The business world is at a crossroads when it comes to e-commerce. Many companies know they must compete electronically if they are to compete at all, but the nagging question is how to successfully incorporate new software and technology with existing accounting and business management systems.

Businesses are looking to their accountants and their tech consultants to figure out "how to get there from here." The process is a critical one.

The challenge for accounting software resellers and consultants who are venturing into electronic commerce services is to put together the right long-term business solution, tailored to clients´ individual needs, before attempting to tie their internal and external financial systems together. Companies whose internal accounting systems don´t talk to Web-based business transactions risk being e-commerce underdogs right out of the gate.

The answer is not simply keeping separate. Maintaining financial data in two separate functions not only doubles the effort in logging data, but the risk of errors. And as companies´ sales volumes grow on the Web, so will related financial snags if they are not addressed on the front end.

Planning for the smallest of details, tailoring software applications to unique business needs and remaining flexible enough to make an e-commerce system compatible with potential new business partners will all pay off in the long run.

Remember, there is no strict formula for making electronic business work. What works for one company may not work for another. Know your business, no matter what the technology.

Businesses must know what they want from their Web connections before they make the leap because mistakes and backtracking can be costly. No company should feel so pressed to get on the web that it doesn´t first closely look at its current accounting support system.

Our firm specializes in creating business solutions that are customized for each business´ unique needs and objectives. Integrating e-commerce with traditional business practices is a natural evolution.

One of our clients, the piano maker Steinway and Sons, is in the process of implementing a well-thought-out approach to e-commerce. Like many other businesses that are now venturing into e-commerce, it is first executing a business-to-business strategy, that will enable its dealers to place orders and check inventory, accounts receivable and order fulfillment.

Steinway´s e-commerce strategy also includes a business-to-consumer program that will allow customers to order directly through the Internet and track the status of their orders.

Business-to-consumer e-commerce is a great way for businesses, in just about any industry, to build end-user loyalty. In addition to keeping tabs on their order and feeling a sense of "ownership" in the process, customers who are registered online in Steinway´s system automatically receive information on future promotions.

At the heart of the overall e-commerce strategy is integrated software that fits the company´s specific, current business needs from both ends. At the same time, it opens the door for future transactions.

Helping your clients create an e-business solution that works means asking the right questions. Here are a few to consider as you begin to develop a plan to integrate current accounting software with new e-business capabilities:

• Is the accounting system efficient, and does it meet the needs of customers today?
• Can the system accommodate expansion?
• Can it be accessed from remote locations?
• What reports can it generate now, and what reports will be needed to document potential e-commerce activity?
• How can you ensure that internal accounting and e-business will talk to each other efficiently?
• What impact will new software integration have on current processes and profits?
• How will the resulting growth in e-commerce effect the company? And is the company prepared to respond?
• How much of an "open-ended" margin should be left to accommodate change?

Because the answers to e-commerce start-up questions are as varied as the companies asking, business managers should consider that off-the-shelf financial software might not be the best investment long-term. There is exponential growth in the number of companies taking advantage of the customization, training and ongoing support that e-biz software designers can provide.

It takes a careful plan when executing major software additions or changes. And because e-commerce is growing and changing so quickly, a truly integrated system takes concentrated effort by programmers experienced with both high-end integrated accounting systems and multi-user-based software applications.

Software will need to be modified so that unique features within the infrastructure of the organization are supported by Web-generated business. It is an implementation niche where experience makes a difference.

To customize our clients´ software integration needs and create effective business solutions, our firm only handles next-generation Microsoft-compliant accounting and business management system. Our firm is especially adept at customizing the software system for specific business-to-business, business-to-consumer commerce and customer relationship management situations.

We can modify Navision software to ensure that each solution takes full advantage of seamless integration, from basic order processing to comprehensive work flow tracking and automatic e-mail triggers to customers. Whether a company has heavy sales volume or light, has more complicated transactions or simple ones, we can customize.

Companies will soon see transactions being completed from cell phones and Palm Pilots, thanks to the tools that are being built into both the financial management applications that we handle and the customization services that we can provide.

Multi-language and multi-currency capabilities, as well as international data sharing, can be key features in e-comm financial management software. And the e-comm exp