How to make the best of your online accounting software?

Your accounts are on cloud today. That means you are able to access your account books and finance sheet from anywhere anytime. Accounting software are not only designed for book-keeping now, but also for helping you grow your business. And since you have invested in a good accounting software, you should know exactly how to use this investment.

Here are some tips to make the best of your accounting software.

# 1. Re-address accounting strategy with your accountant

Online accounting software would automate a lot of your tasks for which you had depended on your accountant earlier. For example, accounting software like Giddh already come with GST compatibility so you don’t need to ask your accountant to assess the return. Similarly invoices can be automated so you don’t need his help there too. As a result, you can put your accountant to work on analysis of accounts and finance, offer suggestions about cutting costs and so on. But don’t get us wrong. Accounting software won’t entirely eliminate the need of an accountant but would save his time which he can put to better use for your business.

# 2. Determine user controls

With cloud-based accounting software, other important team members can have a look at the books. Of course you don’t want to share all your finance details with the whole staff but you can now create user controls for crucial people in the organisation. You can even allow levels of access (if you don’t want to give full access) to some members. This would help increase financial transparency across your business and questions related to finance or account statements can be addressed without any use of additional source. For example, your sales team should be able to access sales figures region-wise or product-wise to asses performance.

# 3. Check for add-ons and integrations

One of the best things about cloud accounting is that it’s comparatively easy to add functions by connecting other online services or add-ons. For instance, Giddh accounting software allows you send payment reminders through an additional service of bulk messaging with MSG91. Similarly, you are able to connect your ecommerce software into your accounts software, if you have an online shop. That way, all your sales would reflect directly into your accounts without manual entry. Always ask your accounting software provider for add-ons that are most relevant to your business.

#4. Start tracking with forecasts and budgets

A lot of Indian accounting software come with features of budgeting and forecasting along with finance analysis. These will equip you for a kickass planning that works for your business. Forecasts help you see various business scenarios and allow you to experiment for introducing new service or product in future. Forecasting help you answer questions such as — Can your business stay afloat after losing a certain major client? Can you afford another sales team member in the next few months? Read how to forecast growth here. Similarly, budgets help you control your overheads and keep contingency reserves. Make sure you avail these features and use them to your benefit.

# 5. Examine your sales patterns

Who has been the best sales person in the team consistently? At what time of the month do sales happen more? Which branch, city, department of your product or service is selling better? These are some valuable insights that you can get from your accounting software. On your dashboard, you can examine your sales data that helps you in determining a great sales strategy for the month.

# 6. Carry PDFs or photos of your expenses

Today, online accounting software enable you to simply save a JPEG or PDF version of your receipts, invoices, expenses and carry them on your phone. This gives you much flexibility of decisions while you are travelling or while discussing finances with any investor.

# 7. Foresee risks and act on them

Another benefit that you must avail from your accounting software is the ability to forecast risks. Just take a look at your cash flow every month. You can see late payments on your dashboard, payment times and bills that would be due soon. These small details help you foresee our cash flow crisis and amend overheads to meet it.

Cloud accounting software have made the lives of small businesses like never before. It’s time to start using these software smartly to get ahead of the competition.

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