By upgrading to an accounting software that streamlines operations by automating time consuming manual processes , enterprises are directly reducing their need to employ staff to manage this workload and are also minimising the associated cost of labour . For example , Optical Character Recognition ( OCR ) systems can be used to eliminate the manual data entry that would usually be required for purchase invoices arriving by email . While many accounting systems claim to have OCR , many are quite limited in what they can do . A solution that can read a scanned image , create a system transaction , match it to a purchase order and send it into an authorisation process complete with the digital document to be checked maximises accuracy and efficiency throughout the entire process .

Likewise , interoperable systems can use APIs to allow transactions and sales invoices into the system , avoiding error prone manual entry . Although companies may not consider the usability and design of software to impact cost savings , the easier it is for users to physically navigate the software , the more productive they will be and the greater the number of tasks that can be processed .

A vital application of automation is to debt management systems . Rather than requiring staff members to physically spot and chase missing payments at a late stage , outstanding debts can be chased using automatic processes that generate emails and letters without employee intervention . This allows enterprises to boost efficiencies , reduce bad debt write- offs , and crucially , receive payments faster . Similarly , automated bank reconciliation minimises instances of payments entering the wrong account , while bringing an assurance that business-critical financial decisions will always be based on consistent and accurate information .

Enterprises should also be confident in their ability to spot problems that , if unreported , could see them lose essential revenue . They should consider whether the reporting capabilities of their current finance system are living up to the requirements of the organisation . For example , an effective system should be able to create real-time exception reporting to highlight problems , such as overspend , early enough for users and managers to spot and for corrective action to be taken . It may also be able to create an additional reporting structure that focuses on potential problem areas in order for them to be spotted sooner .

To spread costs and protect cashflow , businesses should also consider implementing a cloud accounting system . As this software is held remotely on external systems , the requirement for internal data storage , as well as the need to buy and maintain hardware , is eliminated . This further reduces the costs associated with hiring skilled IT employees to manually manage these processes and servers .

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