Why Your Business Needs a Modern Financial System
As a small business owner, a modern financial system is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.
However, if you’re still struggling along doing your financial accounting in Excel or using some other system that requires a lot of manual work, you’re likely seeing:
A ton of errors
Slow processes
Time-consuming and tedious work
Difficulties in reporting
Metrics that aren’t giving you the right info
With a modernized system, you don’t have to struggle to make your financial accounting system do what it should. Instead, the system works for you.
Automating your financial processes gives you information that enables you to make better decisions so you can concentrate on what’s important, running your business.
What Does a Modern Financial System Look Like?
For starters, a modern financial system is automated. Filling out paper forms and spreadsheets becomes a thing of the past.
Additionally, it handles multiple functions of your financial management. There may be standalone systems that do a great job of payroll or billing, but a modern system integrates them all into one. Integration will also provide a richness of reporting that you haven’t had before.
Not only that, but reporting will be more timely and better support decision-making. You’ll have the ability to catch problems before they snowball, and quickly propagate the correction through your entire system.
If you’re producing a report with one system then manually entering its output into another, your financial automation is behind the times. Good financial systems don't require redundant entry. Put a number in once, and it will be available anywhere in the system. You’ll see a dramatic decrease in errors.
Also, because there’s much less manual work, your processes will be more standardized and streamlined. You’ll achieve greater consistency in your financial accounting.
Benefits of a Modern Financial System
A big benefit of a modern financial system is you’ll find yourself spending less time entering data while realizing greater accuracy, essentially, you’ll see an efficiency increase.
Your workflow processes will be less focused on keeping the system up to date and more concentrated on accomplishing the work. Some of your most talented people will be freed to spend time serving clients and increasing revenue and profits.
Modern financial systems also focus on security. Your documents, data, and processes will be kept safe and can only be accessed by people you’ve given permission to. And because all of your files and documents are stored in the cloud, it makes shifting to a paperless office more feasible.
Considering growth is top-of-mind for most business owners, modernizing your financial system will be of benefit. As you scale, so will it.
Perhaps the top benefit is the availability of up-to-date numbers, sliced and diced however you want them. It’s hard to achieve your business goals if you don’t have a 360 view of your financial status. With a modern system and the right reporting, you can see the big picture and make decisions based on reliable data.
Tips for Building a Modern Financial System
Other small businesses have successfully upgraded their financial systems, and you can too. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you make the jump.
Create a Tech Stack Built for Your Business
A lot of small businesses first automate their financing by loading standalone applications on local computers. This worked in the past, but now there are easy-to-use tools that make managing your finances much more efficient.
Today, the bywords are integration and real-time data transfer, with cloud-based technology you can tie both of these together.
One of the primary benefits of integrated tech stacks is nearly every aspect of your finances can be automated. Your payroll, bookkeeping, payables and receivables, and more will be connected and sharing information. This lets you see all of your essential information in one place.
Give Yourself Time
Upgrading a financial system takes more than installing technology and applications. There will be a learning curve before you are fully reaping the benefits of your tools.
You also have to keep your team in mind. Not only will you need to get used to your new system, but your team will too. Creating how-to videos or going through training courses will be helpful.
Expect a slow transition.
Focus on the Future
It’s tempting to select the system that best fits your business today, but that may or may not be the right choice for the future.
Look at where you expect to be five or 10 years from now and choose a solution that will grow along with you.
Work with an Accountant
There’s a lot to think about before upgrading to a modern financial system.
What technology will you need? How much of the system should you buy off the shelf and how much should you build yourself? Will your system support everything from accurate financial reporting to finding ways to lower your tax bill?
With so many questions and plenty of opportunities to make a costly move, we suggest working with a trusted accountant, such as Teitelbaum & Co, CPA.
We can help you design and build a modern financial system that’s specifically suited to your business, now and as you grow. Contact us today to learn how we can put our experience and knowledge to work for you.