Low unemployment means labor can be hard to come by. Operational software might be a solution that makes sense for your business.

The U.S. unemployment rate has reached an incredible low of 3.7%, and given the continued downward trend in recent years, it appears this number won’t be going up any time soon. While this is great news for many Americans, it may also present an issue for some business owners.

While the stable economy may give your business a boost in sales, you may still struggle to grow your business. Growing a business typically requires one to hire more employees, and with fewer unemployed people, you may find yourself unsure of how to expand your team.

So, what can you do instead?

Thanks to technology, there are several ways you can grow your business, without hiring more employees. By streamlining your business’s operations, you’ll save your existing employees time and give them the opportunity to do more to help your business succeed.

Here are three ways to grow your business using operational software.

1. Say goodbye to paper, or at least some of it.

For many businesses, paper is still a primary source of documentation. But think of how much time it takes to print, file, and sort through physical documents. Not only can looking through papers disrupt your workflow, but searching for misplaced documents can bring it to a halt.

If your business still relies on paper to get things done, you may benefit from a document management system, or software that tracks and stores your business’s documents for you. An inventory management system may be even better if you sell products, as it tracks your business’s goods from production to point-of-sale.

To save yourself and your employees some time and grief, take a look at the filing cabinets in your office, and consider if the aforementioned software would be a better option.

2. Automate as much of your workflow as possible.

Two significant aspects of saving time and increasing efficiency are 1) administering effective project management and 2) following an appropriate workflow. To manage projects and track workflow, many businesses still use Excel spreadsheets, but is that for the best?

Spreadsheets may be a step-up from paper-based documentation, but they can still result in wasted time and inaccuracies. There’s no reason to waste time, or make such mistakes when software can run numbers faster and more efficiently, as well as reduce error rates.

Instead of spreadsheets, adopt software for project and workflow management: Project management software helps to manage specific projects, while workflow management software helps to designate and manage each employee’s set of tasks. That means less data entry, and more of getting things done.

3. Maximize your potential with B2B and B2C e-commerce.

Even if you have a website for your business, there are always more ways to capitalize on what e-commerce has to offer. Sometimes, this simply means adding new features to the software you already have, some of which may include:

• Remote access - Make your business’s software easily accessible by ensuring that they function on any device, and anywhere, to ensure that work gets done in the office or on the go.

• Automate processes - Maybe it’s already clear, but we’ll say it again: Why do work that something else can do for you? Let the software process payments, email sign-ups, and more.

• Convenient support - Instead of expecting consumers to send an email or pick up the phone, give them the chance to contact you right now with a live chat. Such features not only make your business appear more readily available but allow you to resolve issues quickly.

With this in mind, it may be useful to consider other strategies to increase both your e-commerce conversions and efficiency, while keeping your customers coming back for more.

Time’s Ticking: Streamline Your Business Now

From reducing your use of paper to capitalizing on e-commerce opportunities, you’ll need a software development team. With your business and budget goals in mind, your team should help you to build the software that will most greatly improve upon your current practices.

At ClikFocus, we’ve been offering our skills in software and web development to businesses like yours for over 10 years. If you’re looking for a team that can get the job done right, and right now, we’re ready to build whatever software your business may need to succeed.