3 ways to improve your view of your company’s finances
Key takeaways
- Many organizations underutilize existing software and other financial records. Assigning someone to prepare financial reports can help.
- Granular views will help you gain insights into your most profitable work, which offerings hurt profitability, and other important measures.
- Bank alerts keep you updated and ready to take necessary action.
Insight is at the heart of good planning and decision making. Accounting software and other financial records can hold the answers to where your profits come from, where you lose money, and other keys to success.
Use your spring-cleaning push as a time to improve your use of important financial information.
1. Become fully versed in your accounting software
surprising number of business owners don’t make full use of their accounting software’s capabilities, says Melissa Bello, Vice President at Citizens. QuickBooks®, Zoho Books, FreshBooks®, and similar software can offer crucial insight into everything — from which customers are most profitable to which expenses threaten your financial health. Fundamental information about overpayments, duplicate payments, and other data is also readily available.
Lack of time is the reason most organizational leaders don’t regularly review the financial measurements that can inform them. As part of your spring cleaning, meet with your financial advisor to determine which insights will help you most, and then set up your software program to provide you with regularly generated reports containing this information. A one-time commitment to establishing this important habit can improve your performance for years to come.
2. Seek out advanced or integrated software
If you’re already well versed in your accounting tools and need greater insight or ways to pull together data from all corners of your organization, consider more comprehensive software or integrating your accounting software with other technology. For example, FreshBooks integrates with third-party apps like Google’s G Suite™ for project management, and HubSpot helps with marketing and customer interactions. QuickBooks Advanced provides additional customization and reports so you can view which activities bring in the most business or which teams are the most profitable. Review your software’s options for upgrades or integration to get better insights and tools.
3. Set up bank alerts for on-the-go information
Go through your bank to set up alerts on important account activity and get immediate updates that will keep you apprised of your activities throughout the day. For instance, you can find out when a deposit lands or a check clears so you’ll have real-time insight to keep an eye on your cash flow. Citizens' accessOPTIMA™ platform is customizable and allows for real-time information alerts via email or text. You can also create long-term reports that provide comprehensive viewing of your data.
Ready to take the next step?
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Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only as a service to the public, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel, nor does it constitute advertising or a solicitation. You should do your own research and/or contact your own legal or tax advisor for assistance with questions you may have on the information contained herein.
Quicken and QuickBooks are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc.
Zoho Books is a trademark of ZOHO Corporation.
FreshBooks is a registered trademark of 2ndSite Inc.
Google G Suite is a trademark of Google Inc.
HubSpot is a registered trademark of HubSpot Inc.
References to resources or organizations listed in this article do not constitute or imply endorsement or support by Citizens Bank.