BUSINESS ARTICLES
How to Find the Right Financial Software for Your Business
Finding the right financial software is essential. With the right tool, you can spend less time worrying about finances—and more time running your business. A solid financial platform makes accounting work easier, simpler, and more consistent, while also giving you the data and insights you need to track your cash flow and make strategic business decisions.
However, finding the right tool can be tricky. There are many different financial platforms and it’s important to consider what your needs are, in order to manage day-to-day finances and get the reporting you need to make decisions about the future of your business.
So, where you do you get started? Let’s take a look.
Cloud vs. Desktop Platforms
Before choosing your software, let’s cover the basics. The two types of accounting software are cloud-based accounting and desktop software.
Cloud-based accounting programs allow you to work from wherever there is access to internet, it allows multiple users in multiple locations to work simultaneously. Desktop software generally keeps you tethered to a single computer, device and location.
Consider where the majority of your work happens: Cloud-based platforms will be best if you and your team need real-time access from anywhere. Desktop-based platforms might be best if you’d like all your important data in a singular physical location. Cloud-based platforms are often more flexible, and as long as you use a system with excellent security from a trusted provider, they will keep your financial data safe.
Top Platforms
Below are a few platforms and some of the types of businesses best suited for them:
- QuickBooks Online: Recommended for small to medium-sized businesses.
- QuickBooks Desktop: Recommended for larger legacy businesses.
- Xero: Recommended for fast-growing businesses.
- Sage Intacct: Recommended for multi-entity businesses and real-time insights.
- Zoho Books: Recommended for invoicing and billing.
- Netsuite: Recommended for online sales and inventory management.
Of course, this isn’t a complete list. There are many other platforms besides those listed above, each with their own pros and cons. If you want to learn more about these platforms and get some guidance on the best option for your business, talk with one of our experienced CPAs.
Define Your Requirements and Goals
Now that you have an overview of some financial management platforms for business, it’s time to establish what matters most to you. Start by writing down your business’ financial management priorities. What’s most important to you: streamlining processes, making it easier to stay compliant, improving your financial reporting, getting the data and insights you need to make strategic decisions? All of the above?
Here are a few other things to consider along the way:
- Locate the pain points in your current structure. Are you struggling with real-time reporting? Overwhelmed with manual entries?
- Write down must-have features, such as multi-currency support. Include nice-to-have features, like AI-driven forecasting.
- Set attainable, measurable goals. A couple examples could be “Shorten month-end close time from 15 days to 5 days” or “Reduce invoice processing costs by 30%.”
Analyzing your business’ needs can be time consuming, but it’s worth it. Once you have your “must-haves” and your “nice-to-haves” written down, you can identify the best candidates for your business. This is also a good time to identify any gaps in your processes or capabilities, and decide if you need to bring in outside support by outsourcing your accounting services.
Map and Optimize Your Processes
As you prepare to integrate a new platform into your organization, it’s the perfect time to streamline your existing processes. Here’s how:
- Document your current workflows by creating an “as-is process map,” and identify any bottlenecks or redundancies. For example, you may find that three employees are reviewing invoices within your org when one would do.
- Create more optimized workflows. Consider how you can automate aspects of your organization, ensure the proper approvals are in place, and evaluate any audit trails to ensure compliance and efficiency.
- Double check with end-users. Often, a process that reads well on paper can reveal potholes and bottlenecks in practice. It’s always best to have a diverse group of stakeholders evaluate any new software before implementing it.
Questions To Ask
How you configure and implement your platform is just as important as choosing the right one. Before you get started, you and your team should pause and ask yourselves:
- What will your billing process look like? Are your clients ongoing or one-off accounts?
- Do you need any inventory tracking?
- How will you exchange payment with clients?
- What do you need from your reporting?
- Do you or will you use third party applications to operate your business (i.e. merchant processors, AP management, reimbursable expense management)?
- How robust does your account list need to be? What pieces are important for your business to track?
How We Can Help
We’ve only covered a few of the most important things to consider when setting up your platform. Most platforms are highly customizable, but setting them up right in the beginning will alleviate costly clean-up later. The different programs have their nuances, and since you will be working with sensitive data, you will want to make sure you are using the software correctly from the very beginning.
That’s where we can help. At Dugan + Lopatka CPAs, our experts can guide you through this process and set you up for success. Our experts can help you cut costs, save time, and grow your business with a full suite of accounting services.
Whether it’s basic bookkeeping or CFO-level expertise, Dugan + Lopatka offers customizable accounting software solutions to fit your needs.