Software Licensing Tips for Small Business

Software can be expensive to the small business owner, even more so when you unintentionally use it without paying for it. Software pirating is when a person or business uses it without paying the proper licensing. Many small business are not trying to pirate the software they use, many times they just don't realize it. It is easy for a small business to be disorganized and lose track of important software. Here are some tips for small business owners to help them keep track of software so that they don't buy unneeded copies, and can be better prepared for upgrades when they are required.

1. To Keep Your Software Licensing Current Use the Right Tools
There are quite a few new systems that can help a small business look for licensed and unlicensed software in their systems. These tools can even help you determine when you will need to upgrade or renew those licenses. The Business Software Alliance group, a watchdog for software licensing has a list of approved software tools to help the small business owner.

2. Save Your Receipts for Software Licensing Audits
Make sure you have a proof of purchase receipt in hand for all software you have purchased for your small business. Not only will the receipts help in the event of an audit, they are necessary if your ever want to sell your business. Software licensing records are required when selling a business and not having them can cause potential tax issues for the seller.

3. Your Software Reseller Can Help With Licensing
Many small businesses just do not have the budget to purchase the tools to help them keep track of their software licensing. However, if you deal with a software reseller, they can assist you this task. When choosing a software reseller, find on that will manage your software licensing for you. Look to consolidate as much as possible to only a few resellers. By doing so, you will only have a couple of online portals to check for software licensing and entitlements.

Following the rules and making sure that your software licensing is important. Fees from an audit can cost a small business hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a lot cheaper to conform and be compliant in software licensing than it is to risk the chance of an adversarial process like an audit.