It’s pretty disappointing to peel a perfectly ripe, yellow banana only to find that it is badly bruised underneath and not edible.
I call it the passive aggressive banana. Someone previously hurt that banana but it doesn’t tell you it’s hurt until later. It can take a full 24 hours before its peel turns brown from being dropped or smashed. But the damage is done and it’s hurt on the inside. The problem is masked behind an “everything is OK” facade.
Did you know that your business’ accounting problems can hide from you in the same way? It may look like nothing is wrong, but there is a hidden bruise underneath the facade that everything is great. Perhaps overhead expenses have increased, or you are paying for too many people based on the work you need done. Or even more sneaky – your people haven’t been trained appropriately to be most effective in their positions. These hidden bruises are costs that are stunting your full growth potential and ultimately hurting your bottom line.
I’d love to serve as your financial passive aggressive banana taste tester! I’ll peel back the skin of your finances to determine where the hidden bruises are so we can nurse your business back to health. Schedule a consultation with me today to learn more about what financial bruises might be hiding from you.
How can I leverage financial business technology to save money?
One of the easiest ways to overcome hidden bruises in your financial situation is to streamline financial processes by leveraging technology. It’s common that accounting and finance are the last teams in a company to be brought up to speed with the latest and greatest tech. Usually, it’s because the business owner is handling the finances directly or it’s a small team that doesn’t drive sales. And since it isn’t tied directly to money coming in, the creeping cost to keep doing things the way they’ve always been done isn’t apparent.
Ditching the Paper Weight for Electronic Efficiency is the most obvious way to streamline your processes, but below are several additional things you can do to make the process faster and easier.
Should I use cloud-based accounting software?
Some people ask me whether keeping a list of expenses in a spreadsheet is sufficient for their business records. While there’s a million reasons it’s not a good idea, honestly, accounting software is quicker and results in less mistakes than a human, which means it is usually cheaper. I always recommend my clients review their options for cloud-based accounting software and vet them based on their business needs. Cloud-based software is relatively stable and their servers often have backup policies and procedures that protect your information. (Double check the software you chose does have a backup!)
Be sure to keep tabs on the software your company uses and the purpose of each. It’s easy to go knee deep in using various softwares and forget to cancel when you decide to switch providers. Make a list of everything you use, including name, website, brief description, and employee/contractor positions with a log in. Check it every 6 months to make sure you are only paying for what you need. The idea is to cut costs for subscriptions you don’t use to stretch your dollar as much as possible.
Pro tip: Techsoup.org is an excellent resource for nonprofits. It provides access to a ton of software for a much lower cost. For example, QuickBooks Online is 1/12 the cost for nonprofits through techsoup! Google Workspace is also free for nonprofits (directly through Google, not techsoup).
How can I be sure my financial technology is cybersecure?
As you sign up for payment software systems, take a look at how secure their software is and read up on the security of the data on their platform. If you store customers’ credit card information in Square, for example, it’s critical for them to protect your customer’s data. Do your research ahead of time to select the technology that both you and your customers can trust.
One of the biggest benefits of using software to store your customer’s financial data is that you aren’t responsible if something goes wrong. With this type of software, you can add a “pay now” button on your website that sends your customers straight to the merchant processor to share their information. Big companies like Square have much higher security than your company since it’s their speciality. This leaves both you and your customers with financial peace of mind.
Pro tip: If keeping your customer data in your own system makes it more efficient for you, make sure you are still compliant with PCI standards. It’s not worth the risk. Here’s why financial safety and security should be a top priority.
Should I automate invoicing and payment collection?
Invoicing and payment collection is easy to put on autopilot through systems like QuickBooks Online. It saves time and reduces errors. Through these efficient systems, you can automate reminders for overdue invoices and start the collection process. However, if things are still overdue after multiple reminders go out, nothing will replace a hounding phone call from a human. It’s easier to ignore an email than a phone ringing consistently.
Unfortunately, you can’t fully set it and forget it when it comes to collections – you have to be diligent. I have one client who jokingly calls their collections process their harassment program!
What software should I use for financial approvals and workflows?
You used to need an expensive system for financial workflow approvals, but in today’s age, software can automate the most complicated of workflows at an affordable cost.
Let’s say you need to order a shipment of bananas to fulfill an upcoming client order. Software like Bill.com and Melio can automate the process of getting approval from the right person, based on the cost threshold and/or vendor name, and move it along to the next step automatically. You can receive approval and pay your vendors faster than you can say, “no more passive aggressive bananas!”
These software companies charge monthly fees to process payments (and might also charge a percentage of the transaction) but it still may be better and cheaper than paying a person to do it manually – considering the time investment and potential for human error.
Be sure that whatever system you choose integrates with your accounting software as seamlessly as possible. You don’t want to enter financial transactions into two different systems – that’s a reconciliation nightmare.
Pro tip: Use Chat GPT or your favorite AI tool of choice to research your options. This can be helpful when trying to scrape research data off of several websites to find the best fit. But I don’t recommend using AI for more than research. AI tools for financial analysis offer generic results that merely convert numbers into sentence format rather than looking deeper to find the “why” of your financial situation.
Are internal controls required when leveraging financial technology?
Internal controls are policies and procedures that ensure employees are not stealing from the company or lying about the financial status of the business. You might be thinking, “I trust my employees – they would never steal from me!” I understand it’s hard to imagine such a thing – but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Once you move to using technology to streamline your financial processes, there are a lot of moving parts to keep track of. Setting up internal controls might seem unnecessary from an efficiency standpoint, but there is way too much risk when you allow one person to have all the power and control over your business finances. Learn How To Set Up Basic Internal Controls To Prevent Fraud And Embezzlement.
Your Partner For Financial Health
Leveraging technology to streamline your financial processes can reduce the workload on your current accountants so they don’t need to work overtime and instead have time to do the extra stuff you want them to do. I’d love to help you determine where your financial systems need some help. Reach out today for a consultation to get started.
