When you’re a business owner, it’s a good idea to make technology your best friend and consider the benefits of investing in technology.
While the initial outlay involved in getting your setup right might feel like a reason to put off investing, embracing it proactively can make things quick and simple – and set you up for long-term success.
When it comes to accounting, we’re big fans of using technology to get the best results – whether it’s to help you keep your books in order, or as a smart way to stay in the loop on the go.
Here are some of the top benefits of investing in tech, along with some platforms we’d happily recommend to our clients.
Just looking for a list of accounting software we’d recommend? Skip down to the ‘specific solutions’ section below.
Become more efficient
The best tech investments are the ones that give you time back to focus on what’s important. Most people in business didn’t start their careers with the aim of spending hours balancing books, keeping on top of records and receipts, or poring over financial reports.
The easy answer? Don’t! By making the most of the efficiency-driven features that most cloud accounting software offers (like automations, shared inboxes for invoices, and repeatable workflows), you’ll be able to spend less time manually getting your finances into shape, and focus your attention elsewhere.
Consider your customers
With time freed up away from the spreadsheets, you’ll create room to consider the bigger picture – and that includes looking at your customer experience.
Are there improvements you can make to the way you communicate with customers, for instance, or do you know there’s demand for a new product or service that you’d like to explore?
The right tech can be part of helping you shape what you’re able to offer – both because you’ll have more head-space to think about those things, and because it can give you insight into what decisions make good business sense.
By using accounting software – and working with a tech-savvy accountant – you’ll be able to create forecasts, analyse customer needs and spot opportunities to expand or develop.
And, if you’re making decisions based on data, you’ll know you’re meeting demand, encouraging repeat business in the longer term.
Plan for the future
When it comes to your finances, investing in tech is ultimately an investment in your future.
Without access to proper management information, it’s hard to work out a return on investment, understand how your business performs financially, and measure yourself against your goals.
The right tech can solve all this – and a good accounting partner will be able to show you exactly how.
Because accounting software means your accountant can work more efficiently, too, you’ll be able to spend more of your time together discussing your plans, goals, and visions for the future – rather than chasing receipts or categorising payments.
You can then look at exactly where you are now, where you want to go, and work out what you need to do to get there.
Specific solutions
So, the benefits are clear — but what platforms should you get started with? Here’s a list of the tech we’d encourage small businesses to take a look at.
- Xero — a leading cloud-based accounting software solution, Xero is great for small business bookkeeping, VAT returns, invoicing, and collaborating with your accountant
- Dext — Dext is cloud-based software that automates your business’ financial admin. It helps you capture receipts and bring your paperwork together digitally so that you can send it to accounting software (like Xero)
- Approval Max — this is a bolt-on software to Xero that allows you to send batch payments to different businesses at once, and create a more robust approval process for invoices to be paid
- Chaser — also cloud-based, this end-to-end accounts receivable software integrates with accounting software and automates debtor tracking and chasing
- Go Cardless — Go Cardless integrates with your accounting software and is a payment processing platform that lets you automate the collection of recurring fees via direct debit
- Stripe — another payment processing platform, Stripe also integrates with accounting software and is great for letting your customers pay by card online
- Modulr — Modulr automates B2B payment flows and can also integrate with payroll software, meaning you can pay employees, HMRC and other businesses without managing things manually
Investing in tech, investing in you
Ultimately the benefits of investing in tech to help you out with your finances are two-fold.
On the one hand, you’ll become more efficient, spend less time manually carrying out administrative tasks, and have more time to focus on the immediate needs of your business.
With automation, quick communication, and a single point of truth that you can access on the go, your financial admin will become much more straightforward to manage.
The other main benefit is the long-term vision tech can allow you to create – using detailed reporting and proactive analysis to understand your current position and map out steps to take to work towards your goals.
That’s why we always advocate for cloud accounting and work with our clients to make sure they understand how hard tech can work for them.
If you’d like to speak to us about the benefits of investing in technology, we’d love to hear from you.
