There is no shortage of software, books, seminars, and social networks for small businesses. Truly, a wide array of distractions and enticements exist for the manager’s attention and affections. In many ways, it’s similar to driving down the highway with a plethora of billboards competing for the entrepreneur’s focus and action.  As service providers to small businesses, we have to be able to sort through the sea of distractions and offer services and business intelligence applications the small business manager will truly value.

So as CPAs, consultants, software providers, and even small business owners ourselves, we must ask this question: what do owners, managers, and entrepreneurs really want and need?

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Business Intelligence (BI) simply means using technologies, applications and practices to analyze business information. The purpose of BI is to foster better decision making.

Does all the jargon make your head spin? Don’t let it. Applying technologies that make sense for your business is a smart business decision.
As a business consultant in my former life, I saw many companies that didn’t know what they didn’t know. That is, you must have accurate and timely information to make good decisions. Otherwise, you are guessing. Often, things can “feel” right but turn out to be disasters. Don’t get me wrong. Your “gut feel” counts for a lot when running a business, but you must have much more than a “flying-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” plan to capitalize on opportunities and avoid making big mistakes.
So how do you use this BI without breaking the bank? Just as important, how do you find a tool or small business dashboard that isn’t overly complicated or functionally impossible to use – and that has the practical, operational solutions you want and need? Most small businesses do not have the IT staff or the business expertise in house to create or implement tools internally, and the costs of many third-party solutions are ridiculously high.More...