Deciding what kind of grants management software best fits your organization's needs is no easy task, and it can be an overwhelming and stressful process, especially for first-timers. The hardest part is finding the right balance between what you are spending and the benefits a grants management software can bring to your organization.
How do you know that your investment is actually worth it and not just a hefty output that won't pay off? First of all, it's important to understand why a grants management software might seem like a big investment by examining costs and value and focusing on the big picture.
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One time costs vs. Ongoing costs
There are different costs to take into account. As they change according to the complexity of your situation and your organization's size, costs can be broken down into two categories: one-time costs and ongoing costs.
In one time costs, there is one major cost that involves everything that is related to implementation. It's probably the biggest one time cost for your organization. It consists in configuring the system to your specific grants processes. The cost of it depends mostly on the degree of customization necessary to fulfill your requirements. The price of this process changes based on the type of solution you choose to implement. Even though some of the charges are already included in the base price, your organization might incur extra charges depending on your system's complexity and the amount of data to transfer.
Also, since a solution that integrates all of the tools you need in one is technically impossible, it's wise to choose a software that ensures smooth assimilation between your new software and the ones you are already using. Some integrations are pretty straightforward and more common than others: the rarer and more complex the tool you need to integrate, the higher the cost. However, the advantages of integration are many and absolutely worth its price:
- It improves productivity, lowering the chances of trivial mistakes and reducing the time employees have to spend on repetitive tasks;
- It allows for better system analysis since different programs running in different ways make it difficult to cross-reference data and to have a clear view of the big pictures;
- It improves customer satisfaction; by spending less time switching between multiple systems, your organization can quickly and easily tackle customer issues and requests.
It is clear that when choosing a grants management software, you should look into one that is tailored to fit your needs. The more personalization required, the higher the cost. Customization can go from simply changing the language of your application form to building an entirely tailor-made feature matching the needs of your organization. Personalizing the system to your requirements helps your customer navigate a more user-friendly interface and makes it more functional for your organization.
As ongoing costs, we can cite the additional support and features you might want to add to your tool. Indeed, finding the perfect grants management system for your organization takes time and a lot of testing, and you might not get it right on your first try. That's why your software provider is there to assist you and make the necessary adjustments. The cost of this additional support is determined by your level of comfort with making small changes to the system yourself and how complex your system is.
A software is worth it.
Although it's a big investment, it almost always has a big pay off. The key to knowing whether it is worth it lies in having a clear idea of:
- What your organization needs: without proper planning, you might run into extra costs that you didn't take into consideration and might be more expensive to implement at a later date;
- How flexible your budget is: you have to take into account the cost of additional customization or testing your perfect solution might need;
- What kind of software skills your employees have: if your employees have the skills to make small changes to the application form, you will require less assistance from your software provider; therefore, your solution will be less expensive to maintain;
- How responsive the software provider is to any changes you need to make: great customer service is worth the price, so choose a software vendor that cares about your needs and responds quickly to your feedback and requests. It will save you the precious time you can now dedicate to different projects instead while someone else takes care of your system.
4 reasons why the Optimy software is worth it.
Flexibility: Our products are designed to adapt to you, not the other way around. Organizations have a variety of ways of working, and our solutions fit all these different workflows, allowing you to make changes on the fly.
High-Quality but affordable products: At Optimy, you get the best bang for your buck. Our cost-effective solutions include beautiful and easy-to-use software that even the most technophobic users will have no problem navigating.
Time-saving solutions: Nowadays, we have to use our time wisely. Aside from automated features, Optimy products also help you get organized so that you can claim your time back.
Dedicated account executive: Our multicultural customer success team always goes the extra mile to ensure our clients reach their goals. They build a genuine rapport with our clients by listening to what they have to say and coming up with creative solutions to complex problems.
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