Entrepreneur's Complete Guide to Software

First, re-evaluate your company's staple software. For each program, draw up a wish list of features or enhancements that would make using the package easier. Often, the solution may be as simple as an upgrade to the latest version available. If not, consider the options in our listing.

Second, take a good look at your business and pinpoint those activities that take more time than you'd like-the ones that make you mutter to yourself "There must be something out there that can do this quicker than I can." No doubt, there probably is. For that matter, think about those activities you never seem to have time to do. From tools for creating Web sites to time-billing software, new products could provide brilliant solutions to problems you haven't yet resolved. Make sure, though, that the solutions are worth the money and time you'll have to spend to implement them successfully.

Then it's time to try and buy. Check out the Web sites for the software companies we've listed on our software chart-often, they'll let you download demos that can help you better gauge how easy their products are to use. If a demo version isn't available, there's usually a detailed online tour that gives you a lot more information than a paper-based brochure. And before you buy the package outright, check with the software company to see if it's bundled with other software or equipment that you might be in the market to buy anyway.

Get ready to dive in-a host of products awaits you . . .

This article was originally published in the November 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: <i>Entrepreneur</i>'s Complete Guide to Software.