Guide to buying software for your small business

Without decent software your small business IT infrastructure is pretty much useless. Buying software can be as easy as visiting your local computer store, paying some money and getting a set of software. But this is not necessarily the most cost effective way of making such a purchase. Anyway, how do you know that your hardware will be able to run the software? Is it vital that you have the latest version of software to run your business or can older software do the trick?

Software can be expensive. Full copies of the more popular office software can cost a few hundred pounds and specialised design software can cost thousands of pounds. By buying cost effectively you will save your small business money, whilst ensuring your software remains legal.

What software do you need?

The best place to start will be to consider what software you actually need to run your business.

For most small businesses the following software would be a must have;

• An operating system. For most PCs the choice would be a copy of Microsoft Windows. At the time of writing the latest copy of Windows called Vista has just been released, although another operating system called Windows XP is still available.

• Office software. This encompasses the software you typically need to run your business including a word processor (for letters and documents), a spreadsheet (for financial analysis) and an email program.

• A PC database for record keeping
• Presentation software
• Project management software
• Specialised design software such as CAD or CAM products
• Desk top publishing software for news letters and fancy documents
• Photo editing and design software

As soon as you install your software you will be asked to agree to an End User Licence Agreement or EULA. This is a contract between you and the software vendor that sets out the responsibilities of the vendor and the fit for purpose nature of the product. Read this agreement and ensure you understand the terms and conditions.

With software that you buy already boxed up from a supplier there will be a hard copy of the software licence, probably with anti-forgery devices such as holograms and silver strips in the paper (like a bank note).

This licence is your proof of ownership and your guarantee that the software is genuine.

Over the past few years software piracy has been prevalent and the pirates have been very effective at copying legal software and selling copies cheap at venues such as car boot sales. This is an illegal activity and will result in you receiving an inferior product. Your business can also be at risk from legal action if you are seen to be using pirated software.

The simple answer is don’t use illegal software.

Can my computers run the software I buy?

This is a very valid question and needs to be born in mind when buying software. If you have a PC that is more than 2 -3 years old then it may have a problem running some of the latest software from some manufacturers. This is due to the speed of the PC and its ability (or lack of!) to process the more complex newer software. In addition if you intend to undertake complex design type work such as CAD/CAM then you will need a PC with a suitable high specification.

You can always check with the software manufacturer that your PC will be able to run the software as they will always give you a required hardware specification. See our guide on Finding a hardware supplier for more details.

Open source, freeware and shareware

It is possible to obtain some software free of charge or at very low cost.

Open source software is openly developed and shared in the public domain. Developers throughout the world contribute to developing the software on the basis that no one owns the work and it is always made freely available to others.

This development work is primarily focused on the more technical side of computing, but there is some open source business software that may be of interest. One in particular to look at maybe Open Office which is a set of office productivity software such as a word processor and spreadsheet.

Freeware and shareware relate to software that has been developed by enthusiasts and is available for free or low cost. At lot of this software is very technical or has a consumer focus, but you may find something suitable for a small business.

As always be very careful about what you buy and who you buy from. Not all freeware or shareware is of good quality and indeed some of it may damage your PC or carry out inappropriate actions such as logging your key strokes which will compromise your PC security. See our guide on PC security for details on malware and viruses for more details.

You also need to consider the compatibility issues of using non-mainstream software. If a customer sends you a file in one popular format and you do not have the correct software loaded you may not be able to read the data. Likewise you may end up sending out files in difficult to access formats which will irritate customers and suppliers alike.

Software upgrades

Software manufacturers are constantly adding new features and functionality to their products. This means that every 18 months or so there will be a release of the next major version of a product.

The process of moving up to this next version is called upgrading.

The cost of this upgrade is often a lot less than if you bought the new product off the shelf, and you may find yourself saving 40 – 70% of the full retail price.

Although software manufacturers will always like you to upgrade to the latest version of the software there may be little or no business benefit in doing so. It is perfectly acceptable to be running “older” software as long as you are still getting business benefit and it is still fit for purpose.

Issues will arise when the software is more than, say, 5 years old as you may find the manufacturer has withdrawn support for the product. At this point it would be wise to invest in an upgrade or you may have performance and security related issues.

Always look at new versions as they are made available as you may find a new feature that addresses a problem or issue you have been having. If that is the case, and you can justify it, by all means upgrade.

Software suppliers

Once you are happy that you understand what software you need then you can go shopping. The easiest place to buy software may be from one of your local retailers or shops that sell computers. At these stores you can often ask questions about the products and maybe get to see a demonstration if you wish. If the software should be faulty then returning it to the shop should be straightforward.

Buying online is probably the most popular place to get software as there are often some fairly aggressive discounts to be had. As always let the buyer beware and source your products from a reseller with a good web presence and reputation.

You may be tempted to buy software from an auction web site. The choice is yours but be very careful that you are buying genuine product and that it has a proper software licence or you could be buying illegal software. You may wish to read more about this in our buying online guide.

Some of the key software suppliers include: PC World, Saver Software, Amazon, DELL, Micro Direct and Software Paradise.

About the Author

This guide was provided by The Business IT Guide - a free online tool designed to help smaller businesses in using ICT to improve efficiency and productivity. It enables businesses to access a wide range of high quality independent advice to help them fully exploit ICT.