Here’s a gut check question to ask about your computer system.

Is the computer system working for you or do you have to work for the computer system?

We know what the answer should be. Sadly though, the real answer is the opposite. Companies have to modify the way they operate in order to fit their computer program. This can affect both large and small operations. Large operations that have big enterprise systems could be particularly prone. In order to fit the installation of the large enterprise system, they may have to make major changes in how they do their processing.

However, it can hit smaller companies as well too. A smaller company may not have the resources to make changes to the computer system and as a result ends up having to do some things differently in their business to make it fit the system.

Among some of the things that you could take a look at:

1. Order processing. This usually is the area that is most individual to companies, how you process your orders for customers. Do you have to change how you’d like to process the orders than what you’d be doing otherwise?

2. Sales quotations. You may want to be quoting your products in a particular way, but when you got the computer system you suddenly could no longer add up costs on that particular basis. Is there a difference between how you are quoting your customers versus how your computer system is rolling up the cost of your products or services?

3. Running reports. Do you have to seem to jump through hoops to run reports on the system that you used to be able to get much easier on a previous system? Does this lead you to be flying blind?

4. Account transaction. Are there difficulties doing account transaction, such as numerous additional steps involved versus what you would like?

Those are just a few of the things to consider. If you find that you’re having to work too much for the system, see what alternatives there might be. Perhaps, there might be an add-on package that could better fit your industry that fits with your current computer program. When I was CFO for a pharmaceutical firm, that’s exactly what I walked into. Pharmaceutical firms use a batch manufacturing process yet the computer package that had been installed he previous year was more geared toward assembly line manufacturing. Fortunately, we found an add-on package that did such conversion and from that point the system began to fit our business much better.

The other option is to see what customization might be able to be done. Alternatively, if the situation is bad enough, it might be time to look for a new system.

Remember the computer system should work for you not you for the system.