How to Develop and Improve Your Accounting System

Business - 28/09/2023

In a previous blog, we covered how smartening up your accounting system can give your business a boost by increasing efficiency and accuracy, and decreasing costs.

That’s right! Generating reports, calculating profits, invoicing, and managing taxes become a breeze. You’re also less likely to make financial mistakes that could lead to penalties, cash flow problems, fraud, or even business failure when you use up-to-date systems. Plus, going automated can make things cheaper too!

While the benefits of improving your accounting system may be obvious, knowing when and how to improve yours to ensure you’re using it to its full potential can be another story. 

But don’t worry, at Numero we’ve got your back! Read on for some top tips for developing and improving your accounting system, and make sure you’re doing everything you can to boost your business and your profits.

Choose the right software for your business

Not all accounting software provides the same tools, features, and functionalities. That’s why it’s vital to do your research before making a switch. The accounting system you choose should fit the needs of your business now, and in the future. 

Start off by considering the features your business needs right now to run more efficiently. Would it be beneficial for your accounting software to generate reports on demand, automatically fetch data, or streamline your invoicing process? Or perhaps you’re in need of a system that automates your payroll processing. There are lots of features to consider!

It’s also important to think ahead. As your business grows, so will your accounting needs. The right accounting software for you will be scalable to accommodate any future expansion. By considering your future needs now, before you make an investment, you can avoid another overhaul later down the line.

Our advice is to shop around and consider your accounting software options. After all, you don’t want to miss out! If you take into account the cost, usability, and features, you’ll be well on your way to making the right decision!  

Automate wherever you can

Automation is a great time saver. It helps to minimise employee downtime during accounting tasks, giving them more time and energy to spend on other aspects of your business. And it can massively reduce the risk of inaccuracies and mistakes due to human error!

The wrong piece of data can have serious consequences for your financial reports. But automation doesn’t run that risk! It protects you against the domino effect of human error, and also against fraud or other malicious attacks. From a security and compliance perspective, automation is a no-brainer.

Unsure where to start? Consider automating the following accounting processes: 

• Expense management: If you use company credit cards or routinely reimburse employees for expenses, consider automating your expense management. Say goodbye to manually checking credit card data against receipts and painstaking approvals processes!

• Bank reconciliation: Automation tools can quickly match accounting records to bank account statements to detect errors and spot instances of potential fraud. Plus, you’ll be able to generate bank reconciliation reports in next to no time to free up space for other things!

• Payroll processing: Totting up working hours, sorting through tax documents, and distributing paychecks is an essential part of bookkeeping. But it doesn’t have to be a bore! Consider switching to automated payroll processes.
• Financial reporting: Automating your financial reporting means you can easily prepare tax returns, create financial statements, and predict future revenue. Just think how far you could go if you’re able to quickly identify trends and forecast financial results…

By harnessing the power of automation, you’ll not only save time and reduce the risk of errors but also enhance the overall effectiveness of your accounting processes. 

Create robust financial plans 

One of the best things you can do for business growth is to sit down and consider your financial goals by analysing your current performance and making a strategy for the future. If you’re unsure of how to do this, find an accounting system that can help!

Thanks to plenty of innovation in recent years, you can now use advanced data analytics for accounting to evaluate large datasets and draw out insights that might not be immediately obvious. From there, you can create an actionable plan that will help you to move your company forward.   

Don’t forget to think about the short-term as well as the long-term! That way you can assess and evaluate your investments more effectively and allocate resources more wisely to achieve both immediate and long-term growth objectives.

Minimise your paper usage

Going completely paper free can be almost impossible for some businesses to accomplish (the legal industry in particular is far from renowned for its digital prowess). Regardless, there are lots of ways in which you can go “paper-light”.

The best financial systems are designed to minimise your dependence on printed paperwork. They typically have a storage system that uses the cloud to store and manage your data digitally. This decreases employee downtime, increases productivity, and also provides you with a more accurate and safer way to manage your files. Plus, you end up helping the environment too! 

While minimising paper usage and transitioning to digital systems can offer various benefits, it’s essential to be aware of the potential risks and challenges involved. These include data security concerns (e.g. cyberattacks, data breaches, and system vulnerabilities) and technical failures. It’s essential to choose an accounting system that has the right measures in place to mitigate your concerns. 

Training with Numero

Thinking about beefing up your accounting system or switching to something new? At Numero, we offer training and support to help you tighten up your expertise and really make the most out of your systems. 

We’re approved accounting partners in LEAP and Xero accounts systems, and can give you the expert training and guidance you need to get to grips with them yourself. If you use a different system, we bet we know that too – and if we don’t, we’ll get to know it! 

We’re primed and ready to help you get to know your accounting system inside and out, so that you can start using it to boost your business, and your profits!

Make the most out of your accounting system with Numero!

If you’re interested in finding out more about Numero’s Outsourced Accounts or Data Conversion and Training Services, get in touch. We can help you to make the most of your accounting systems so that they’re working for you, not the other way around. 

Contact us today, and let’s get started on this journey together – towards financial success!