You might wonder what the connection between bookkeeping software and productivity is, and you wouldn’t be the first to do so. After all, what does bookkeeping software have to do with the productivity of the sales team or the procurement team? Let’s dive right in and find out!
Receipt scanning benefits all teams
UK bookkeeping software comes with receipt scanning, a feature that uses Optical Character Recognition technology to create digitised entries of key details in bills, invoices and receipts. The software user simply needs to upload a picture – even a smartphone grab – of the document whose data requires to be entered and all the key data from it is extracted. You can edit the digitised entry or copy and paste the text elsewhere. Besides pictures, the software is also able to recognise and extract data from online sources and PDFs (which include bank statements).
People also need not waste time sorting, segregating and filing documents (or worse, searching for them later). All data is automatically categorized by the system, which is also smart enough to automatically follow any filing method you begin using. On its own steam, it will usually sort entries by date and type, and start grouping data sent from/to the same party.
Linked bank accounts/ payment platforms benefit accountants and small business owners
For accountants, and for small business owners who are often their accountants, the UK bookkeeping software can cut down the amount of time spent in recording transactions. All you need to do is link your business bank account for information to thereafter flow directly into your books.
You can also link your PayPal or your Amazon seller account for all transaction data to be recorded – you will never miss a single transaction, thanks to automation.
Spontaneous business insights impact supply chain teams, among others
Most UK bookkeeping software will have the capacity to intelligently, independently and automatically trawl through all your data to give you invaluable insights such as clients delivering the highest value versus the volume of work that they give you, supply chain leaks, ideas for better cash flow and so on.
One of the oldest ways to boost profitability is to reduce one’s costs. Your procurement and supply chain teams will be encouraged to look for ways to keep costs low with ideas from spontaneous business insights.
KPI dashboards tend to keep everyone on their toes
When everyone has live on-the-go access to the business’ KPIs, you can imagine how it will light the proverbial fire under their seats.
UK bookkeeping software lets businesses choose a relevant set of KPIs to appear on their accounting dashboard. You can choose things like accounts payable and receivable, inventory, profit and loss, revenue and expenditure and so on.
Invoicing support helps the team follow up on payments
UK bookkeeping software comes with invoicing support that allows you to select a professional template for your invoices. You can then customise its appearance to match your brand and thereafter no more time is wasted on preparing invoices. The system will generate invoices – standardised and professional ones – automatically. This means that all the hours spent preparing, formatting and reformatting invoices, not to mention all the time lost in to-and-fro when invoices are not accurate, can be channelled into core duties instead.
The UK bookkeeping software will usually also offer reminders around invoice deadlines so that you never miss a deadline.
The team will also save time spent chasing up on payments because of a client dashboard that gives them reminders when payments are due. You’ll also get alerts when your clients open or pay an invoice. Sales teams spend a good amount of time checking if invoices have been received and then following up on payments. The UK bookkeeping software can eliminate this chasing process so that your sales team can focus on what it does best.
All this time saved, can be used to drive productivity in the core performance areas of teams
For accounting and bookkeeping firms
In an accounting firm, bookkeeping software can measure work completed.
Especially if you run a bookkeeping firm, UK bookkeeping software can tell you which of your people are getting the most amount of work done because everyone will be working on the same system. You can track workflows, hand out more work and rake in more billable work.
Conclusion: The UK bookkeeping software is one of the most cost-effective ways to boost your organisation’s productivity, while also reducing the data entry burden on your team and therefore keeping them happier. You can get a package of 5 login IDs from a good quality brand like Dext, at just GBP 20. With most brands, you can also get a free trial to test the software’s ability to make good on its promises. In addition, if there is dissent from your team on “trying something new” a free demo will put all doubts and concerns to rest.