<s>
Retail	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
used	O
to	O
manage	O
business	O
operations	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
related	O
to	O
direct	O
sales	O
efforts	O
and	O
interfaces	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
seen	O
by	O
consumers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
the	O
business	O
processes	O
managed	O
with	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
include	O
some	O
combination	O
of	O
inventory	O
control	O
,	O
price	O
book	O
management	O
,	O
manufacturing	O
,	O
and	O
supply	O
chain	O
management	O
(	O
SCM	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
is	O
distinct	O
from	O
front-office	O
software	O
,	O
which	O
typically	O
refers	O
to	O
customer	O
relationship	O
management	O
(	O
CRM	O
)	O
software	O
used	O
for	O
managing	O
sales	O
,	O
marketing	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
customer-centric	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
solutions	O
have	O
evolved	O
with	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
cloud-based	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
as	O
a	O
service	O
(	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
providers	O
offer	O
cloud-based	O
services	O
that	O
simplify	O
and	O
streamline	O
back-office	O
management	O
functions	O
,	O
particularly	O
for	O
companies	O
with	O
multiple	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
companies	O
can	O
derive	O
actionable	O
intelligence	O
from	O
the	O
system	O
without	O
any	O
particular	O
expertise	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cloud-based	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
provides	O
the	O
functionality	O
necessary	O
to	O
manage	O
numerous	O
back-office	O
functions	O
from	O
a	O
single	O
web-based	O
interface	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
platforms	O
can	O
be	O
accessed	O
from	O
both	O
mobile	O
and	O
desktop	O
devices	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
cross	O
compatible	O
with	O
back-office	O
accounting	O
software	O
such	O
as	O
Quickbooks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
functionality	O
options	O
include	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
exchange	I-General_Concept
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Companies	O
in	O
the	O
convenience	O
and	O
retail	O
industries	O
use	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
manage	O
inventory	O
and	O
identify	O
opportunities	O
to	O
improve	O
profit	O
margins	O
by	O
keeping	O
popular	O
items	O
in	O
stock	O
,	O
preventing	O
spoilage	O
and	O
shrink	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
reducing	O
overstock	O
of	O
unpopular	O
items	O
(	O
by	O
offering	O
discounts	O
and	O
promotions	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
a	O
case	O
study	O
involving	O
a	O
Pittsburgh-based	O
convenience	O
store	O
operator	O
showed	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
able	O
to	O
achieve	O
an	O
average	O
turnover	O
ratio	O
of	O
16.12	O
(	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
2013	O
US	O
convenience	O
store	O
average	O
of	O
11.36	O
)	O
by	O
using	O
cloud-based	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
inventory	O
management	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
account	O
for	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
demand	O
substitution	O
and	O
subsequently	O
determine	O
the	O
optimal	O
inventory	O
level	O
for	O
each	O
item	O
stocked	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
research	O
from	O
IDC	O
Industry	O
Insights	O
,	O
more	O
than	O
half	O
of	O
all	O
small	O
businesses	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
use	O
Intuit	O
software	O
(	O
Quickbooks	B-Application
)	O
for	O
accounting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
with	O
the	O
growth	O
of	O
the	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
market	O
,	O
Quickbooks	B-Application
along	O
with	O
other	O
emerging	O
online	O
accounting	O
options	O
such	O
as	O
or	O
Outright	B-Application
and	O
Mint.com	B-Application
are	O
now	O
being	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Accounting	O
software	O
is	O
often	O
integrated	O
into	O
or	O
connected	O
to	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
inventory	O
management	O
to	O
simplify	O
the	O
exchange	O
of	O
store	O
data	O
between	O
operational	O
and	O
other	O
retail	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Supply	O
chain	O
managers	O
use	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
match	O
sales	O
data	O
with	O
supply	O
chain	O
data	O
and	O
to	O
streamline	O
product	O
ordering	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
the	O
steps	O
in	O
supply	O
chain	O
management	O
(	O
SCM	O
)	O
,	O
including	O
procurement	O
,	O
conversion	O
,	O
transportation	O
,	O
distribution	O
,	O
and	O
partner	O
coordination/collaboration	O
can	O
be	O
controlled	O
via	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
reduces	O
the	O
likelihood	O
of	O
inventory	O
record	O
inaccuracies	O
,	O
they	O
can	O
still	O
occur	O
if	O
items	O
are	O
not	O
properly	O
tracked	O
as	O
they	O
enter/exit	O
the	O
retail	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
HR	O
departments	O
use	O
back-office	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
match	O
labor	O
supply	O
with	O
demand	O
based	O
on	O
sales	O
forecasts	O
.	O
</s>
