There's no reason to waste your finance team's time and effort with clumsy manual processes these days. If someone on your team is still copying and pasting data across Excel pages, they should be using quills and parchment instead. Because of the variety of technology solutions available, one can now automate essential finance operations like invoicing and cost tracking. This not only decreases the likelihood of delays and mistakes but also allows your staff to focus on other essential tasks.
Don't spend a single minute of your finance team's time with obsolete finance processes; you hired them for their knowledge, insight, and expertise. Examine the various tools available to assist in the automation of finance processes and reap the benefits.
Why should Finance be automated?
Finance teams roles and duties, like everything else in the company, are constantly changing. This is a good thing; if you didn't have the ongoing desire to improve, you'd still be buying abacuses and papyrus to keep your books in order.
Many accounting operations has sped up because of the wide range of finance automation available. Transactions that took several days are now instantaneous, and businesses can use real-time financial data to make business decisions. Businesses have reaped a slew of benefits as a result, including increased productivity and accuracy.
Many accounting operations has sped up because of the wide range of finance automation available. Transactions that took several days are now instantaneous, and businesses can use real-time financial data to make business decisions. Businesses have reaped a slew of benefits as a result, including increased productivity and accuracy.
Moving from manual to automated processes can help your finance department perform its essential functions more efficiently. However, this does not imply that you should fire your workforce and pass everything over to a sentient Excel sheet (not yet, anyway). Instead, it entails simplifying complex processes through standardization.
The following are the five primary advantages of automating finance processes:
1. Time saving
2. Reducing the chance of making a mistake
3. Maintaining a higher level of consistency
4. Making better use of your data
5. Reducing the possibility of fraud
1. Bookkeeping Basics
Traditionally, bookkeeping activities were carried out manually, which meant that bookkeeping generated an entry for each revenue or expense item, and accountants tallied accounts at regular intervals. This procedure took a long time. In two stages, modern technology has transformed bookkeeping. For starters, the introduction of Excel changed the speed and ease of completing these chores, which led to significant gains in bookkeeping accuracy and timeliness, providing firms with real-time accounting data. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the availability of specialized accounting software has considerably streamlined bookkeeping procedures. Making bookkeeping more accessible and understandable has made life easier for countless businesses and helped owners control their finances. Modern accounting software like Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, and Zoho Books continue to push technology forward. Finance teams may now automate accounting and satisfy industry best practices more simply with these solutions.Automation not only saves time but also enhances accounting data accuracy and consistency.
2. Accounts receivable and invoicing
Any company's lifeblood is invoicing and accounts receivable. If you miss any of these processes, you won't be able to access that much-needed money stream. The entire mechanism eventually grinds to a halt. Unfortunately, many old methods for issuing and tracking invoices are inefficient and prone to human mistakes. Accurate invoicing can also necessitate the collaboration of several different teams (for example, sales, customer support, and finance), raising the risk of errors and delays. Automated invoicing can assist you in receiving payment more quickly. The range of specialized accounting software available provides several useful techniques to automate invoicing and accounts receivable, just as it does with core bookkeeping. This includes creating and delivering invoices, reconciling invoices with sales and delivery data, and prompting consumers to receive reminders.
3. Accounts payable
On the other hand, ensuring that your company's invoices and payments occur correctly is one of the most critical duties out there. It is, unfortunately, one of the most time-consuming. Many small firms have to check information, submit the invoice to the relevant person or team for approval, process the payment, and record the transaction. These activities can take up to a half-dozen distinct steps, raising the chances of bottlenecks and delays. Accounts payable automation systems help standardize processes by scanning invoices and securely capturing data. They'll also remind those in charge to move forward with their tasks promptly. Which inturn not only relieves the stress of accounts payable, but it may also save your company money.
4. Tax reporting and compliance
Previously, businesses needed the assistance of an experienced (and costly) professional even to begin calculating their tax obligations. This process was not only time-consuming and complex; it also looked to be conducted in a different language much of the time. Accounting software has done more for finance teams striving to automate their tax requirements than any other item on this list. Every transaction may now recorded & calculated using dedicated accounting software. Automating these process saves time and assists organizations in being audit-ready.
5. Wages and salaries
Anyone who has ever missed a payment knows that the stakes for a company are highest when it comes to payroll. If their pay does not appear in their accounts as expected, precisely down to the dollar, your employees will be far less eager to put in the effort. Adding to the high stakes is the reality that was manually managing payroll may be a nightmare. Not only do you have to account for varying income levels, but you also have to account for holiday rights, superannuation, and fringe benefits. Using integrated accounting software to automate these processes can save your team a lot of time and effort, not to mention dissuade your staff from considering mutiny.
6. Expense management
Managing and tracking company spending has traditionally been one of the most time-consuming and stressful financial operations - not to mention one of the most costly. Regrettably, spending management frequently entails a lengthy series of tasks. Keep in mind that these procedures are inconvenient for everyone, not just your finance department. Integrated expense management software can be extremely useful in this situation, both in automating operations and ensuring that payment happens on time.
Integrate after automating
After you've automated a few financial activities, you'll need a mechanism to ensure your software interacts and shares data. It's pointless to have a slew of sophisticated processes if none of them communicates with one another. Most of the best accounting software packages offer a high level of tool integration, allowing different departments of your company to communicate data quickly and efficiently. Make this a priority, and make sure your tools are all in sync.
"Investing in software to automate time-consuming financial tasks is a modest price to pay, especially given the rewards."
Nobody on your finance staff studied all that time (not to mention rack up massive student loans) only to spend their days copying and pasting data between Excel sheets, believe us. You can save a lot of time and stress for your finance team by automating basic procedures like bookkeeping, accounts payable, invoicing, and accounts receivable, as well as tax compliance, payroll, and expenditure management. You'll also work to guarantee that financial data is correct and consistent. Instead of manually combing over figures in Excel columns, your finance team will be able to focus on analysing and interpreting financial data and trends, as well as collaborating with other departments to improve efficiencies and help you expand.
Investing in software to automate time-consuming financial tasks is a modest price to pay, especially given the rewards.