Gone are the days when accountants simply recorded transactions and produced standard reports for management review. Today’s accountants are facing an increasing demand from business leaders to deliver more in-depth analysis of data collected from across the organization so they can let the numbers drive their decisions.

This, at first, can seem to be an uncomfortable shift in job requirements. Accountants are traditionally drawn to time-tested methods and solutions, and are hesitant to adopt new things, especially at the risk of disrupting the orderly and accurate systems they’ve become accustomed to.

Yet, the business landscape continues to evolve at an ever-quickening pace; companies that are agile and able to adapt – usually those that leverage newer technologies to make the most of their business data – are the ones that will stay ahead of their competitors.

How can accountants meet the increasing demand for information from management without sacrificing structure, order, and accuracy? Better yet, how can they become proactive, getting ahead of the technology curve and setting their company up for future growth?

In this article, we’ll explore how Acumatica’s advanced features can become the secret weapon accountants need to deliver the insights management is demanding – now and in the future.

Acumatica Facilitates Accurate and Organized Data Capture

Many organizations are still depending on manual methods to collect data and generate reports. Due to the rapid pace of business, such reports are often out of date before accountants can finish formatting them.

What is more, since accounting, customer, and process data often live in disparate systems, it can be difficult – if not impossible – to get a truly accurate picture of current operations. This also puts decision-makers at a disadvantage, forcing them to go with their “best guess”.

On the other hand, with Acumatica, everyone is working with one centralized system – a ‘single source of truth’. All departments contribute to the collection of customer and organizational data, and the system ensures orderly and accurate data capture. Rather than duplicate data, or customer records that are out of sync, you have reliable and complete information on which to base your reports.

Many ERP solutions strive for that ideal, but because of costly user-based licensing schemes, only certain personnel are able to enter data and interact with the ERP. This can create a roadblock, forcing users without access to rely on others or resort to manual processes. However, Acumatica allows unlimited users by default, letting everyone in your organization access the system at no additional cost.

How Acumatica Helps You Become Proactive

Acumatica has a host of powerful features that help the proactive accountant go beyond the basics.

Financial Management. To get ahead and stay ahead, you need a properly structured and segmented chart of accounts, along with multi-location support, and the ability to allocate expenses across different business segments. Not all systems can deliver the depth of accounting control necessary to produce the kind of analysis and insight that today’s leaders need while still maintaining regulatory and accounting standards compliance. Acumatica goes above and beyond, giving you unparalleled flexibility and fine-grained control.

Cash Management. Cash on hand is what keeps operations running smoothly. It’s about more than just bank reconciliation; delivering accurate reports on current balances, along with cash flow forecasting will help management adjust to changes and keep the company solvent. Proactive cash management allows both accountants and business leaders to move beyond the balance to recognize and take advantage of future opportunities to improve cash flow.

Customer Management. Managing incoming orders and ensuring they are invoiced in a timely manner is critical to generate net income. Inefficient Accounts Receivable processes can create a backlog, and such delays can result in inaccurate data. Not having an accurate financial picture can affect business decisions, and even result in lost revenue. Slow invoicing thus delays incoming payments, occupying a significant portion of your accounting staff’s time with collection activities. Acumatica automates much of the repetitive work, eliminating bottlenecks and keeping your financial data accurate up-to-the-minute.

Vendor Management. Establishing proper controls while streamlining approvals is key to an agile Accounts Payable process. Yet, if the process is largely manual or inflexible, your organization is prone to budget overruns and missed opportunities. Acumatica automates much of the workflow, allowing efficient management of purchasing, spending, and vendor relationships while being flexible enough to allow you to take advantage of opportunities when they come along.

Inventory Management. Inventory levels are another crucial aspect of your business. Too high, and your raw materials will dry up your cash flow. Too low, and your production line comes to a halt. Keep your company in the black and ensure timely, consistent delivery to your customers with the extensive inventory management tools in Acumatica.

Customer Relationship Management. Acquiring new customers is an order of magnitude more costly than nurturing your relationships with the customers you already have. Cultivating those relationships is made easier with CRM software built into Acumatica. Moreover, customer data has become just as valuable as financial data, and it makes good sense to keep it all in the same system to add further depth to business insights.

Proactive Accounting with Acumatica Leads to Success

With the right tools, accountants and business leaders alike can move beyond reactive management to proactive practices that put them ahead of the competition. Cloud ERP allows easy, yet very secure access to all stakeholders, whether in the office or on the go, on any device. Business data is accurately captured and kept current. Processes flow smoothly. Reporting and forecasting are reliable, being based on a single source of truth that stays up to date.

Acumatica helps the proactive accountant to keep company records accurate, stay compliant, and deliver timely insights to keep the business moving forward.

Would you like to learn more about the features of Acumatica that benefit the proactive accountant? Download the eBook for greater detail and contact us today to learn how Acumatica can help you unify and streamline your operations.