5 signs your business needs SaaS software

1. Your data lives in spreadsheets and notebooks

Stock levels in one file, prices in another, takings in a notebook. Every change means retyping data in several places, and one wrong cell ruins the whole month's figures. A SaaS app keeps data in one place and shows it to everyone who needs it.

2. The end-of-day report takes an hour

If someone counts the takings every day, reconciles card and cash payments and copies the results into a spreadsheet, you pay for that hour every day. In a cloud sales system the daily report builds itself, and the owner checks it on a phone.

3. Updating the software needs a technician

Software installed on one computer has to be updated, its licence tracked and a technician called when something stops working. With SaaS, updates and servers are the vendor's job and you pay a fixed subscription.

4. You can't see the whole business at once

Two outlets, an office and a warehouse, each with its own software. To see company-wide results someone has to collect the data by hand, so you look at it once a month. A cloud app shows every location in one view, on any device with a browser.

5. A computer failure means losing data

Ask yourself: what happens if the disk in the till computer fails tomorrow? If the answer is "we lose our data", that is a warning sign. A SaaS vendor makes backups and monitors its servers, so one broken computer doesn't stop sales.

When SaaS is not the right choice

A cloud app needs the internet. If you work somewhere with poor coverage, ask the vendor about working offline or plan a backup link, such as an LTE modem. Businesses with very unusual processes may also need custom-built software.

Where to start

Pick the one area that gets in the way most, such as sales reports, and see how a SaaS app handles it. Many vendors offer test access, so you can compare solutions on real work before you buy anything.