Friday, September 30, 2011

Why Does Your Small Business Or Startup Require Automating Accounts & Bookkeeping?

Today, automated accounting is an integral element of business operations. Irrespective of the size of your business, automating your accounting system can lead to increased efficiency, translating into savings of cost and time, and better access to amounts receivable. This is possible because the automating software completes transactions rapidly, allowing customers to approve payments immediately.

Apart from secure payment transactions, automating has a host of other benefits:

  • Timely updates of records and data
  • Speeding up existing processes
  • Reducing or eliminating the need for periodic human intervention, and thus reducing error margins

In the competitive times that we are currently living in, there is very little room for error. Depending on the industry type, acceptable human error margins could hover anywhere between 2% and 5%. While documentation of error is a statistical function and is relative to assignments, automation can help reduce errors.

Automation and Accounts

Automating your accounts will save you a lot of time that would otherwise be used in making manual entries. Functions such as recording credits and debits are an intrinsic part of accounting. Doing this the traditional way eats up time and exposes data to errors. These could range from simple, typographical errors to larger, more serious ones. However, once you automate processes, the software creates folders or sections that are programmed to allot entries to the assigned columns, without error.

With automated systems in place, tracking accounts is also an easier process. Needless to say, automating also plays a role in deterring fraud.

Security and Integrity

The key to automation lies in reducing the opportunities for error (OFE). Lower the OFE, higher the accuracy of your final product. Once programmed, the automation software will also carry out regular updates and reports that can then be reviewed by concerned personnel.

At a time when data safety takes center stage, automated accounting works to reduce instances of human interface, ensuring safety and integrity of the process.

If your organization manages large amounts of numeric data, automation can prove highly cost effective. Automating software can carry out the same amount of work within shorter time periods, and with higher accuracy, thus eliminating the need to rework accounts.

Overview

  • Automation allows for customization and improvisation at multiple levels and in a fast and secure manner. Automating your accounts system will ensure that they will remain in sync with the company’s growth. As your offerings grow, so will your accounts; automating will ensure that little or information is lost, while allowing the changes to be smoothly integrated into the existing systems.
  • Automation allows for all concerned parties to access their information at will. This in turn, further frees up precious human resource for other areas needing intensive human intervention.
  • Since automation also includes keeping a track of activity, there is lesser chance of mistakes going unnoticed for large periods of time. Your vendors and customers both can track their data independently and in a secure manner, reducing chances of fraud.


Automated accounting can prove to be indispensable; especially for small and midsize businesses where budgets are limited. The dual problem of focusing on client requirements while staying well within budget outlines can be resolved by automating accounting processes. Automation can help you do away with the need to establish a resource pool that needs to be trained and maintained. More importantly, it can help you meet your business requirements well within the outlines of your budget.

5 comments:

eHireMo said...

This was a great article! We have initially hired a local bookkeeper from our local community when we were starting our small business, but found later on that outsourcing the job to an online bookkeeping service will save us more time and money, just like most businesses today are doing. After trying some online services, we finally found a really great service at http://www.jankovicllc.com. We have been using their online bookkeeping for a little over one year and the services from our online CPA have been superb. It is really a great place to check.

belladana said...

I completely agree with automating accounting. The cost savings, especially for a small-mid-sized company is huge. You avoid excessive operational costs when you outsource your accounting services. In-house staff may appear to be less expensive based on their hourly wage; however, when you take into consideration the total costs for hiring, training, supervision, benefits, payroll taxes, and turnover, the hourly total compensation for in-house staff is much more than what they get paid hourly.There is also more efficient use of personnel. Apply a critical eye when reviewing the need for an in-house accounting professional. If you outsource routine accounting tasks, your in-house staff and resources can focus their time and energy on revenue-generating processes, core services, and production. By doing this, you can focus on business development. If you minimize the accounting minutia that often plague senior staff, you then enhance an environment where staff can focus on addressing those areas that drive company revenue. Thus, with things more streamlined, the better quality work! When you outsource, you place your accounting in the hands of focused professionals who understand GAAP standards, payroll requirements, and proper reporting and records management, just to name a few. The outsourced accounting professional’s work product is held to a high standard; not only does the function of accounting require such a standard, the reputation of the professional accounting service provider relies on it. And finally, believe it or not, outsourcing actually enhances your company's security. By transferring your in-house accounting functions to a professional accounting service provider, security for your books and records is enhanced, as the professional employs rigorous safeguards ensuring access control, confidentiality, and redundant data backup. Compare your in-house processes addressing confidential information, and security of data from fire, theft, and hackers, with processes offered by an experienced, reputable service provider; you might be surprised when you discover vulnerabilities associated with your in-house accounting.
It is key to have knowledgeable professional guidance in the accounting arena. From time to time you require advice on projects requiring a high degree of subject matter expertise, such as implementing a Key Performance Indicator report, or setting up a stock option plan for your employees. It is the responsibility of an experienced, reputable accounting service provider to remain up-to-date on the latest systems, accounting rules, and regulations, and to apprise you of changes in the law that may or will affect your business. And, at your discretion, they have the ability to assist you in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of your overall business operation.

Dana Costantino
www.pcg-services.com

bookkeeping service said...

At a time when data security is at the center, accounting, automated work to reduce instances of the interface of human security and integrity of the process.

Dan Mason said...

This is really a great article ! One should read this article before choosing Accounting & Bookkeeping

outsourcing services said...

The advantage of using online bookkeeping is that, it is fast, and it is customized. This is more likely cheaper than other bookkeeping services offered. Another thing is that You can access your date to wherever you are as long as there is an Internet connection then you are able to view all your stored data.