Do you remember the days when you had to spend a ton of hours entering data into an Excel spreadsheet? Fortunately, those days are now gone – thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning. This digital age has transformed the accounting processes as well. Still, if manual, time-consuming accounting is slowing down your business, it’s time you start considering automating your accounting processes. Why? We’ve listed some benefits below:
1. Real-time integrations
Digitizing your company’s processes is essential for integrating your accounting processes, payroll tool, and expense management software. Integration drastically improves the way you carry out routine business transactions and accounting-related tasks.
Plus, you’ll never be required to copy information from one place to another. Why? Because you have accurate, updated data across every platform. Cloud-based accounting systems facilitate this, which brings us to the next benefit.
2. Easy access
If you use cloud programs now and then, you’ll know how simple it is instead of working with USB sticks and whatnot. With cloud technology, you can access information from anywhere, anytime. Do you want to check a document or process payment quickly? No problem- working on the cloud makes this straightforward.
5. Data accuracy
Well, all of us are human, and all of us make mistakes. However, machines aren’t used to committing minor computing errors like humans. In fact, you can use accounting tools to create multiple ledger entries within seconds, and that too with the surety that the data will be accurate.
Nevertheless, a good accountant is still required to oversee the process and verify it. Does your business have an accountant on board? Or are you doing the work yourself? Either way, further know-how in the subject would help. Therefore, consider upskilling via short online courses to hone your skills quickly. You can also opt for an MBA with accounting concentration online if you have an undergrad degree under your belt. The online route allows you to create a more flexible learning experience while simultaneously applying your knowledge in practical settings. This combined knowledge will help you understand and implement accounting automation in your workplace!
3. Secure file storage
Storing years’ worth of financial paperwork and accounting books can be a considerable burden on companies. They may have to incur heavy storage and maintenance costs to preserve such valuable information. However, automation simplifies this process of record-keeping. Electronic storage replaces the need to keep a physical record of paper files with digital copies of documents.
With the help of software, you can digitally create, receive, and store proof of business transactions. What’s more, you can also encrypt the information to keep it safe from potential cybersecurity threats. So, forget about going down the hall to a storage cupboard or rifling through the filing cabinet. You also don’t need to worry about data loss due to natural disasters or office fires.
4. Quick data retrieval
If you’ve seen the days of traditional accounting, you’re probably familiar with storage rooms were cluttered with thousands of files. The real problem emerged when you had to retrieve a particular one. Imagine hunting for files in different rooms – or even other buildings!
But with accounting automation, finding almost any file you need is straightforward. Finding and retrieving a document in a digital database merely takes a couple of seconds. Plus, newer tools make this process a lot easier. For example, if you’re using dated tools, you don’t have a single, central location for all your expenses, sales, vendor, and customer information. As a result, instantly finding a crucial detail is almost impossible. On the other hand, automation software allows you to store, name, and categorize documents and ledger items safely – making it way easier to find them.
6. Better productivity
Automation enables you to produce more work in the same period. Since everything is just a click away, you don’t have to spend hours manually creating, verifying, and dispatching business invoices. This way, you can use your time n other crucial tasks such as analysis and decision-making. You can probably also throw away the manual calculator in the trash since automation makes the job easier, thereby increasing your productivity manifold.
Automation allows businesses to do things quickly – to guide and partner with clients towards financial health – and you can do this at a greater frequency for a lot more clients.
However, this may be a point of concern for external accountants because it directly translates to fewer billable hours. Plus, staff accountants wouldn’t also like this idea because they might lose their jobs.
7. Saves time
What’s the most tangible benefit you get with accounting automation? The amount of time you’re able to save. If something or someone else does the work you’ve been manually doing, you’ll automatically have more time on your hands.
While the benefits of accounting automation are easier to see, most accountants realize this during financial closing. If your team has been using the correct tools, there would be nothing to reconcile. The majority of data you’d usually review and copy across systems would’ve already been checked and verified.
For instance, imagine you’re managing expenses and others costs using expense management software. When someone makes an expense claim, an entry in the system is created that includes all the necessary information and documents. This means you have a complete entry right from the get-go. Exporting it doesn’t take more than a click. So, things that usually take days to complete can be done within minutes.
Conclusion
If you want to streamline business accounting, automation is the obvious route to take. Automation helps keep all your important documents at your fingertips, mitigate costly errors, and save you a lot of time. So what’s not to love about accounting automation?