INSIGHT

Negotiating and procuring a new I.T system is not a simple process and can be a very daunting experience.

Negotiation and procurement is a very important stage in selecting and implementing a new I.T system, and it is crucial that sufficient effort and time is assigned to this process.  It is key to realise that this process is not just about negotiating the lowest licence fees and day rate, there are many factors that need to be considered, negotiated and agreed. 

You may well have heard of EBITDA, or Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, and Amortisation. It is used widely as an approximation for the amount of cash a business generates annually, and that its owners can deploy as they wish depending on a variety of factors such as the chosen financing structure, growth plans, reward strategy etc. In the context of a transaction, a similar idea in the US is Seller’s Discretionary Earnings or SDE, which is a helpful way of thinking about cash generation.

I still get asked all of the time about whether a car is better being owned by the company or by the individual. There are lots of factors in play here, but in general terms there is a simple over-riding principle – standard cars (particularly diesel) or almost certainly better owned privately, electric cars are almost certainly better owned by the company, and hybrid cars are more borderline depending on their emissions, value, and electric range. Let’s look at a few options:

A claim for research and development tax relief may be available for any attempt to make any improvement to the industry standard in any field of science or technology. In this context “technology” is a very broad term.

Software selection is an important and often daunting choice for any business. When selecting a new software system, historically many businesses have followed the route of listing the detailed functionality requirements into a Request for Proposal (RFP), and distributing this to several suppliers. The responses would be reviewed and marked, and a software demonstration focusing on the functionality would follow. The outcome being a preferred software supplier to then begin financial negotiations with.

Put simply, it is the ability to process and access your up to date financial information any-time, anywhere, allowing you to make well informed business decisions faster and respond to the ever changing world in which we find ourselves.