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Accounting software typically sells itself as much more than simple spreadsheet or ledger. The products tend to pride themselves on being comprehensive accounting information systems \u2014 depending on the price point, of course.<\/p>\n
So, is your accounting software living up to the hype? If not, there are a couple of relatively simple steps you can take to improve matters.<\/p>\n
Train and retrain<\/strong><\/p>\n Many businesses grow frustrated with their accounting software packages because they haven\u2019t invested enough time to learn their full functionality. When your personnel are truly up to speed, it\u2019s much easier for them to standardize reports to meet your company\u2019s needs without modification. Doing so not only reduces input errors, but also provides helpful financial information at any point during the year \u2014 not just at month end.<\/p>\n Along the same lines, your company should be able to perform standard journal entries and payroll allocations automatically within your accounting software. Many systems can recall transactions and automate, for example, payroll allocations to various programs or vacation accrual reports. If you\u2019re struggling to extract and use these types of financial information, you might be underusing your accounting software (or it might be time for an upgrade).<\/p>\n Ideally, a champion on your staff may be able to step up and share his or her knowledge with others to get them up to speed. Otherwise, you could explore the cost of engaging an external consultant to review your software\u2019s functionality and retrain staff on its basic features, as well as the many shortcuts and advanced features available.<\/p>\n Commit to continuous improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n Accounting systems that aren\u2019t monitored can become inefficient over time. Encourage employees to be on the lookout for labor-intensive steps that could be better automated, along with processes that don\u2019t add value and might be eliminated. Also, note any unusual activity and look for transactions being improperly reported \u2014 remember the old technological adage, \u201cgarbage in, garbage out.\u201d<\/p>\n Leadership plays an important role, too. Ownership and management are ultimately responsible for your company\u2019s overall financial oversight. Periodically review critical documents such as monthly bank statements, financial statements and accounting entries. Look for vague items, errors or anomalies and then determine whether misuse of your accounting system may be to blame.<\/p>\n Take the time<\/strong><\/p>\n Many businesses don\u2019t even realize they have a problem with their accounting software until they take the time to evaluate and improve it. And only then does the system finally deliver on the hype \u2014 sometimes. Our firm can help you review your accounting software and ensure it\u2019s delivering the information you need to make good business decisions.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2019<\/em><\/p>\n <\/body> Accounting software typically sells itself as much more than simple spreadsheet or ledger. The products tend to pride themselves on being comprehensive accounting information systems \u2014 depending on the price point, of course. So, is your accounting software living up to the hype? If not, there are a couple of relatively simple steps you can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13984\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sfw.cpa\/news-and-guides\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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