No matter what industry you’re in, speed is critical. Whether you need to make short or long-term decisions, the modern business world demands automation. Without automation, the speed of the modern world will drown your business. This is especially true when it comes to data-driven aspects of your business, such as accounting and your financial strategy.
But how do you decide which elements to automate and how can you be confident you choose the right software to implement? In this blog, we’re answering these questions and others about how you can use automation to streamline your business.
Automation in accounting helps your business complete tedious tasks so they don’t detract from time spent on larger business directives. It enables your in-house professionals to focus on the correct processes and how they can better serve your company.
This capability helps your company solve financial issues. If your company experiences operational inefficiencies, it’s time for you to look at how automating accounting processes can remedy things. Continue reading to learn more about how automation can streamline your accounting department.
At Fully Accountable, we’re committed to ensuring you have fractional CFOs and accounting controllers that analyze the correct data and issue effective strategies. We fully integrate accounting software into your company infrastructure that simplifies the accounting process and keeps your cash flow healthy while improving your bottom line. Contact us today for your free 30-minute strategy call.
What Is Accounting Process Automation?
Automating accounting processes refers to utilizing technology to streamline your accounting tasks. Whether reconciliation, payroll, invoicing, expense management, cash flow forecasts, or tax compliance, accounting automation reduces the amount of time your financial professionals spend on menial tasks.
This strategy eliminates opportunities for human error and conducts consistent, real-time analysis that boosts your company’s efficiency and productivity. Fifty percent of accountants are already using automation. That number is expected to grow significantly in the future. The reason is simple: this technology simplifies workflows, payments, and various financial processes.
Why Is Automated Accounting Important In Today’s Business Atmosphere?
Employees Want Technology to Simplify Their Jobs
There are two primary reasons why automation in accounting is important. First, employees want to be able to do things faster and easier than ever. Employees understand the convenience technology provides in their job.
Accounting is no different. Whether it comes to data analytics, collaboration, or simply not being required to perform mundane tasks, automated accounting is attractive to financial professionals.
The CPA of the future wants to perform more meaningful work than crunching numbers. They want to do things such as:
- Work remotely.
- Explore research that simplifies tax and accounting issues.
- Secure their clients’ data.
Companies that can’t supply these conveniences operate behind the 8-ball when compared to those that do. They will have trouble attracting the right talent because the companies that implement the right technological systems will be more attractive.
Consumers Want Technology to Make Their Lives More Convenient
Think of Google and Amazon and the human psychology these companies have tapped into. People want things now. You can’t afford number-crunching to get in the way of that. One thing automation provides is speed. And no matter what industry you operate in, your customers will always want speed.
Consumers are also more willing to provide data. With the correct automation in place, you can not only analyze consumer data, but correspond that data with more complex financial equations. When you automate accounting, you free your company to automate other departments. When you don’t automate accounting, your bottom line hangs in the dark.
Steps to Automate Your Accounting Processes
Automating your accounting processes is about more than simple data entry. It involves careful examination of your existing accounting procedures and requires deliberation on the right technologies to implement versus the ones that just sound good.
1. Evaluate Your Existing Accounting Procedures
You shouldn’t want to automate all of your accounting processes. Your accounting department shouldn’t be robotic. We are, after all, human, and human intelligence is still important. AI still doesn’t have the ability to think in the abstract.
The accountant of the future does. You need an accountant who can examine your current infrastructure and understand where you can implement automation to improve processes and reduce the time spent on tedious tasks.
There are a few questions you can ask yourself when considering automating accounting processes. First, ask yourself if you perform the task repetitively. Next, ask whether the task requires human interaction or ingenuity. Lastly, you should ask how much time you spend on the task and whether you identify errors in the process.
2. Choose Your Accounting Software Wisely
If you’re in the market for accounting software, you might have difficulties choosing one for your company. First, examine your business’s long-term needs and budget. Then, determine whether the proposed technology would integrate well with your existing accounting platform. Lastly, map out the compatibility of the prospective accounting software with your administrative systems.
3. Plan Your Migration
After you decide the software you want to use for your accounting automation, you need to clearly map out how you plan to migrate the data to ensure nothing is lost. IT professionals can oversee this migration and prevent errors from occurring.
Almost equally important is the employee training you enact on your employees’ behalf. Automation doesn’t work when humans don’t understand how to operate it.
4. Test the Automated Workflow
Automated workflows incorporate triggers, actions, and results. You should test these features before continuing with your automation. This will help minimize issues in the future.
5. Integrate Additional Automation Features
After successfully launching your accounting automation, you should look for ways to improve its function. Your accountants can explore the system after determining the basic features easy to automate. You should also obtain employee feedback to determine some additional areas you can automate. They will be able to identify any issues they encountered when adopting the automation.
6. Continuous Monitoring and Communication
After you implement your automation, ensure your accounting systems and workflows can handle any changes you implement and you should optimize their responsiveness.
Bottom Line- How Do You Automate Accounting Processes?
Automating your accounting processes sets your entire business up for success. The lifeblood of any company is cash flow. When you automate accounting processes, your financial professionals (whether they are strategic CFOs or outsourced controllers) understand how to secure your bottom line with data-backed decision-making.
Automated accounting eliminates the risk of human error and frees your financial professionals to focus on higher-level directives that move the needle for your company. However, you need professionals who can accurately examine your infrastructure and input the right software. Implementing incorrect accounting software can cause more trouble than good.
At Fully Accountable, our fractional CFOs and controllers are here to help you determine the best way to approach accounting automation. We tailor our approach to your industry and you benefit from real-time reporting and continuous analysis.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Fully Accountable is an outsourced accounting and fractional CFO firm that specializes in ecommerce accounting for online businesses. As a Inc 5000 fastest growing companies award winner, our diverse team of accountants, bookkeepers and CFOs can help you improve your cashflow and effectively manage and grow your bottom line.
