Insight

Is your accounting software living up to the hype?

Accounting software typically sells itself as much more than simple spreadsheet or ledger. The products tend to pride themselves on being comprehensive accounting information systems — depending on the price point, of course.

So, is your accounting software living up to the hype? If not, there are a couple of relatively simple steps you can take to improve matters.

Train and retrain

Many businesses grow frustrated with their accounting software packages because they haven’t invested enough time to learn their full functionality. When your personnel are truly up to speed, it’s much easier for them to standardize reports to meet your company’s needs without modification. Doing so not only reduces input errors, but also provides helpful financial information at any point during the year — not just at month end.

Along the same lines, your company should be able to perform standard journal entries and payroll allocations automatically within your accounting software. Many systems can recall transactions and automate, for example, payroll allocations to various programs or vacation accrual reports. If you’re struggling to extract and use these types of financial information, you might be underusing your accounting software (or it might be time for an upgrade).

Ideally, a champion on your staff may be able to step up and share his or her knowledge with others to get them up to speed. Otherwise, you could explore the cost of engaging an external consultant to review your software’s functionality and retrain staff on its basic features, as well as the many shortcuts and advanced features available.

Commit to continuous improvement

Accounting systems that aren’t monitored can become inefficient over time. Encourage employees to be on the lookout for labor-intensive steps that could be better automated, along with processes that don’t add value and might be eliminated. Also, note any unusual activity and look for transactions being improperly reported — remember the old technological adage, “garbage in, garbage out.”

Leadership plays an important role, too. Ownership and management are ultimately responsible for your company’s overall financial oversight. Periodically review critical documents such as monthly bank statements, financial statements and accounting entries. Look for vague items, errors or anomalies and then determine whether misuse of your accounting system may be to blame.

Take the time

Many businesses don’t even realize they have a problem with their accounting software until they take the time to evaluate and improve it. And only then does the system finally deliver on the hype — sometimes. Our firm can help you review your accounting software and ensure it’s delivering the information you need to make good business decisions.

© 2019

Related Insights

Turning stock downturns into tax advantages | tax preparation in harford county md | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy

Turning stock downturns into tax advantages

Have you ever invested in a company only to see its stock value plummet? (This may become relevant in light of recent market volatility.) While…
Ways to manage the limit on the business interest expense deduction | accounting firm in washington dc | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

Accounting & Assurance

Ways to manage the limit on the business interest expense deduction

Prior to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), businesses were able to claim a tax deduction for most business-related interest…
7 ways to cut nonprofit costs rather than staffers | accounting firm in elkton md | Weyrich, Cronin & Sorra

Non-Profits

7 ways to cut nonprofit costs rather than staffers

It wasn’t long ago that the not-for-profit sector was struggling to find enough staffers to hire. Now that many organizations are losing federal…

Connect with us

Use the form below to send us an email. WCS responds directly to all inquiries and general questions within 24 hours of posting.

This contact form is deactivated because you refused to accept Google reCaptcha service which is necessary to validate any messages sent by the form.