10 reasons for future-proofing your accounting software.

Find out the best arguments for investing in a finance system that will help your organisation realise long-term growth

Put finance in the driver's seat

If you want to shape your organisation's destiny then seizing control of your finances could be the first step. Your finance system should have the power to set your company's strategy rather than thwart it. Using an out of date system could result in an out of date business.

Look for a system that can lead the business rather than just provide support. During a downturn, managers are increasingly reliant on the finance team to provide answers; make sure you have the tools to deliver.

Expand or enter new markets

To open up new selling opportunities and extend your reach, you will need the back office resources to process higher volumes of transactions and monitor performance on a daily basis. Rather than create extra admin, why not implement an alternative finance package that can handle the legwork for you?

If you're looking to acquire another company then it's also the perfect time to re-evaluate your finance system because you will have to consolidate information from two different packages, so it makes sense to start from scratch with a brand new solution.

Gain competitive edge

Although you may be looking to shave your costs it may be counter-productive to cut back on technology because even in short to medium term this could bring you increased returns and the ability to outshine your rivals. More advanced systems can reveal what areas of the business are making money and which aren't and they can also introduce greater efficiencies and differentiation.

Making it easier for customers to buy from you through e-commerce with a choice of payment options such as PayPal or WorldPay could save you money and also attract new business, whilst adopting e-procurement, electronic invoicing or going paperless could cut your expenditure and increase efficiency. You can even improve cash fl ow by chasing bills through sending an SMS text or email reminder.

Free up time for more strategic tasks

If too much time is being spent on producing reports or if it is difficult to obtain critical business information, then it's likely that a bottleneck has been created.

Whether month-end is taking too long or you find yourself relying on spreadsheets to make sense of the figures, then it's time to take action.

Look for a system that is able to cope with an unlimited number of transactions and is easy to integrate with other IT applications. Automating the process of inputting data from one system to another can save significant man-hours and removes the hassle of extracting data using tools such as Excel. This leaves staff more time to focus on more valuable jobs such as planning and smarter budgeting.

Access to information when you need it

The biggest frustration of an ageing finance system is that not only does reporting become labour-intensive, it is often out of date by the time it is produced. For instance some organisations can spend a month collating a monthly report! As you can imagine this means that the organisation is always in catch up mode with no clear picture of what's happening when they need it. Not only that, but because the primary data on which reports are based is often inaccurate, the information presented to senior executives can be misleading and potentially harmful if the wrong management decisions are then made. Look for a system that can provide real-time information that can be distributed easily wherever your users are located.

Stay agile to prosper in downturn

Agility is everything in business, especially during turbulent times. Your finance system represents the lifeblood of the company, so you want it to flow smoothly. If it's not delivering the right information, managing your cash effectively or reporting on projected revenues then you could be at a severe disadvantage. Neglect it and you're in danger of being blinkered to plummeting sales or new market opportunities. Failure to react and adapt to changing market conditions is one of the chief reasons why companies fold, so reviewing your financial management can prevent you becoming a statistic.

Avoid downtime

As a company grows, the more transactions and data you put into your finance system. Your business processes become more complex and you have larger number of users making greater demands and if you're not careful you could find that the system simply grinds to a halt. If you wait for this to happen, the time it takes to throw out the old one and start afresh could cause a major disruption to the business which could take years to recover from. Be prepared and watch out for the warning signs.

Be ready for future changes

The problem with many proprietary solutions is that they are designed for when a company first starts up but aren't equipped with either the flexibility or functionality to support what happens in the future. Rather than struggle with a system that has passed its sell by date, consider investing in an ‘open' browser-based system that is easy to deploy and can support an unlimited number of sites and/or international locations.

The last thing you want is to be left with a product that a vendor withdraws support for. Think ahead so you can avoid both the expense and disruption later. But a word of caution, make sure you buy a ‘mature' product, not one that is still in a major development phase because you don't want to have to go through multiple upgrades on a regular basis.

Save money by choosing an optimum system

By NOT opting for a flexible system that will evolve with you, you're in danger of having to continually replace your IT. Not only are you having to purchase new software but there are also the other hidden costs of having to buy new servers, the time in implementation and also for re-training staff.

Increase efficiency with greater automation & devolvement

Although the basics of accounting have changed little in over 50 years, the way a finance department operates has altered dramatically. No longer an ‘island', finance is something that now ‘touches' all parts of an organisation and thanks partly to technology, there is greater opportunity to devolve financial responsibilities to other sectors of the business.

But with increased communication and exchange of data between different systems it becomes more complicated to update a core finance system that was designed to be standalone. This results in staff having to use complicated manual methods to overcome the rigidity of such a system. Not only does this waste time but what often happens is that a single individual is then responsible for carrying out these tasks and if they leave the organisation the knowledge leaves with them. If you need human ‘glue' to make your system work then it's probably time to think of replacing it. With a future-proofed accounting system it's possible to automate many of the back-office procedures.