The enterprise accounting software you choose for your business is essential, and you have many options. It may be difficult to find the right software, but here are several reasons why you might need to switch.
You and your enterprise accounting software have been together for a long time. It has seen you through some serious ups and downs and, while it has its flaws, you’ve been happy together — until now.
You’ve expanded your business through internal growth or acquisition, but your accounting software hasn’t kept up. You’re frustrated because you can’t get information out meaningfully. The accounting business has changed.
If you’re seeing some of the problems below, it might be time to consider an upgrade or an entirely new system.
Signs of Outdated or Limited Functionality in Your Enterprise Accounting Software
1. Features
Thirty-four percent of small businesses don’t use accounting software. If your company is simply using Excel for its accounting, for example, you could be missing out on key features offered by other software. At least 67 percent of accountants prefer cloud-based accounting software, and 58 percent of enterprises choose it. Most cloud-based accounting packages allow you to import and organize bank transactions, track bills, set up automatic payments, and create custom business reports and invoices.
If your software can’t extract data or generate reports, or if you have to manipulate reports in Excel before publishing them, you need a new accounting program. If your software doesn’t do this automatically, you waste time with every report. Only 21 percent of small to medium-sized businesses have integrated accounting programs including accounting, invoicing, and payments.
2. Inadequate Mobile Support
Sometimes, you may need to check a few numbers on your phone when you’re on the move. Having easy access to real-time data updates and approvals would enable you to give this information to associates who need it rather than making them wait until you get to your computer. Numerous accounting packages offer this support, and if your current system doesn’t, it may be time to change.
3. Workload
When you’re constantly creating functions, doing manual reconciliations, or even creating your programs to perform key tasks – or spending too much money hiring programmers – you’re burning time, effort, and money doing something you can do automatically with the right program. Accounting programs can often do all this for you, letting you avoid needless programming.
Signs of Inadequate Accounting Software
4. Too Much Maintenance
If your accounting software is error-prone, leading to too many calls for technical support, or if your data infrastructure isn’t capable of running it properly, then it’s definitely time to switch to new software. Always calling technical support or fixing problems with your own IT staff takes time, and time is money.
5. Lack of Support
Eventually, software companies sunset older versions to focus on creating new programs. If this is your current situation, but annoying bugs or crashes still occur regularly, a new program is probably the right choice. It’s important to switch as soon as possible when your support halts because, as noted above, unreliable software could cause your organization serious monetary harm.
6. Separate Accounting Software
If you have to use one software package for accounting, Excel for inventory and ordering, and a separate program for customer relationship management (CRM), then you likely need to look into new software that offers integrated solutions. Always alternating between platforms becomes tedious quickly and takes more time than you think.
Accounting software choices are plentiful. Across all products, QuickBooks and Sage Interactive are two larger options. Netsuite’s Oracle has 18,000 customers only using its cloud software. Then there are BQE Core, Zoho Books, SBS Financial Suite, Patriot Accounting, Workday Financial Accounting, and many more.
Bonus Sign: High Maintenance Costs
Enterprise accounting software may be a significant upfront expense, but you need to consider the maintenance costs of your current package — even if you are only using Excel. After all, employee time, frustration and errors are costs, too. In other words, you must evaluate the total cost of ownership of your current system, which includes licensing fees, how many software changes you make per month, how many users you have, your software’s complexity, and more.
Maintenance costs will also vary based on the type of maintenance you do regularly. Fixing errors falls under the category of corrective maintenance, while updates are adaptive maintenance. Preventive maintenance helps to head off problems before they happen. Optimizing your current tools and features is preventive maintenance. If your maintenance costs are high, knowing the details will better prepare you to evaluate the cost of a new system and make the case for funding it.
Conclusion
If you or your employees struggle with your current accounting software, you may want to consider a change. Constant errors or everyday frustration can easily cause a loss of work hours, leading to a loss of revenue. The tools you use are key to your business’s success, and the software you use to run your business and track revenue is probably the most important of those tools.
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