Financing for Software Implementation & Training Costs

Finance Software Training & Implementation Costs

June 21, 2021
11:11 am
business technology, Software, Vendor Financing

Computer software has become an essential part of a modern business’s arsenal of tools. The increase in efficiency and the ability to implement new techniques is game-changing for almost everyone.

While many consumer-grade software packages are very affordable, professional corporate-grade software has a much steeper cost of entry. The costs don’t necessarily stop when you buy the software either.

In this article, we’ll go over why investing in high-quality software is a good plan of action, some hidden costs that you may not have considered, and how financing enterprise software through companies like Dimension Funding is a solution for all of this.

Benefits of Enterprise Software

Software is a very vague term as there are so many different types and permutations but for the most part, most businesses will use some form of specialized software, like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or CRMs.

The benefits that you open yourself up to by choosing software like ERP, CRM or most types of enterprise software are immense:

Potentially reduced costs as software can effectively replace or support many different operations
Improved reporting and planning capabilities
Macro visibility (inventory management, schedules, etc.)
Improved efficiency
Data security
Easier departmental collaboration capabilities
Modular Scalability (software dependent)

Again, more specialized software created for a specific type of work will have even more to offer but these are general improvements almost anyone will see by implementing software into their workflow.

The Hidden Costs of Purchasing Enterprise Software

Now that we’ve had a brief overview of the benefits software can provide, let’s get into the associated costs. This will be software-dependent but for the most part, you will have to financially account for:

Software acquisition costs
Software implementation costs
Software training costs
Software maintenance costs
Hardware costs
Software Renewals

Let’s look at these in a little more detail:

1. Software Acquisition Costs

When we talk about acquiring software, many are annual subscriptions. Many software companies use this model to price their services and chances are that the software you’re looking for will require you to pay them a certain amount on an annual basis.

2. Software Implementation Costs

Advanced software is complex and difficult to set up so hiring a consulting firm to implement it on your company’s computers and devices is very important. Smooth implementation at the start will save you from a myriad of problems and headaches in the future.

3. Software Training Costs

When the software is set up, your staff will have to undergo training to get the most out of it. This is usually provided by the software makers themselves, but third-party trainers and weekend training camps are always an option you can rely on.

4. Software Maintenance Costs

Unlike other services or products, computer software is incredibly technical and needs constant updates and maintenance to run smoothly. There are bound to be, so companies need to ensure that they have the contacts to troubleshoot issues quickly.

5. Computer Hardware Costs

Some software might require special computers or peripherals to run efficiently. This can be a very steep cost as cutting-edge technology is not cheap, and depending on how current your devices are, your entire ecosystem might need to be replaced. For enterprise software, additional servers may be required.

6. Enterprise Software Renewals

You can also finance Enterprise Software Renewals , including implementation, training and hardware costs. You can turn the entire software renewal cost, including implementation, training and hardware, into fixed monthly payments.

The Private Financing Solution for Software, Implementation, Training and Hardware

Private financing offers a solution to all this. Third-party vendors like Dimension Funding will help you finance your entire software subscription (or purchase if it’s a bespoke option) with easily manageable fixed monthly installments.

But what makes this a great option for businesses is the fact that you can easily finance all associated costs even after the beginning of your software subscription. Flexible financing allows you to continually add software-related costs to your principal as and when you need it up to the term of the subscription.

This is very helpful for several reasons chief amongst which is the peace of mind you have knowing that there won’t be any unpleasant surprises or costs waiting for you down the line. This helps you manage your finances better and can improve your business’s overall cash flow.

Some other advantages of privately financing software through Dimension Funding include but are not limited to:

Up to $500k in software financing with no financial documents required. (Over $500k does require financial documents.)
Hardware like computers, peripherals, servers, etc. can be included in your financing.
Annual subscriptions get turned into easy-to-pay and manageable fixed monthly installments.
Helps free up working capital for you to invest elsewhere.
Eligible on a wide range of software ranging from Microsoft to professional EHR, ERP, and CRM systems, HR and Accounting software, medical and EHR / EMR software and almost any type of subscription software.
Easy online application process with a quick turnaround time.

If you’re a third-party vendor selling software to customers, then all these benefits still apply. You’ll be able to offer them all these guarantees worry-free, and all the associated costs your clients face will be easily managed.

