As more and more companies look to save money in today’s tenuous economy, it makes sense to document and shop more carefully for your office software needs.

With no end in sight to the challenged economy, your small business is wise to be more creative and cautious with the dollars given to software needs. The bottom line is that you have to avoid investing in products that may not provide you a good return on your investment.

In turn, the heads of I.T. departments have to be more creative and able to sell business owners on just what they need to assist the company in getting a good return on investment.

If your small business is faced with purchasing more software in these tough economic times, there are some keys to follow for both the I.T. heads and business owners:

While it sounds rather obvious, only purchase what you need when you require it. Even though many companies would love to buy this and that whenever they want it, practical and economical purchases make the most sense at this time. Determine what your return on investment will be, then go from there. Buy what is absolutely necessary at this time and integrate it into your present system;

The major focus should be on functionality, allowing you to add to your company’s operation from a value stand point without running up extra costs. Remember, the more functionality you get the more additional user training and upkeep will be involved;

Work with your vendor to determine the best prices and where the most needs are. Your vendor is also likely struggling in these tough economic times, so they should be more than willing to work with you to solve any financial issues;

Have your I.T. team provide a detailed analysis of what is and isn’t needed, then review it. The days of a “blank check” have long passed, now is the time to tighten the belt straps and purchase software wisely.

As many in the I.T. departments of businesses nationwide can attest to, finding funding for projects is not as easy as it may have once been.

Companies have had to tighten the purse strings in order to not bleed red, meaning I.T. heads need to structure their projects so that they prove critical to getting business done. If you’re heading up an I.T. department, demonstrate to the business owner/s that despite what may be spent for this round of software, even if it means temporarily being in the red, the ROI will bring in more money when all is said and done.

Also, be willing to slice and dice where necessary in the I.T. budget (not employees, but projects).

Trimming a little excess here and there can assist in scoring approval to buy the necessary software to achieve a good ROI. Unless a project is absolutely critical to the company’s needs, consider putting it on the backburner.

There is no doubt that business owners and those heading up technology departments need to be on the same page in this economy when it comes to software purchasing needs.

By doing so, the entire company succeeds and positions itself to ride out the economic challenges.

Dave Thomas is an expert writer on items like document management software and is based in San Diego, California. He writes extensively for an online resource that provides expert advice on content and document management purchasing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs at Resource Nation.