How technology can cut costs for your business

ADVERTISING FEATURE

By ECI Staff Contributors

A completely integrated, cloud-based business management system gives you all the information you need in one spot so you can streamline your processes, reduce your operating costs, and focus on growing your business.

A completely integrated, cloud-based business management system gives you all the information you need in one spot so you can streamline your processes, reduce your operating costs, and focus on growing your business. For most businesses in the verticals that we serve, the monthly savings are considerable, and come about in direct and indirect ways.

Deloitte’s 2019 report into the economic value of cloud services in Australia found that “the adoption of cloud services by Australian businesses has resulted in a cumulative productivity benefit to the economy of $9.4 billion over the last 5 years.”

Consider your potential cost-saving benefits from new cloud technology:

• Eliminates redundancies and reduces errors from managing spreadsheets
• Can do the job of 2 people
• Reduces manual invoice processing costs
• Reduces labour costs with vendor electronic data interchange (EDI) and automatic ordering.
• Eliminates expensive on-premise servers
• Saves cost associated with backup and security of on-premise servers
• Prevents painful physical inventory processes

Personnel needed

Deloitte’s report found that 78% of users reported improvements in productivity since using cloud services. This increased productivity reflects a more efficient use of time and resources to produce more goods and services, meaning less employee time is needed to produce profitable outcomes.

Based on how much time and effort technology can save businesses in invoicing, server maintenance, backup and security, and inventory processes, businesses can substantially reduce personnel costs per month and redirect employee time to more profitable tasks.

Invoice processing

The typical expense associated with processing a single invoice can reach up to $30, according to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). However, businesses that have adopted accounts payable (AP) process enhancements, such as an AP automation system, have experienced substantial savings of 66% compared to manual processing, resulting in an average cost per invoice of $10 or less. By leveraging AP automation, teams can save up to $20 for every invoice they process.

For companies processing 32 invoices per month, that is a monthly savings of $640. For companies processing 500 invoices per month, that is a monthly savings of $10,000 and an annual savings of $120,000.

On-premise servers

According to SoftwareAdvice, the upfront cost of on-premise software is higher than cloud-based software, making it an investment over time. Not to mention, businesses must consider the costs of on-premise server maintenance. Cloud-based software is the cheaper alternative by comparison with a lower upfront cost and predictable costs over time. Additionally, these subscriptions can easily be scaled up or down depending on your business needs.

Overall savings resulting from eliminating on-premise servers come about in several ways:

• With cloud-based software, businesses don’t need to purchase and install physical servers on their premises, which can be a significant upfront cost. Instead, they can simply pay a subscription fee to use the software on a cloud-based platform, which is hosted and managed by the provider.
• The ongoing costs of maintaining and repairing on-premise servers can add up quickly. With cloud-based software, the provider takes care of all server maintenance and upgrades.
• Similarly, the ongoing costs of backing up and securing data vary from business to business, depending on the amount and sensitivity of data.
• Cloud-based software is scalable, so businesses can adjust their usage as their needs change. Expensive on-premise servers require an initial purchase large enough to accommodate peak usage, which may rarely occur.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and automatic ordering

Cloud-based software reduces costs for businesses with vendor EDI (electronic data interchange) and automatic ordering in several ways:

• Ensures that all data is accurate and up to date without the costs of manual data entry, errors, and rework
• Sets up automatic ordering, which eliminates the time and costs involved in manual ordering
• Reduces inventory levels to what is optimal, without overstocking or running out of stock
• Streamlines processes and allows businesses to communicate efficiently with vendors in real time, reducing costs associated with delays in delivery or response time

Cloud-based computing technologies, such as ECI Solutions’s JobBoss² have proven to be a game-changer for businesses, resulting in significant cost savings per month. By streamlining business processes, eliminating the need for expensive on-premise servers, automating invoicing and inventory processes, and improving internal and external communication, cloud-based software has enabled businesses to operate more cost-effectively, which especially makes a big difference for SMBs. With the ever-increasing benefits of scalability and flexibility, cloud-based software continues to be a cost-saving solution for businesses looking to optimise their operations and boost their bottom line.