THREE SIGNS YOU’RE READY FOR ERP-LEVEL ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE

Posted with permission from Centage.com

Do you feel like your accounting system might be struggling to keep up with your business?

Maybe the accounting process is taking an ever-increasing amount of time to complete? Or perhaps your management team is struggling to make good decisions with out-of-date or incomplete information.

If this is the case, it might be time for an upgrade.

Today’s businesses are in a more pressure-packed, competitive environment than ever. Organizations are constantly looking to streamline systems and improve agility. They want to be able to quickly and clearly see the health of their business and project into the future.

Most small businesses start simply, using spreadsheets and basic accounting systems to monitor the books. And while that setup can work to start, as a business grows and becomes more complex, the tools used need to follow suit.

This is where it might be time to consider upgrading to an enterprise resource planning- (ERP-) level accounting system. It can be a powerful tool to bring disparate data and information all under one roof.

In this post, we want to highlight some ways you can tell if you’ve outgrown your accounting system.

Lengthy Accounting Processes

A streamlined back office is always the goal of every business. And while it might feel like keeping things as simple as possible is better, as your business grows, simplicity can often become a problem.

Look no further than using spreadsheets and paper-based orders and invoices. While it can seem simple at first, having a process that’s so manual can translate to a lot of wasted time for employees. Rather than spending their time analyzing data, they’re entering it into multiple systems.

Having your process set up this way can potentially create other problems as well. There’s always the risk of data entry errors and inconsistencies. Also, a lengthy process can cause a backlog that could trickle down into other departments too.

If this sounds familiar, then it could be time to find a solution that can help streamline the process. ERP-level systems reduce the need for manual entry and instead utilize automation to pull data like sales and receivables from a variety of sources.

Lack of Data

Big data is the name of the game today. Businesses rely on the stream of both financial and non-financial data they get more than ever because it provides such invaluable real-time information.

Agility and quick decision making have become more and more valuable to brands today. In fact, for many brands, they’ve become competitive advantages. Because of that, having the right data at your fingertips is crucial.

It can point to opportunities for improvement and play a critical role in hitting strategic and organizational goals.

Rather than trying to pull information from a number of different systems, documents and spreadsheets, look to have one single source of truth for your data. This means improved accuracy in budgeting, forecasting and decision making.

Issues with Reporting

In business, there’s a big difference between being proactive and reactive—the organization that can proactively plan is going to come out on top. This is because they will see risks and opportunities on the horizon and plan around them.

Today’s business environment has become more competitive and is moving at a faster rate than ever before. Because of that, brands need to continuously look forward to trends and opportunities for growth.

Most basic, entry-level spreadsheets and accounting systems will cover your needs with reports highlighting past results. But when it comes to projecting future outcomes, they don’t provide nearly the information that more advanced systems do.

To be able to implement a strategy around where your business is headed, you need to be able to project based on good information. This can help with everything from sales to human resources over the long run.

Final Thoughts

Utilizing a system that can provide a solid foundation for your brand to continue to grow will benefit your organization significantly over the long run.

If these are operational goals your organization hopes to achieve, now could be the perfect time to make the switch.

To learn more about ERP-level accounting systems and how to improve your budgeting and forecasting processes, contact us today and see how Budget Maestro can help.