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For most small business owners, it often feels like there isn’t enough time to do everything for your business. However, there are ways you can mitigate this. Doing your accounting processes manually, for example, takes up a lot of time. What you want to do is cut down the time you spend doing manual work with the help of accounting automation, freeing up your time so you can tend to other tasks. There are many benefits of accounting software that can help you increase the productivity of your business.
What factors are killing the productivity of your finance team?
The last thing that you want is for the productivity of your finance and accounting teams to go down, especially when these areas are essential to your business. However, for many business owners, especially those with a small business, accounting challenges are likely to kill the productivity of their finance and accounting teams.
There are many reasons why this could happen. But one of the biggest productivity killers to happen to your business is likely to be manual processes that could otherwise be alleviated through accounting automation. When your team is faced with a lot of monotonous administrative work, it could get boring and demotivating for everyone involved, reducing the productivity levels within your finance team. Manual data entry, for example, takes a lot of time and reaps little rewards.
Key features of accounting software that help improve financial processes
You want accounting software features and benefits that will help improve your business processes. Accounting automation can eliminate tedious manual tasks performed by your accounting team. Here are some key features of accounting software that you should consider.
- Cloud-based access
Ideally, you want an accounting automation tool that allows you to have cloud-based access. The benefits of accounting software that is cloud-based are that your software will always remain updated, your data is saved on a remote server, and perhaps most importantly you will be able to access your accounting software from anywhere. Your accounting team doesn’t all have to be in the same location to seamlessly perform the tasks they need to.
- Bookkeeping & accounting features
Your software needs to have basic features to not only support but also enhance your accounting team’s ability to perform tasks. It should be able to identify accounting errors, automatically reconcile with your bank accounts, sync all your data in one centralized platform, and record multiple transactions while matching the duplicate ones. This will ensure more secure accounting and free your team from having to manually double-check every transaction for errors.
To increase your business productivity, your accounting team will also want other accounting automation features such as the ability to calculate, send and track invoices, as well as send your customers payment reminders to guarantee timely payments and reporting. You also want software that will automatically update your ledger in real time. It’s also helpful if your accounting software of choice can manage your payroll and calculate taxes to ensure that you comply with the regulations.
- CRM capabilities
Your accountants will want CRM capabilities on your accounting automation software as it will help you gather your customer data in one place. With CRM capabilities, there is no need for you to run around gathering paper documents filled with customer data. Everything is centralized, down to being able to track billable hours for your customer invoices. - Integrations
Good accounting automation software will allow you to integrate your accounting software with other software that your business uses. With integration, your business can seamlessly use multiple software without having to worry about manually syncing your data across the board. This will help not just your accounting team, but also every other department that is involved in the process.
How accounting software can boost business productivity
- No manual entry of your business transactions
Eliminating manual data entry will save you time and money. It’s doubly effective because not only do you no longer have to spend time worrying about data entry, but it also eliminates accounting errors that could otherwise be costly. Automatic tracking of income and expenses allows your team to turn their attention elsewhere.
- Automatically imports all financial information
You can import financial information from integrated systems and other software without having to manually enter and match your data on your accounting software. Accounting automation will save you a lot of time you would otherwise spend having to import your data across platforms and cause less of a hassle for your business.
- Sound records for transactions
Having accurate and organized records will help boost your business productivity. You no longer have to look through plenty of record cabinets to find what you’re looking for and can instead use filters to find records saved on the cloud. This not only saves time but also motivates your team to accomplish other tasks.
- Providing a central place for bookkeeping
One of the benefits of accounting software is that you have a centralized system that can also be accessed from anywhere. It makes collaborating with your employees easier by allowing you to control what features you want them to have access to. Manage all your accounting tasks on one platform regardless of where your team is physically located in.
- Customized, data-driven reports
With accounting automation, you can turn all your transaction information into reports and financial statements. You can generate profit and loss statements, balance sheets, tax reports, and other reports your business will need. All of this can be pulled from one platform without the hassle of going through many manual processes.
- No more switching between software
Accounting software allows you to have one centralized, organized platform where you can perform all your accounting tasks without having to switch between software. You can manage your inventory, calculate your payroll and taxes, and do many more thanks to accounting software features and benefits.
Accounting automation eliminates manual-process inefficiencies
Small business accounting challenges typically involve manual processes that end up being pain points for you and your team. With the help of accounting automation, you can eliminate these inefficiencies and ensure that your business runs smoothly.
- Ensuring financial control
One of the many benefits of accounting software is that it gives you a full view of your finances at any given time. With the help of accounting automation, allow your accounting team to automatically manage your accounting operations in real time from anywhere. You can also gain better financial control this way regardless of your accounting skill level.
- Cost efficient
Using accounting software will help you reduce costs in your business. Manual administrative data entry costs could slowly add up, but with accounting automation, you could easily eliminate this cost. You can also reduce printing costs as well as the costs associated with physical document storage and distribution.
- Increased accuracy and reduced human error
Accounting automation will reduce errors otherwise made in the manual data entry process. By cutting out manual touchpoints, you no longer need to worry about typos or misplaced decimal points. One of the other benefits of accounting software is that it will also help you detect errors and therefore improve your overall accuracy. When you have fewer errors, you also have fewer issues.
- Enhances decision-making with better financial insights
Having better visibility of your business and its finances will make it easier to determine where you need to improve and where you can cut costs. Accounting automation can provide you with a more well-rounded view of your finances. This will help you strive toward more informed decision-making and allow you to adopt smarter strategies. - Enhanced security and improved accountability
Using cloud-based accounting automation software means that your data will be safely stored in a cloud server protected by a firewall. You don’t have to worry about losing your data. When you have better visibility of your business processes, everyone can also be held accountable, thus reducing any chances of fraud.
Reap the benefits of accounting automation with a smart spend management solution
There are many benefits of accounting software. For small businesses, accounting automation will allow you to free up time you would otherwise use for manual processes. You can redirect your time and efforts to other tasks that demand your attention instead. However, you can doubly reap the benefits of accounting software when you pair it up with a spend management system that integrates with your accounting system.
