The chances of thriving in today’s dynamic corporate world without accounting software up your sleeve are close to none. Despite having a tightly-knit team of skilled accountants, entrepreneurs are constantly looking to upgrade their accounting software.
The reason?
“”Managing finances manually will not bring the expected results. Handing it over to software, on the other hand, keeps the financial status steady with minimal errors.”
Each software can widely vary in its scope. Some programs have little more than bookkeeping to undertake, while some manage a plethora of financial transactions. According to the stats provided by Accounting Today, the global accounting software market will reach $11.8 billion by 2026.
Meanwhile, the US accounting services statistics show that accounting software can handle almost 75% of accounting tasks.
So, if you have been thinking of automating your financial operations, then you are on the right page. We have collected a list of benefits that tag along when you use accounting software in a company.
Let’s scan them together!
Improved Accounting Accuracy
Just like a nutritional diet makes a person look happy, a healthy financial status can help your business look better to outsiders. Using accounting software helps to enhance accuracy by eliminating human errors in calculation.
Where manual bookkeeping often ends up with a glitch of numbers, automatic accounting via software reduces those errors exponentially. We all know how an incorrect calculation could make a substantial impact on the end balance.
Accurate accounting:
- Allows a business to monitor and control the budget
- Consider ramifications of decisions about a significant investment
- Quickly locates any discrepancies due to fraud or carelessness
- Maintains healthy relationship with stakeholders
As per McKinsey & Company (2017), currently available technologies can automate 50% of the accounting tasks. This number encourages us to give the software a shot and see how it works out in our favor. Having a checklist to automate workflow could be your best guide during software selection.
Easier Collaboration
Accounting software makes collaboration as simple as a piece of cake.
If you have been in the field for a long time, you might recall when the slightest change in the excel sheet would require saving on a USB and then passing it on to your colleagues. It was time-consuming and crazy confusing.
With accounting software, one of the biggest perks is that everyone can access accounting and financial data. All that employees have to do is log in and work on their projects. Multiple users can work on the same accounting data in real-time without interrupting others’ work.
As per Sage (2019), one of the most significant contributors to the evolution of accountancy is the ongoing digitization of processes. It gives different access levels to other users. You can tailor permissions based on the set of accounting or bookkeeping functions that an employee needs to conduct.
Shorter Learning Curve
Accountants usually don’t have time to learn using the new software.
Thankfully, with advanced accounting software systems, the learning curve is easy and short. Even the layman can learn how to run the system at its best. It reduces the errors and minimizes the reconciliation issues.
Most leading software come with customer support and a training manual to help entrepreneurs learn and train their employees. Consequently, they turn into a productive part of the workforce, contributing highly towards a company’s strength.
According to the Journal of Accountancy, 90% of accountants say that digital business procedures and cloud computing can soon be the key differentiator among companies.
Centralization
Accounting software helps to centralize essential business procedures, including customer relationship management, invoicing, payroll management, and more. You can scan the available programs and choose to invest in one that brings all onto the table.
Investing in different solutions could become quite hectic. On the other hand, a full-featured accounting package can save a lot of your time and make your business procedures more streamlined. This is one reason why 83% of accountants believe that they need to keep up with the pace of technology adoption to gain a competitive edge in the market.
Improved Accounting Security
Security and dependability are the biggest concerns for business owners. These are the main aspects they scrutinize when looking for accounting software. An efficient software such as the freshbooks accounting software, covers your data under high levels of encryption algorithms, making it safer than keeping it on an office shelf.
The data syncs regularly, and you can keep it fresh. This fell in stark contrast when businesses used desktop-based accounting software, storing it on a hard drive. The drives are delicate, and data could easily wipe off or become unusable with mishandling.
With that said, you need to do your homework on the software you choose. Adopt the same security measures that you would do for any other stakeholder group.
Bank Reconciliation
Bank reconciliation is the core accounting task of a business. When you have accounting software, you can directly connect it with the bank account. It lets you fetch statements straight from the bank and feed those automatically in your reports.
You can also set up custom criteria and bank rules in the software to categorize and match imported bank transactions automatically. Once the transaction matches, you have to verify and confirm them to reconcile your accounts.
According to Vanguard Systems, accounts automation software can save a business $16 or more per invoice. While this does not sound like a lot, imagine how many invoices need processing and the fact that it could take over five days for an invoice to reach accounts payable. That is a lot of potential savings of time and money!
Parting Notes
Top online accounting software should provide you with all the features to keep your company functioning at its optimal capacity. This blog details the various benefits of using accounting software. Perhaps, it might have convinced you to eliminate manual bookkeeping and invest in a quality package.
All you need is a good team, a bunch of courses, and a good insight. We hope you will rock your books like a boss!
