Key Considerations When Evaluating Equipment Rental Accounting Software

When it comes to choosing your accounting software, the decision may not always be clear-cut. How do you know what will be a good fit for your business with so many options on the market?

There are many factors to consider—and not all equipment rental software companies will be forthcoming with the information you need to make your decision. That’s why we’ve put together this list of key considerations for your future equipment rental accounting system.

What to Look Out For

When looking into new technology, it can be hard to know what to look for or what questions to ask. Here’s a list of our most important factors to consider.

Is Your Data in One System, or Spread Across Multiple?

Though several systems on the market come off as single systems, they often are separate. If you’re attempting to extract data, using different systems for rentals such as financial, inventory management, services, payroll, and others, can be problematic, considering they all rely on integrations. Because programs upgrade solutions at different times, integrations can be complicated and leave you vulnerable to additional problems and internal issues.

As a company, you should be interested in utilizing a single platform that operates with the functionality you need for it to grow alongside your business. If you house your data in a single system, this allows you to extract and report on it in real-time, which is essential in the ever-growing world of technology.

As comforting as the familiarity may be, using outdated technology is essentially holding back the growth of your business.

Are You Using a Cloud System?

Having your information stored in “The Cloud” can seem ominous. Where does your information go? Will it end up in the hands of the wrong people? We get it.

The unknown can be scary, but using a cloud solution has a lot of benefits. Most notably, if you upgrade your hardware, you don’t have to transfer your information to the new device. It’s already there.

Using Microsoft tools to write a system is a common occurrence. However, this differs significantly from having a system updated and provided by Microsoft. Microsoft invests millions of dollars into research and development to better their products and evolve their functionality continuously. This includes the constantly improving Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

This enables companies such as Open Door Technology to focus on building dependable apps that cater to the rental industry without being distracted by updating core financial solutions.

Because some cloud software providers don’t allow administrative access to customer data for their clients, it’s difficult for clients to manage or create customized reports that gather the appropriate data necessary for essential information.

You should also look for a software provider that will allow you to create a backup of your cloud database whenever you want to. Keeping a database copy is a sure way to always have access, despite any unfortunate events that may occur, such as a software provider going out of business.

As a business, not being able to access or manage your data is unacceptable, so make sure you’re keeping this in mind while looking for the accounting software that is right for your equipment rental business.

Is the Technology Up-to-Date?

Technology is an ever-evolving field—this means the technology we use daily is constantly upgraded. Even the best technology has bugs that need to be worked out, and regular system updates and maintenance are part of keeping a healthy, up-to-date system.

These days virtually all business software and system platforms are provided by Microsoft. If your system is not using up-to-date Microsoft tools and systems, i.e., SQL Azure database, your system is at risk of becoming obsolete. Many vendors misrepresent the version of the software they are selling because systems built on legacy technology are too costly for the vendor to update.

Being on an older version may affect you in either the short or long-term. If you don’t choose a technology leader, you will always be playing catch up.

Some software suppliers are hiding legacy versions of their software with a fancy front-end, but the customer will be forced to go through at least one more significant upgrade in the future. Upgrading periodically can ring in just as many costs as the original implementation or even more. With semi-annual updates, you can rest assured that your Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is always up-to-date, seamlessly.

Many systems offer substantive upgrades only every five years, which will leave you to work with an older system and deal with significant upgrades that can be very disruptive to your organization. Ensuring that the software you are using is easy to upgrade, or even better, automatic, is crucial for your business.

Is It Customizable?

Customization may come off as a negative term to some, but without it, you miss out on configuring a unique system to your specific business requirements where it makes sense.

There are many reasons why you want to have software that caters precisely to your business. The easiest way to ensure your software is the perfect fit for you and your clients is to have the ability to tailor your software so that your company functions most efficiently. Customizations can often make all the difference between you and your competitor.

If you are looking for custom software, you should also consider the potential impact they can cause in the long run. Some systems cannot be upgraded or updated as effectively if you have applied many customizations, so limit them to what your business needs to operate at its best.

What many don’t consider is that updates are necessary to keep systems secure. Still, if a vendor is responsible for updating their base code as widespread technology changes, the effort can be overwhelming for them. You can be on the hook for the expense and overall process of upgrading your custom software.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central is becoming the fastest growing and most popular cloud ERP accounting solution for growing mid-sized businesses in industries like equipment rental companies because of how it is developed to work seamlessly with customizations as well as purpose-built functionality applications.

Essentially, these embedded industry-driven or task-driven customized functions are delivered through something called “extensions” that allow the core operating system to update without ever interrupting customizations and vice-versa. As such, any industry-specific versions of the solution, like ODT Rentals, are always able to be current with zero business interruptions.

Are There Mobility Options?

In a world that is constantly on the go, having the ability to use your business software on any device—including your smartphone—is an advantage.

Some mobile apps only allow for particular in-app functions and therefore limited mobile control of your business. You’ll want to select an app that has enough power to operate your entire company. It should also offer field users specific job features that are available both on and offline. Having fully mobile-compatible software enables you and your employees the freedom to do your job no matter where you are.

For a more detailed guide on evaluating equipment rental software solutions, download our free whitepaper Comparing ERPs for Your Equipment Rental and Service Business.

Why You Should Choose Open Door Technology

Now that you know what to look for in your equipment rental software, here’s a look at our company and what we can offer your business.

Open Door Technology is a North American Microsoft gold-certified ERP partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, and we have over 20-years of experience in equipment rental.

In addition to being a development partner, we also sell various applications through the reseller channel worldwide. Because of this, we have had a fortunate head start in the partner channel as opposed to partners who are just beginning to adapt to the latest version of Business Central.

Business Central has some observable differences in its platform from its predecessor, Dynamics NAV. Since the release of Business Central, our team has mastered and developed two rental-specific applications, which have been published on Microsoft AppSource.

Business Central allows users to access the latest mid-market ERP technology running on top of Microsoft’s SQL Azure cloud infrastructure. It’s accessible in a public cloud (SaaS), hosted, or from an in-house database. SaaS provides you with automatic upgrades two times a year. They believe that constant change is better than major time-consuming periodic upgrades.

You are choosing an in-house or hosted solution that offers an identical upgrade process but whenever and wherever you like. The ease of having your system upgraded automatically two times a year, even with customizations, at zero or near-zero cost, is a winning point for most organizations.

Our solution offers all the functionality you could dream of, all in one system. Here are some of the many functions we accommodate:

• Basic and advanced financials
• Rent or sell inventory management
• Rental terms
• Batch invoicing
• Sub-rental management
• Service and maintenance
• Supply chain and availability management
• Inter/multi-company
• Consolidations
• Location transfers
• Field service
• Fixed assets
• Budgets and cost accounting
• E-services
• Human Resources
• Capacity management
• Payroll
• Point of Sale (POS)
• Customer Portal
• Web Store
• Mobility
• Warehousing and Advanced Warehousing
• Customer Relationship Management
• Project Management

Choosing the Best Rental Accounting Software For Your Business: In Conclusion

With so many different companies out there offering variations of the same service, how can you be sure which one is the right fit for you? The technology you need for your business should be up-to-date, easy to customize and update when you need to and allow you quick and easy access to your data.

Running a business is a lot of work. Your equipment rental software should be working with you, not against you. Choose a system that will ensure you have everything you need, wherever and whenever you need it. Choose Open Door Technology for all of your equipment rental accounting software needs, so you can have peace of mind knowing that your software is built for your business.

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