as what they’ve already been trained on.

However, single-solution vendors realistically can’t invest the same amount of effort into their business management software system as, for instance, Kronos is able to invest into their single, specialized product. All-in-ones who customize by sector don’t necessarily offer the same user base or face the same competition pressure that pushes specialist organizations to develop add-ons and bother with incremental improvements and updates.

Often, though, employees wastes a lot of time, in terms of dollars, just moving information from one place to another, because many software systems just are not compatible with each other. Either the data is vastly different, or it is not worth a company’s time to connect with a disprate product in another industry. A one-stop-shop might also make collaboration between departments easier, since it is able to record every transaction from end to end. You might actually shell out less on a single management software solution in the long run simply through economization of work.

Now we get to the real question: cost. Single-system solutions aren’t cheap. But when you actually throw together all of the one-off medium-sized business management solutions you need to acquire, licensing might approach tens of thousands of dollars, even for a relatively modest package. Going with multiple vendors for all of your purchasing, inventory control, marketing, and management needs represents a large chunk of a company’s operating costs.

Single-solution vendors might be able to economize using a modular design, but training costs will be much higher due to the proprietary nature of the system – there are more manuals out there on Microsoft Project than there are on the project-management module in the education version of BizAutomation!

Once you commit to a single-solution business software vendor, you’re pretty much stuck with them unless you hire a team of engineers to get your data back out for you, in a format that’s compatible with other software platforms.

If most of your data and employee face-time is going into using only one of a few business systems and software suites, like Microsoft Office or Quicken, you’re likely going to be better off throwing in with them. Analyze closely your business’s day-to-day operations. If you have staff that are spending as much time in the warehouse as they are writing contracts, it’s definitely worth at least giving a single-source vendor a try. Just be sure that it uses industry-standard compatible formats: all information should be compatible, off-the-shelf, with the comparable standalone software suites that the system is replacing.

The steps to purchasing software and hardware systems are basically the same for every project, and time and attendance software purchasing is no different. However, the consequences are severe when the systems in question interact with virtually every employee in your company. If something goes wrong, an organization can expect to lose thousands of people-hours and spend thousands of additional dollars on training and maintenance. But if you follow these seven (very easy) steps, purchasing time and attendance systems should be relatively painless – and successful.

1) First, record your current processes around time & attendance, and do an audit of your computer systems and capabilities. Review the software and hardware that you have or plan on purchasing in the near future. Record your current scheduling and absence tracking procedures – don’t neglect the most basic unit: the on-the-ground employees – and record your policy and procedures around pay, hours of work, and workflow. Thoroughly review your day-to-day administration of time and attendance tracking procedures and systems.

2) Draw up your requirements document. First and foremost, what are your technical needs – and limitations? What do you actually need the time tracking software and hardware to do? Seriously, this sounds simple, but it’s the most neglected step in this process. Separate required from nice to have, and don’t consider of any nice-to-haves unless there is the need for a tie-breaker. Weight your needs by how operationally essential they are – if the system was unavailable for a day, what processes would simply fail? Rank those first!

3) Send out a Request for Proposal to at least five time and attendance software vendors. Request a response that addresses each of your itemized requirements. Specify that if they can’t meet the requirement they should lay out what it would take (in time and money) to implement it. Ask about new developments in the industry. As the experts, the vendors are in much better touch with what’s available. If you can, retain a consultant who can’t bid to go over the technical offerings with you. Vendors will use acronyms and fancy graphics – get somebody who understands the time and attendance industry and can cut through the cruft.

4) Call your shortlist and ask them to present. Ask for high-level overviews and a general budget proposal. Pay close attention to the company’s values and dynamics – do they present as a team, or is each module presented separately? This is – seriously! – an important indicator of how well the system’s components will integrate too. Specify that you would really love to get both a software engineer and workflow management expert on the presentation team, not just the sales group.

5) Select vendors like you’d select employees – focus on great references, and a winning personality. Then courier the winner a letter of intent subject to a reference check. One tip: make sure the reference can address the areas that are most important to your company specifically, and not just the vendor’s services in general.

6) If there’s no perfect fit, ask for a “proof of concept” period. Like a trial period with commercial software, negotiate a trial period for a nominal fee that will let you try out the time and attendance software. Analyze the results – if the attendance tracking software does most things, ask the vendor if they can quote on specific modules / additions, if required – if you want it, other people might just want it too!

7) Enjoy your new system! Remember that users of new technology always start out with huge expectations (it’s so much better than our old system!), but this is quickly followed by despair as staff expectations are brought down to earth (it doesn’t do this thing that our old system did…). But it then levels out – at a higher level than the old system – within a few months, as the software is adopted, learnt, and begins to shows its unique and useful strengths.

Because Six Sigma concepts are designed according to the basic characteristics of a business rather than its size, Six Sigma projects can be successfully deployed in any company, large or small. In addition, companies which do not wish to contend with organization wide deployment may choose to engage a pilot project, where Six Sigma is deployed only within a specific business process.

Some companies may find that there are issues in terms of their ability to provide adequate Six Sigma resources, but these can be addressed through help from professionals including Black Belts and Master Black Belts. These individuals have experience in deploying Six Sigma projects.

One of the most lauded features of Six Sigma is that it is scalable. This means that the concepts engrained within the Six Sigma system can be applied within any business process, no matter how large or complex the process is.

There are occassions when a business may want to have a starter project instead of a full blown rollout, that way the Six Sigma processes can be focused just on a certain department or process. Using this smaller version provides quicker results and possibly with increased accuracy as opposed to a business wide effort.

It also means that companies can see where Six Sigma can be readily applied to other functional departments after the project has been completed. With the resources and concepts gained from the pilot, companies may then deploy Six Sigma in other departments.