How to Prepare to Automate Your Accounting Operations
Accounting is a meticulous process that businesses should take seriously. A single mistake in the ledger can have unforeseen consequences on your business’ finances. Without the right tools, you might end up spending more time and resources on your accounting operations rather than focusing on improving your services and products.
This is why 73% of businesses started implementing intelligent automation to help scale and standardize their operations. There are many benefits of automation in accounting. For one, it makes managing your finances easier and more convenient than ever. It offloads tasks such as tracking expenses, recording transactions, and computing taxes.
With that, here are some ways on how you can prepare for automating your accounting operations.
1. Choose the right software
To leverage automation, you must first choose the right software for your accounting operations. Fortunately, there are countless solutions available for different types of businesses. There are software solutions designed for small businesses, accounting professionals, and enterprises.
However, not all accounting software provides automation. An example would be Quickbooks. It is one of the most popular accounting tools for businesses. It offers many capabilities such as sales invoicing, expense billing, and financial reporting. But, you still need to input entries and record transactions manually.
A good accounting automation software can transcribe paper bills into your accounting system. It will eliminate manual payment entry and even allow your vendors to enter the invoices directly into your system. The same is true with account receivables.
2. Go paperless with your documents
Get the most out of automation by going paperless with your accounting documents. By going completely digital with your accounting software, you can simply export and import data into your accounting system instead of manually inputting the data yourself. This goes hand in hand with your automation tool which will then transcribe the entries into the appropriate ledgers or books without further human interference.
This also paves the way to full digital transformation in your accounting operations. Going paperless makes it easier to migrate the rest of your accounting processes into the system. This includes tax computations, transaction management, and invoicing.
3. Determine areas that need automation
Automation tools in accounting aren’t miracle workers that will instantly fix all your accounting problems. It also has its own limitations. In fact, your automation software can only be as good as your underlying system. So if that’s the case, what is automation in accounting?
The purpose of automation tools is to take over routine processes from your accounting operations so that you can focus on higher-level tasks instead. So if the system itself is inefficient, the tendency is that your automation software will simply work within that problematic framework without actually fixing the root cause of your problem.
Hence, it is important that you identify first what areas in your accounting operations need to be improved on. Maybe the root cause of your problem lies in an ineffective accounting solution. Or maybe, it can be the lack of communication between you and your vendors or clients. These are some of the things that your accounting automation software might not be able to fix.
4. Leverage data and analytics
Before you start implementing automation into your accounting operations, consider doing an in-depth evaluation of your current process. Leveraging data and analytics makes it easier for you to identify the various bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your current accounting workflow. It identifies patterns, trends, and common issues that you might encounter. With this insight, you can have a better and clearer view of how, when, and where to automate.
You can also use data to evaluate the impact of automation on accounting after its implementation. This allows you to decide whether or not the automation tool you are using is right for your business. If not, you can try other automation tools and see if it works better with your current workflow.
5. Integrate with other solutions
If you are using other business software solutions, consider integrating your accounting automation toolsto the rest of your digital system. Doing so creates a more seamless and immersive digital experience for you and other users.
For example, you can connect your accounting automation software to your billing and invoicing software. This way, your automation tool can directly transcribe bills and invoices into your accounting system. This ensures that data between the two solutions are always in sync. You can also integrate your accounting automation software into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
Future of accounting
Many fear that the advent of automation in accounting means the end of the careers of many accounting professionals. Hence, you might be thinking what can you do with a finance degree? Are robots going to replace accountants in the future?
It is true that automation software can take over certain aspects of your accounting operation. However, its main purpose is to assist accountants and business owners in accounting – not replace anyone at work.
A good example is Cratoflow. It provides you with tools and functions to give you greater control and visibility over your accounting operations. This way, you can focus more on creating a proactive financial plan and improving business growth.