Making smart investments and getting positive ROIs on them is key for long-term business growth in all industries. Investing in high-quality software has the potential for incredible results, and with smart financing, you won’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get them either.

If you’re interested in learning more about financing your company’s software through a third-party vendor or if you’re a vendor wanting to offer financing to your clients for all the reasons we’ve outlined and more, be sure to contact Dimension Funding to get a head start on your approval process.

The 5 Best Apps for Businesses in 2021

Technology has revolutionized the way we do business and has helped us intuitively manage the day-to-day tasks associated with it. Developers are constantly working to make better, more useful tools to aid the ever-increasing number of entrepreneurs in their pursuit of excellence.

In this article, we’ll show you the 6 best apps you should be using for your business. For each one of our choices, we’ll detail their benefits and how you can take advantage of them.

Some might be familiar to you, others might be new, but all of them will definitely help supercharge your workflow!

Evernote

No best business apps guide could ever be complete without Evernote. A juggernaut in the industry with a legion of loyal customers and overwhelmingly positive ratings, Evernote helps you reduce your businesses’ reliance on paper, and allows you to collaborate and share ideas with your team members quickly and efficiently.

One of the best features of this robust app is the fact that it is tightly integrated with almost every service you can think of. This allows you to fit it into your workflow super easily with no chances of compatibility being an issue. You can save all your important documents and ideas in the app, which will then sync it to your team members and the other devices you use on a day-to-day basis.

Some other notable features include an incredibly sophisticated search tool, templates for to-do lists and notes, sketching capabilities and stylus support, and much more. Trying to list all the reasons you should use Evernote would be a huge undertaking in and of itself, but you can get a good idea of the benefits from this article.

Evernote is free for the basic version, while the Plus version requires a modest annual subscription.

Expensify

An incredibly popular tool known for its unique feature set and intuitive functions, Expensify is a must-have in your business tool arsenal. It allows business owners to easily track their employee’s work-related expenses by logging them into the app.

Expensify lets you upload receipts using any android or iOS device. They have other options too which include OCR smart scan, uploading a picture on their official website, or even using a Google Chrome extension. The app then records all this data for you making end of year reports and analysis that much easier.

With a great drag and drop interface, and the ability to extract images from receipts for expense reports, Expensify is a great tracking tool for small business owners. While it may not be as densely packed as other finance trackers, it does what it was created for reliably without fail. Best of all, it’s free for you to try.

Google Workspace

The Google Suite of productivity apps includes Gmail, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and more. These apps might not be as popular as their Microsoft counterparts, but they have an advantage that is quite simply unmatched. Using Google’s exceptional cloud storage software, these apps sync and update their content better than any other service on the market.

This makes real-time collaboration incredibly simple and intuitive with easy options to edit documents and text files on the go. As the apps are all internet-based, you can access them from anywhere with any device as long as you have a decent connection.

The basic version is completely free to use and only requires your Google id to sign in; a great option for small businesses that only need a couple of people to collaborate together. There are other subscription-based options for you to choose from if your needs are more intensive. You can find them all here.

Asana

Asana is a feature-packed project management app that is designed to keep your team members focused on the task at hand. Most project management software solutions are very complex with cluttered interfaces and settings but Asana is the complete opposite.

The app uses “boards” to intuitively follow the progress of any project and to delegate tasks between team members. The visual representation is easy to follow and with options to share notes, files, and deadlines within the app itself, the chances of missing targets or miscalculating are greatly reduced.

It also offers plenty of useful integrations with larger, more popular programs like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc, all of which help to make it the complete project management package. The app is free to use as a basic service with an option for subscription-based upgrades if you want everything.

Canva

It might surprise you to find a graphic design app on this list, but the benefits that Canva provides, especially for businesses that don’t have an in-house designer, are massive. Canva is a tool loaded with easy-to-use features and amazing functionality to create engaging content that is easy to share.

Perfect for businesses looking to level up their social media game, Canva has a plethora of templates for them to choose from. Instagram posts, social media banners, marketing materials, presentations, ads, and posters can all be designed within the app itself.

With social media becoming more and more important, having a strong presence is a necessity for businesses looking to take things to the next level and Canva might just help you do exactly that. The basic app is free to use with more advanced features available to unlock should you need them.

Category: business technology