Guide to Finding Industry-Specific Software

Retail

Even the smallest retailers can benefit from point-of-sale (POS) software, which automates a variety of tasks, such as sales transactions, inventory management and scheduling labor.

I recommend: RetailPro software includes inventory and merchandise management, customer relationship, receiving, layaways, gift certificates, returns, gift registry, loss prevention. Nurol.com is a leader in affordable POS software for small retailers.

E-commerce

Numerous software solutions on the market are designed to make it easier to set up and manage an e-commerce store.

I recommend: ECMerchant is a turnkey ecommerce solution that includes shopping cart and Web page design tools. NetCommerce offers site building, analytics, search engine optimization (SEO) and more tools.

Restaurant

Any restaurateur knows that keys to success in this industry include maximizing menu profitability, mastering table and customer management and scheduling employees effectively.

I recommend: OC Pro offers food and recipe-costing, menu analysis and more. OCLabor Pro automates employee scheduling. For reservations and table management, check out iMagic Restaurant Reservation. MenuPro simplifies menu design with more than 100 pre-designed menu styles.

Manufacturing

In manufacturing, tasks such as production management, product data management, project scheduling and supply chain management can be optimized with software. Manufacturing software can cost up to several hundred thousand dollars, but several vendors target smaller manufacturers with more affordable options that cost a few thousand dollars.

I recommend: Epicor Vista is geared to emerging manufacturers and small job shops. M1 is designed for small to medium manufacturers and provides automation for everything from quoting to invoicing.

Service providers

For professional service providers, billing, resource scheduling and project management can all be automated. If your service business involves field technicians, you can use software for dispatching, managing maintenance agreements and more.

I recommend: Alert is service management software that provides automation for all kinds of service businesses.

Construction

Construction software can take the headaches out of estimating project costs and managing projects.

I recommend: Construction Office, a leader in the construction software industry, is a project management system geared to small and medium-sized businesses and handles estimating, scheduling, contracts, specifications, document management and more.

Consider add-ons or upgrades

Many general business software applications have industry-specific add-on modules or can be upgraded to an industry-specific version. These solutions tend to be cost-effective but may not provide the most detailed industry specifics.

I recommend: Check out industry-specific solutions from QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions and NetSuite.