How to Use Accounting Software to Manage Your Small Business Finances

Accounting software facilitates proficient financial management, saving valuable time on other meaningful tasks. Automation, report generation, and accurate data entry are just a few beneficial functions. 

Read on for guidance on how to use key accounting software features to support your small business’ finances.

Manage Financial Transactions

Categorise transactions into assets, equity, revenue, expenses, and liabilities by creating tabs or matches, depending on your software. Automate reminders to ensure prompt payments and operate user-friendly sites, like Xero, to offer customers more ways to pay, such as “Pay Now” or debit and credit options. Quickly clearing outstanding bills helps you maintain control over your accounts receivable. 

Generate Financial Reports

Create monthly profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and aged payables or receivables to support accurate bookkeeping throughout the financial year. Modern technology facilitates report generation with little manual input or generation. 

Digitising your financial data means software can automatically retrieve figures and generate an accurate report. Financial visibility is an excellent way to evaluate your business’ health and growth. 

Integrate Payroll Management

Use payroll accounting software to automate payments and ensure your team receives timely entitlements. Timesheet features allow you to track employee hours, paid time off, overtime, night shifts, and sick leave. Automation also contributes towards tax calculations, helping you identify any deductibles or contributions, such as superannuation and fringe benefits, and prepare for tax returns.

Implement a Business Continuity Plan

Select appropriate storage locations to back financial data up to protect significant loss during unexpected system downtime. Save reports to secure network folders built into your computer, another cloud computing system, or an external hard drive. Data preservation helps save time and resources on recovery. 

Connect Software to your Bank

Create digital bank feeds between your accounting software and bank to speed up reconciliation. Setting rules helps you sustain accuracy and organisation when generating reports. For example, grouping allows you to link transactions from a particular payment card to pre-made categories, like overhead costs or travel. Aligning recorded and business balances quickly ensures you identify discrepancies in real-time, further improving reporting accuracy. 

Gain Professional Accounting Software Support 

Efficient financial management is pivotal to making key decisions about expansion, health, resources, and recruitment. Contact us for professional guidance on navigating accounting software.