If you want to use software specific to your individual type of business, there are two main routes open to you. One is to purchase bespoke software that has been written specifically for your individual business, the other is to purchase specialised software written for your type of business. Many software developers, including us, can offer an off the shelf application developed for your type of business, but with a degree of customisation available to suit you individual needs.

Whatever your choice, there are certain considerations that are very important to you, basically, this is one of the most important decisions that your will have to make. The following is offered as a general guidance whether you deal with us or elsewhere.

#1 Existing Data

Will the software that you purchase be able to import all of your existing data, in effect, meaning that you will not have to start again from scratch? You may already be using some specialised software, maybe an old DOS system whereby the people from whom you purchased it have gone out of business, or want a kings ransom to upgrade to a Windows based system. Or maybe you are running your business on Excel spreadsheets.

Its an important consideration. I know someone who had to run their old and new systems side by side for over two years before they had everything into the new program. I had the opportunity to take a look at their old system, it was running on FoxPro, if they had dealt with us we could have saved all of their existing data.

However, this generally depends on the structure of the software that you are already running. Many older programs store data in what's known as dBase, or the aforementioned FoxPro or similar. In this instance data is ready importable into Microsoft Access tables. Microsoft Excel spreadsheet data is also readily importable. The thing is that we will at least take a look at what you are using and give it a try, which is more than can be said for some others.

#2 Cost

Wherever you go, try to get some up front figures. Know before hand what you are likely to have to spend. If you are running a small business you can hardly justify, never mind afford the outlay of thousands of pounds for computer software. Also be aware that a lot of software has to be annually re licensed else it will stop running, so here you would be looking at an annual fee rather than a one off expense. We will generally attempt to quote up front, once we have sufficient information as to your requirements. All of our "off the shelf " software has an advertised price, this is a one off expense, any upgrades are optional and reasonably priced.

#3 Quality

Its reasonable to expect anything that you buy to be fit for its purpose and to do what it says on the tin, but this is not always so. Its a good idea to ask for the name of a local reference, that is a someone near to you who is already a user of that developers software.

You will also want to know about the level of support that you can expect. If you are a larger company, you will be well advised to insist on a proper Service Level Agreement.

Our software is very reasonably priced, making it the ideal choice for start up businesses. Its scalability ensures that it will remain suitable for your needs as your business expands. Vehicle Sales, covers the sale of used cars and vans. Finance House is a credit finance management and accounting software, e.g. Hire Purchase, Personal Loan, Revolving Credit Accounts etc. We also have stock applications suitable for manufacturing or the sale of products or services, domestic appliance rental, tool and plant hire. If your business is based on the management of any kind of rentals or instalments, we are the people to talk to. We are also able to develop bespoke custom software applications individually tailored for a wide range of businesses. All of our software has been developed on Microsoft Access and is deployed with the run time version of Microsoft Access distributed under licence. This means that you do not need to have MS Access installed on your computer to run one of our applications. All of our applications are developed to generally accepted standards.