If you find that manual accounting systems are creating extra work for you or even if you find that costly mistakes are being made, accounting software is for you.  This can make for a more efficient process and generate reports that allow you to make more accurate business assessments.

There are many options on the market for accounting software so it can be difficult to know if you’re choosing the right platform.

Below we will look at some tell-tale signs that it’s time for you to invest in accounting software.  If you find yourself relating to any of these points then you’ll know the time is right.

 

1. Manual Tasks Are Taking Up All Your Time

   Bookkeeping can take a significant amount of time, especially with a manual system.  If you use double-entry bookkeeping, you may find yourself performing the same tasks repeatedly in a seemingly endless loop.  You can reinvest that in more crucial business activities when you use accounting software.  This is because the software will automate those repetitive tasks.

   If you spend hours on end manually importing data from your inventory, accounting software can also automate this.  This is another huge time saving benefit that will free up your time and let you focus on the things that will grow your business.

   But how do you know how long is too long for manual tasks?  By time tracking how long you spend on these tasks.  If you spend more than 5 hours on data entry and repeated jobs then it is more than probable that you are spending too long and should invest in accounting software for your small business.

2. Switching Tools Wastes Time
   
   You may be working with various separate tools to manage your finances.  This could include a dedicated tool for payroll and then an Excel spreadsheet for tracking projects, on top of a CRM system and finally a manual inventory tracking system.  As well as being very inefficient, it creates an unnecessary level of confusion for those working on it, especially if you are growing as a business and the data you or your staff are working with becomes increasingly greater.

   By switching to an accounting software, you can have all of your business processes in one, as software such as NetSuite will integrate all the different aspects of your workflows into a complete and seamless solution.

3. Growing Business Means Growing Orders

   As your business gets busier, so does your ledger.  Manually tracking data may work for a small business but, as your business grows, data tracking manually will become overwhelming.  In fact, even if you are using some accounting software now, you probably have a transaction limit.  This is generally 15,000 transactions per year.  NetSuite, on the other hand, has a limit of over 200,000 per month!

   If you wait until there’s a problem with your manual or free accounting system, this can cost massive amounts of time and money.  This is the last thing you want as you are in the process of growing your business during an expansion.  It’s best to tackle the learning curve before your existing accounting setup starts to fail.

4. Current Software Is Slow

   It is understandable if you are using a basic software solution because of a tight budget.  Being a small business, it is fair to say that in the initial stages you are only focusing on staying afloat.  Due to this, you had no problem with a little lag time when navigating from one screen to another because they system was simple, and sales were relatively light.

   Now though, if you are growing or plan to grow in the next 12 months, you need to move through accounting tasks quickly so you can focus on the business. If you have grown, you may not even do the tasks yourself.  A slow system, therefore, means that you are paying someone hourly to wait for the software.  That’s a waste of time and money.

   By contrast, a powerful accounting software system can process a high volume of tasks quickly that will in turn smooth out your workflow.  Ultimately, and most importantly, this will save time for you and your employees.

   Small business owners can measure the time to switch from one screen to another when deciding whether or not to upgrade accounting systems.  Then multiply that by the number of estimated screen switches per day.  The results can easily add up to five or more hours every week.  Figure the monthly cost of those hours, and a monthly accounting software subscription may be cheaper.

 

Does This Sound Like You?

There are a few clear signs that you’re ready to switch to an accounting software system.  If you spend too much time on manual tasks or waste time on frequent switching between tools, it is time to consider an accounting solution.  As mentioned, it may be easy to look beyond the investment just now as you are handling all of your tasks, but it’ll be more costly switching to a software when you hit an obstacle during your growth.  Getting ahead of the game and implementing a system before you grow means that you’ll be in line to seamlessly handle more orders, more customers and even more employees without any hiccups.

 

At Cofficient, we can implement your NetSuite system and provide local support to your small business on your path to growth.  Get in touch today to see how we can help.