SaaS (software as a service) businesses have become increasingly vital to the way founders, managers, and other employers run their companies.
We interact with all kinds of SaaS systems on a daily basis, be it through bookkeeping, HR management, marketing, cloud storage, etc.
The few names that come to mind are MailChimp, Dropbox, Slack, Quickbooks—you name it, and most of us have probably used it or are still using it.
However, if you’re a small business or budding startup, these international SaaS programs can burn through your budget quite quickly.
In fact, most of them are priced in US$—so they’ll have no problem racking up hundreds (sometimes thousands) of ringgit a month for one single software.
But fret not. You don’t have to sacrifice quality or your wallet with these 7 comprehensive and recognised Malaysian SaaS programs.
1. Niagawan
Niagawan is an accounting and invoice generation software that targets small businesses or individuals with little to no accounting background.
Niagawan keeps track of sales invoices, expense and purchase forms, product inventory as well as provides comprehensive account reports for its consumers.
Besides all the usual suspects of an accounting system, Niagawan also has their own novel zakat calculator and the option to switch to a Malay language interface.
At the moment, Niagawan boasts about 10,000 registered customers in Malaysia.
Pricing plans: RM397/year (includes OnBoarding class).
2. Avana
Avana allows you to start selling products or services on multiple channels from one backend. Features include inventory management, social media integration, unlimited order bandwidth and more—all in an effort to streamline and increase sales.
Avana works best if you’re a small-time entrepreneur or businesses that depends heavily on platforms like Facebook, Messenger Twitter, etc. to promote your brand and deal with customers.
If you upgrade to their Business plan, Avana throws in a feature that auto-replies Facebook comments on your post or product listings.
Avana claims to already power over 50,000 e-commerce throughout Southeast Asia.
You can check out this video posted on their official Youtube page to see how it works.
Pricing plans: Starting from RM429/year for a Beginner plan.
3. StoreHub
StoreHub uses a cloud based and Point of Sale (POS) system to save businesses from hours of unnecessary manual work.
How? StoreHub uses their POS system on an iPad/Android tablet (that you get from them) that breaks down inventory management, supplier relationships, track buyer activity, and more for your physical store.
For your online store, you can track it all from A-Z, so you’ll always know if you’re running low on stock, see what’s selling, broadcast promo vouchers, and much more.
Essentially, StoreHub merges your physical and online store operations, so you won’t have the hassle of running your business on multiple systems.
Pricing plans: The basic Lite plan starts from RM59/month.
4. Feet’s
What Feet’s does is act as an employer’s way of engaging with their employees, be it through reward incentives, gamification techniques, forums, polling systems, and more.
Feet’s only goal is to nurture more positive interactions at work, starting with the happiness of employees.
If you’re leading a small startup that wants to encourage a more upbeat work environment (rather than the mundane), Feet’s is an interesting way of doing so.
Feet’s is available as an app both on iOS and Android.
Pricing plans: Starts from USD$1/per user a month.
5. Swingvy
You’ve probably heard of Kakitangan (one of the more traditional HR management SaaS startups in Malaysia), but Swingvy is one of the newest players on the block.
Besides the core features that any HR management software would have (leave management, employee databases, performance tracking, etc.), Swingvy also offers many more automation tools that are meant to reduce the time spent of pesky spreadsheets and manual labour.
We can’t compare it to Kakitangan’s pricing (you’d have to get a quote based on the number of employees you have), but Swingvy breaks it down quite easily.
Pricing plans: Starts from RM8.50/user for a month and billed yearly.
6. HealthMetrics
HealthMetrics is in the business of reducing the administrative work needed to maintain and manage employee benefits.
By using their dashboard, you can receive what’s known as digital MC’s and a rough breakdown of outpatient data from your employees who seek clinical treatment from all approved healthcare partners.
For businesses, it reduces the risk of fake MCs, provides more insight into the budget you have to set for the next quarter and provide more transparent healthcare pricing.
For employees, you can enjoy cashless treatment at clinics or centres as approved by your employer when you flash your IC or passport.
Some of their existing customers include Berjaya Group, The Chicken Rice Shop, PWC, and more.
Pricing plans: You’re required to get a quote from a HealthMetrics expert before proceeding.
7. Naluri
Naluri is a B2B platform that uses its services to connect employees with recognized doctors, psychologists, healthcare experts, and mental health professionals around the country.
Naluri does away with the traditional models of Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and introduces a digitised platform that delivers measurable outcomes.
Features include virtual health teams, personalised programs, digital journals and more to help keep employees healthier and happier.
For employers and businesses, Naluri claims to save you anywhere from US$200-1000/year in avoidable health costs.
This is done by tackling the problem of employees’ physical and mental health problems at the root before they develop.
Pricing plans: You have to schedule a demo with the team of Naluri to proceed.
- You can read more about other startup features we’ve written about here.
Featured Image Credit: StoreHub