It’s no secret that technology and innovations in software have made our lives easier, both professionally and personally. In a technology-dependent world, it can be difficult to keep up with and track what developments you actually need. Most innovations will have a lot of bells and whistles that seem beneficial, but ultimately what you really want to know is whether the solution will make your business more efficient and effective. If you’re getting lost in the noise, then use this easy guide to modern accounting software innovations to help wade through the clutter.
Tracking and auditing
In days gone by, it was difficult to track and keep an eye on invoicing. A lot of service-based businesses operate on goodwill and offer credit, which can be difficult to track. With accounting software innovations, losing track of invoices and payments is a thing of the past. Good software solutions offer the business a way to input jobs, track payments and even create custom invoices for your clients. It also gives you a simple and clear way to track and audit any liability your business is carrying from unpaid invoices. This kind of software innovation means your business can make more informed decisions about the clients you offer credit services to.
One-stop shop
For anyone who works in finance, there are few tasks more time consuming or crucial as payroll. Ensuring staff are paid correctly and on time can be difficult for a number of reasons. Recent innovations in accounting software, however, eliminate the hassle. Accounting software packages can be tailored to include a single log-in system for tracking employee hours, sick days, annual leave taken etc. This allows your finance team to have a single view of every staff member, which makes payroll a much easier task. This single view is even more impressive come tax time. Producing PAYG documentation for your staff is simple and located in one central repository. Accounting software will make manual timesheets and long lead times for tax documents redundant in your business.
Integration
Account reconciliation is one of the most important tasks of any finance team, manager or function in a business. Making sure the numbers tally correctly is crucial for any successful business. With recent innovations in accounting software, it’s now much easier thanks to full-scale integration. Depending on the software solution you opt for, integration with your bank should be a feature you prioritise. By creating a digital link between your accounting system and your banking system, you make reconciling and tracking transactions simple. The benefit of this kind of integration is that your business no longer needs to rely on a point in time picture of the accounts. Instead, you can use this innovation to create a real-time reporting link.
Projects
Budgeting for projects can be difficult if you don’t have the right software. Keeping track of expenses and outgoings related to a specific project is crucial to detailed reporting and auditing. Accounting software allows your business to split budget line items, create project codes and track spend on specific projects. No project can be successful if it is spending beyond what was budgeted. Allocating and tracking funds for a project is a key innovation of accounting software that all businesses should take advantage of.
Accounting software is changing frequently, with more and more efficiencies being introduced. Tracking, auditing and integration are all modern innovations in software that are making accountants lives easier. If your business is in need of a software package or upgrade, use this simple guide to help identify a product that works for your business.
