A Note from Terrel: One of the big questions we get asked at ServiceQuest is: what software should I use for my back office? Whether you’re just starting out with MLM software or you’ve outgrown your current platform, we often guide our clients through this important decision because of its implications on the entire organization.

At times, we’ve even been engaged in solving business challenges brought on by a lack of technology support. New features may lure leaders into changing their tools. However, the benefits of a solid back office are critical for your future.

That’s why we’ve invited the team at OPSY to share the features of a solid back office, including what you need to look for and what you need to avoid!

If you’re starting a direct sales company, one of the most important decisions you will make is what type of back office software to use.

This decision will impact your distributors, customer service teams, and executives. A solid back office should include features that make it easy for your team to do their jobs efficiently. This article will discuss the importance of an MLM-specific software and outline the features that your direct selling software should include.

Table of Contents

User Management

The first feature we will explore for any direct selling business is user management. This is the ability to easily add, remove, and edit users. It’s important because as your company grows, you will need to be able to quickly add new distributors and customers. You should also be able to easily remove people who are no longer with the company. Ask questions like:

  • How do you manage your users?
  • Are you able to cut them off if they don’t play by the rules?
  • What happens when you disable them?

User management also allows you to give different levels of access to different users depending on their involvement. This includes:

  1. Your Onboarding system
  2. Distributor management
  3. System Access Subscriptions

Commission Engine

Your commission engine is vital to your company’s health and long-term success. A commission engine allows you to keep track of all the sales made by your distributors. Your company’s reputation and momentum depend on your accurate commission calculation, reports, and payouts.

  1. Genealogy & Order Attribution: Your genealogy reports show how your distributors are growing their teams. This is important so you can see which distributors are making an impact and where new distributor growth is coming from. Additionally, order attribution lets you see who originally signed up a customer and what type of customer they are. This data allows you to make informed decisions to replicate success across your organization.
  2. Rank Calculation: Based on Volume and other sales-related activities. This is how you know who is achieving what levels and when they qualify for certain rewards.
  3. Commission Calculation: MLM compensation plans will drive your commission calculations. When choosing a back office, ask how the commission is calculated to ensure your compensation plan can be operational.
  4. Special Promotions & Prize Qualifications: Promotions and qualifications should be easily tracked to ensure everyone knows what they need to do to qualify. This includes vacations, cars, and other items to incentivize sales.
  5. Reporting & Administration: You need to quickly see sales, rank requirements, downline communication, commission, and payout summary at a glance to make strategic growth plans. Ask your back office software company if this area of their software is designed in the early stages of development.
  6. Commission Payout Breakdown: The enthusiasm of your volunteer sales force will be determined by their payouts. A solid back office will have a clear breakdown of the commission payout so distributors understand what efforts are producing sales.

Payouts

Payouts to your sales force need to process accurately and on time. Your back office should be robust enough to process a reliable commission payments to your sales force.

  1. E-Wallet Reporting with a connected bank account and TIN number.
  2. Simple Bulk Payout

While your back office will give you the framework you need to manage payouts, you’ll need further third-party assistance like a merchant account to fully operate your systems.

As you grow your network marketing business, your goal is to process thousands of transactions in compensation back to your salesforce. Ensuring you have the system within your MLM software for payouts will establish trust and longevity with your team.

Events & Parties

If events and parties are part of your business model, your back office should support your distributor’s party plan. The direct selling software you choose will help direct sellers organize their efforts.

Back offices provide a space to track attendees, client base information, relevant details, and follow-up opportunities. Use your back office to help your direct sellers with the best MLM software to:

  1. Schedule and Configure
  2. Invite Customers
  3. Manage event orders
  4. Reward hosts

Ecommerce Engine

Your Ecommerce Engine is directly tied to your direct seller’s success. It’s one of the business requirements everyone needs in today’s market. It should support their business with easy-to-use services, like replicated websites, that allow for:

  1. Flash sale scalability or Queue
  2. Shipping Fee Calculation
  3. Product & Packs(These are especially important for starter kits and onboarding new direct sellers.)
  4. Shopping & Payments
  5. Fulfillment
  6. Reporting & Administration
  7. Discounts
  8. Customer Communications
  9. Inventory Quantity Management

A special note about Inventory Management: A limited number of items available is often used to motivate buyers to order now. You will need an inventory quantity management system to update in real-time so that no item is ever oversold—disappointing both the customer and the direct seller.

Use this List on Your Back Office Search

MLM companies (or a direct selling business) often outgrow their corporate back office if it’s not set up properly from the beginning.

When start-ups plan for their direct sales company, your back office is one of the most strategic decisions you can make. The back office you select will determine the success or failure of your direct sales company. Do not take this decision lightly!

Now that you understand what your back office for your direct sales company should include, save this list to ask the appropriate questions to your potential provider. Remember, direct selling companies rely on this valuable business tool from startup to hypergrowth. The appropriate back office can make or break your ability to create world-class global operations.