Business Process Management (BPM) -- a.k.a. Business Performance Management -- is a 24-carat term that basically comes down to this: knowing what the heck is going on in your business, top to bottom, with all the operations performed by people and technology. It's about setting up systems to help you more quickly and efficiently track and manage your finances, your employees, your technology, your sales, inventory, websites and anything else critical to your success.

While BPM leans toward larger companies, it's also something that smaller businesses do all the time, without really knowing it. Our how-to guides this week will give you BPM basics, show you where to find BPM software, plus how to perform an annual checkup on your business, analyze financial statements and monitor network performance.

BPM Basics
Guide to Business Performance Management
By Greg Brown
There comes a moment in the life of every growing small business when the traditional performance review -- management interviewing staff, then printing up reports -- falls far short. Keeping on top of the human factor, which employees need which opportunities and challenges, how and when to move or remove talent, is critical to reaching the next stage. Corporate performance management can be as important as finance, sales and grooming top managers. Here are the basics: Read Full Guide

Putting it All Together
BPM Software
By Jeanne Dininni
Business success depends on many factors, and one of them may just be your choice of whether or not to use business performance management software. The collection of business management processes you systematically use to plan, implement and review your company's long- and short-term activities is critical to success. If all these operations are in sync and you have the means to accurately assess, analyze, forecast and make adjustments, maintaining a healthy organization will be simply a matter of course... Read Full Guide

Rx for Success
Giving Your Business an Annual Checkup
By Daniel Kehrer
Just like regular medical exams and conditioning are a great idea for keeping your body in shape, annual business checkups are an excellent way to keep all of your business processes in top condition. Small business owners faced with minimal staff and tight deadlines may put off addressing issues like obsolete accounting systems. But delaying key projects can result in lost time, money and productivity. Your two steps to annual checkup success: Read Full Guide

Bean Counting
Analyzing and Interpreting Financial Statements
By Francine Huff
Understanding the financial details of your business – and, at times, being able to communicate them to others – can mean the difference between success and failure. Informed business owners pay attention to the numbers that show whether a business is profitable, has cash flow problems or is spending too much in certain areas. Analyzing financial data also can help you set business objectives on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Here's how to do it: Read Full Guide

Network Magic
Network Performance Monitoring Software
By Michael Berman
As your network goes, so goes your business. It's important to use the right network performance monitoring software to make sure you don't have problems later that could result in loss of time and money. With their ability to track everything from security to reliability, these software packages, when installed and maintained properly, are worth their weight in gold. Here's what to look for: Read Full Guide