Hiring a Software Consultant – What You Need to Know
Welcome back to this series where we cover a number of FAQs to help you better understand the options if you are considering hiring a software consultant.
We cover what you need to know, highlight answers to concerns many businesses have and also cover how Software Buddy deliver projects.
If you’ve been following the show so far you can view these at the footer of this blog post and we cover a wide range of common areas such as pricing, such as the type of concerns that people have.
Not just with software, but with working with software consultancies.
Hiring A Software Consultant - What You Need To Know from Lisa Knaggs Hunter on Vimeo.
Hiring a Software Consultant – What Concerns Would a Business Have
Firstly it is about whether there is a fit, here at Software Buddy we primarily work with SMEs.
Small-to-medium sized businesses who have aspirations to grow.
So there are, within that certain industries which we wouldn’t work with because they have a specialist route.
For example, say solicitors and in the medical industry where is there is a certain amount of compliance.
The guidance is that if you are hiring a software consultant, make sure they are specialists or have experience in your industry.
At Software Buddy we’re looking at trades and service businesses which there might have some level of compliance, of course, for their particular industry, but there is … they don’t need the specialist software to demonstrate that.
Hiring a Software Consultant – Size Matters
If you are looking for an onsite consultancy team, consider the size of your organisation and whether the consultant you are negotiating with is capable of delivering at the project size you require.
Ask as a client do we have confidence in their approach and do they have the resources to deliver.
At Software Buddy we always do a diagnostic first.
So we’re going to find out whether we’re a good fit.
One way or the other you might not like our method of work, we might not like your method of work.
We work based upon collaboration, it is important that an agreement to work together is right for both parties.
The person leading the project is a crucial role from both sides, having harmony and respect is a key area for you to consider.
Regardless of the size of your project, you can speak to our team, give us a call, use our preferred channel of Twitter using the hashtag #SoftwareBuddy and our team will be happy to offer free guidance through an initial consultation, ensure that any consultant you are considering offers this free diagnostics style consultation.
Hiring a Software Consultant – Experience Counts
Software consultants can vary from generalist to specialist, consider what type of systems you are already employing if they are working for you or you need a total overhaul.
A great place to start with a software consultant is one who has a broad range of systems experience but specialising in either your industry or particular types of software.
This saves many hours for the consultant learning on the job at your expense.
There are always learning scenarios, often as the client, you are not fully clear on what you need hence hiring a consultant, just be confident to ask the consultant what experience they have and also ask for case studies of similar projects.
Hiring a Software Consultant – The Software Buddy Difference
Software consultancy, like many software niches, delivers different levels of quality, service and output, many businesses have had a negative experience, a question we get asked often is
“So why is Software Buddy different and is there any guarantees about the end result, or the output that they could expect?”
- As part of the scope, we look to frame our project clearly for the client.
- We always worked with an endpoint in time.
- We’re always looking to work back from that.
- We have a delivery point, and we know what that is, a delivery date for the project.
Throughout our process we have got to know each other, you understand how we work, and the working relationship has been formed and we are always going to do what fits, what works and what you, your client, are clear about what to expect.
This also allows a full scope of works to be understood, what will be in scope and what would be out of scope to avoid any surprises.
Hiring a Software Consultant – Online Training
If working one on one is not right we have our online fast-track course for ServiceM8 with many other online courses planned for the future, this self-paced online training allows customers to even try at a much lower level on how we can work together, because it’s delivered online, but that can lead into the next level of project if required.
The Online Fastrack course for Servicem8 covers the desktop setup, which allows people to use the trial time as best as possible to ensure they get the best out of it.
So customers can get into a position where they can make an informed decision, whether that’s going to be right for them going forward and also allows for them to see what we can deliver and how we work, without really engaging with us directly as a project.
After the online training is complete, they can make an informed decision based on their skill sets whether they want to carry on themselves or go to the next online course called Accelerate, which is beyond fast track.
Hiring a Software Consultant – Multi System Considerations
We covered earlier consider hiring a software consultant who has a broad range of systems experience, and Software Buddy’s very familiar with accounting and operational systems software that are essential for many of our target market customers.
So we cover Sage, Xero, Payroll Systems, job management systems, inventory systems.
However, if there’s a specialism required, we’ll investigate that with the customer if that’s what they want to do.
Many projects will need software thank integrates their core systems, so if you think about Zapier, a software travel plug many call it and helps connect all kinds of software to improve efficiency.
Zapier has a vast amount of options available and at Software Buddy we are here just to help people get what they want to achieve, plus apply guidance and recommendations to ensure the output delivers the expected results.
If you want to learn more about Software Buddy consultancy, or just general whether a software consultant’s right for you, leave us a comment below, or send us a message on our preferred channel of Twitter using the hashtag #SoftwareBuddy, and we will be delighted to get those questions answered.
You can also set up a 30 minute, no obligation call, which you can see on our website, which is www.softwarebuddy.co.uk.