Moving to an online ordering system may be the next essential step for your business to thrive and grow. Back office operations include accounting, finance, inventory, and shipping – the things that keep your business running. Customers don’t care how your back office works, just what it does. They want fast, mistake free order management. Back office processes don’t make your business money, but they drain money from the front office if not done efficiently. An online ordering system brings that efficiency to you.
The Advantages
There are several major benefits to an online system. The first is that all the information needed by employees and customers is in a central database with access from anywhere, at any time. Customers are not tied to your office hours to place orders, track pending orders, or review their pricing or order history. Allowing customers to log in to an online order system to place and track their own orders gives your customers more flexibility to meet their own client demands. Being able to quickly view pending transactions and order history gives your customers confidence that the process is working as it should. This confidence and satisfaction translates to more customer loyalty and repeat orders.
When your online order system integrates with QuickBooks and automates much of the order process, there are fewer opportunities for mistakes to be made in data entry – mistakes that can cost you customers. Changes to pricing, inventory, or policies for a customer are automatically up-dated without the need for additional manual entry. Orders are processed quicker, and customers have 24/7 access to find answers to questions and check on orders. All of this frees employees and sales reps from fielding phone calls and questions from customers, and eliminates time-consuming manual paperwork. Payroll costs are kept down, and your employees and reps can concentrate on the more productive aspects of their jobs.
Online order systems are scalable. When you obtain new customers, you can easily add new customer accounts to your portal. This helps you grow without the need to hire new employees to meet increased customer’s needs. This, again, helps keep payroll costs down.
An automated online order system makes keeping track of inventory easier. Don’t disappoint customers with outdated inventory information or out of stock issues. With an online system you are able to accurately view inventory status without having to access multiple programs and spreadsheets. You don’t have to track down information from different departments in your company. It’s all available online, in your order system software. Inventory errors and data entry mistakes are eliminated. Your customers are better able to plan their own inventory order schedules when they are sure your information is up-to-date and accurate.
Protecting Your Business
Your back office may not be in the public’s eye, but your reputation is. Inefficient, poorly handled back office processes can destroy your ability to maintain old customers and attract new ones. Using an online order system can solve many back office issues. It can keep your back office humming, sales reps selling, and your customers happy and ordering.