By Jude 
Choosing business software can feel a bit like shopping for clothes: you can grab something ‘one-size-fits-all’, or you can get it tailored. Both can work, but for different reasons and at different stages of your business.
In this post, we’ll explore the differences between general business software and industry-specific software to help you find the right solution for your needs. In each case, I’ve included a few examples of software that fits each category.
Examples of general business software
General business software is designed to be used by almost any kind of company regardless of industry. Such software aims to solve the common needs every business has such as communication, project management, finance, sales and data management. Examples of this software include:
- Quickbooks: An accounting software solution for small-to-medium businesses that caters to all industries.
- Zoom: A popular cloud-based video-conferencing application used by many businesses of all types for communication.
- Asana: A leading project management software solution used by various industries for assigning tasks and tracking progress.
- Salesforce: A well-known CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform used by an array of industries for general sales and marketing.
- Microsoft 365: The most popular office productivity suite, which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Companies from all sectors use this software for creating documents, spreadsheets and slideshows.
When to use general business software
The advantages of general business software are that it is fairly simple to use, easy to integrate and generally quite affordable (many of the big general providers will have tiered price plans catered to companies of different sizes). You may want to stick with general business software if any of the following conditions apply…
You’re a new or small business
If you’re just starting out or you run a fairly basic business model, you may not need anything complex or specialist. General business software could allow you to carry out general tasks like accounting or paying staff. Some of these general software plans could be very cheap or even free, providing you with much needed savings if you’re a startup on a tight budget or a tiny company trying to maximize profits without expanding.
You want flexibility to integrate or migrate
General business applications tend to play nicely with most other software, and are compatible on most devices. This gives you the freedom to experiment with different tech solutions. You could also find migrating to different software is easier as there is more likely to be migration services out there for popular general applications.
Your company straddles different industries
If you’re trying out a few different revenue streams, general software may be better for helping you to manage all of this in one place. It saves you from having to use different industry-specific tools for different parts of your business and also allows you to trial out different products and services without committing to new software.
Examples of industry-specific software
Industry-specific software is designed to fit the particular needs of one market. Designed with the help of professionals within that industry, such software caters to more processes and may use more unique terminology. Examples of such software include:
- Epic: A leader is EHR (Electronic Health Record) software for companies within the healthcare sector (e.g. hospitals, clinics).
- Procore: A construction management software solution for owners and contractors to use during construction projects.
- Acturis: A cloud-based SaaS platform designed to help the unique needs of insurers and brokers.
- Toast: A popular POS system designed for restaurants and bars to handle menu management and ordering.
- Clio: A legal practice management software solution used by law firms to manage case files and billing.
When to use industry-specific software
If your needs are more specialist, you could find that industry-specific software is a better choice. Such software may not be as heavily used or as cheap, but could provide features that give you the edge against competitors. Some of the reasons to choose industry-specific software are outlined below…
You need access to specialized reporting and insights
Industry-specific software can provide access to unique types of data that you may not be able to record or track using general software. For example, if you’re a waste collection company, residential waste hauler software could provide specific features for tracking the location of drivers and storing dump tickets. You could find that staff are able to more easily pick up how to use this software due to industry-specific terminology rather than general labels, plus there could be unique analytics features or databases included to make your employees’ lives easier.
You need to comply with certain laws or standards
In certain industries, software needs to comply with industry-specific laws and standards. Healthcare software, for example, needs to be HIPAA-compliant. Certain finance applications meanwhile need to be FINRA-compliant in order to use. General software won’t meet these standards and therefore could be illegal to use.
You want to eliminate the bloat of general software
General software may have lots of features that you don’t need. Industry-specific platforms can focus solely on the functions necessary to your business for a cleaner and more organized user experience. Some of these applications may even combine different features from different general software applications along with a few more niche features for a more all-in-one platform.
So, general or industry-specific?
There’s no universal answer as to which type of software is right for you. However, a simple way to think about it is like this:
Use general business software when:
- You’re an early-stage or small business
- Your processes are still evolving
- Your workflows are relatively standard
- You’re experimenting in different industries
- Budget, speed and simplicity matter most to you
Use industry-specific software when:
- Your work involves complex, unique workflows
- Compliance and risk are significant issues
- You need deep reporting and automation
- You want something leaner and more focused
- You can afford to invest in a more specialist system
It could be a good idea to start with general software and then move to more industry-specific platforms over time as you grow and benefit from the added depth.