Machine compatibility—Is the system going to support all the machines in my company that need to interface? For example, will the MACs in my art department seamlessly talk to the PC my production manager uses? On the other hand, do they need to?
Features and functions—Will it do everything I need it to do, and will it do those tasks the way I am used to doing them? Am I going to be able to use the same terminology and actual workflow that I have now . . . but in a more efficient and money-saving structure?
Initial expense—Obviously, this will vary based upon how many users you will have, but consider that the system you are buying is intended to become the infrastructure of your company, its protocols and procedures. Is that worth $500, $5,000 or $500,000? If you are a one-person management team or a decorator with 15-150 people who need to be better organized and automated, you will still have many of the same procedural needs. Therefore, the prices of "ready-to-use" systems may vary more based on your size than on your feature and function needs. And a good, inexpensive system should still contain all the features and functionality of a larger, more expensive system. Highly customized systems will usually be detailed and scoped to the client well in advance of implementation.

Implementation—How long is it going to take me to learn to use this software? Is my company going to have to come to a halt to get everyone up on the system? Again, that will depend on what you intend the software to do. If it is running your production department primarily, the learning curve should be short—perhaps a matter of only hours or days. If the system is running your entire business it will require more extensive training. And be prepared—especially in a larger operation—for at least some personnel resistance to implementation. Employees should, therefore, be given time to adjust to the new digital protocols.
How it will save you money—When you consider that digital data transfer, when performed on time, is tangentially faster, more accurate, easier to re-access and can contain more complete data than either vocal or paper-media data transfer, it shouldn’t be difficult to imagine where you can save money, if nowhere else than in productivity improvements.

Software means money
There are other cost savings such as copy paper, and copy machines, postage and FedEx charges, long-distance telephone bills . . . the list goes on. But the message is still the same. Learn to store, manipulate and transfer your information digitally. Do it within confined procedures that you can follow, and learn to use this technology the way the first carpenter learned to use a hammer and saw. Remember that efficiency means money, and software means efficiency.