Is it time to move on? How to determine if you need a new accounting system.

In the early stages of getting to know our clients or prospects, we often hear them say, “We need a new accounting system, this one is terrible.”  We get it — they don’t like the one they have — but we can’t commit right then and there that a new system will be better. Mainly because the chances are high that they don’t use their current system to its fullest extent.

Below are some questions to help evaluate your current accounting system, including what to look for, and ways to confirm whether they are real problems:

Lack of reporting (or you have many schedules in Excel, instead of from the system). 

• What report writer does the software use?  Make sure there is someone in your organization that’s on top of how to use that tool.
• How often does your management team ask for another tweak to a report or another field to be added or calculated?  If it’s more than once a year, all these specifics can cause something to no longer be a report generated from a click out of the system.
• Do you pull together data from multiple sources?  It can be a good internal control to keep systems separate; but then you may need to use a tool like Excel to merge it together again

Too many manual processes.

• Who in your organization is familiar with all the add-on products you can buy to complement your software package? Do they sell add-ons that will automate your connection with the bank?  Does one of the Accounts Payable (AP) automation tools out there work with your system? (For more information on AP automation, check out our blog from September.)  
• Have you looked into an onsite deposit machine or a lockbox?
• Do you know how to use your system?  Many systems these days work with grids of data that can be cut and pasted into from Excel.  Talk about a time saver.

Expensive annual maintenance.

• What is included in the price? You need to know what value you’re getting for your money.  Sometimes that larger packages come with higher fees, but they also come with User Forums, Help Desk Support, Online Help Directories, and Back-up Solutions.
• Is it worth the effort? If you’re thinking of a new package, scope out the project in full to understand the process. Moving systems is months of work, and the sticker price may not be the whole picture – do you planning.

Integration with other systems.

• What are the capabilities of your current system? Make sure you understand what’s possible with your current system, including additional steps you can take to get everything you want.  Maybe it doesn’t ‘talk’ real time with your accounting software, but with an upload of a report you can accomplish the same thing.
• Do you fully understand what is involved? Before you sign on the dotted line make sure you understand what is involved in the integration.  It may not be disclosed that the integration is only partial (i.e., it will upload Accounts Receivable items, but not time entries and Expense Reports).  A partial integration may be all that you need, but better to walk into it knowing all the integration capabilities.

Sometimes it just feels like the right time to move from an on-premises system to a cloud reporting tool, and that’s okay.  But don’t rush to say that the systems you have right now are ‘terrible’ until you fully understand the capabilities of your current system and you’ve given your current software provider a chance to re-sell you on your current product.