How accurate is your company’s accounting?

There’s a reason that many of us don’t love diving into spreadsheets. Many business owners aren’t fond of crunching numbers - it’s not why we do what we do. Many of us would rather focus on making our businesses thrive, and assume that reports from accounting give us all the information that we need. Unfortunately, errors in accounting can undercut efforts to manage your company wisely. And errors can be all too common.

Your management team should have a clear picture of the company’s finances in order to help make sound business decisions, but finding actionable insights buried in the complex finances of a company can be a challenge without the right accounting help in place.

The high cost of accounting errors

Accounting errors are the “unknown unknowns” for many mid-sized companies. What you don’t know can hurt your business.

For example, inaccurate accounting can obscure which areas of your business are profitable and which are not. High sales don’t benefit the bottom line if they are eaten up by high costs. This type of blind spot can lead you to make unwise hiring decisions or focus business development in the wrong areas. After getting some help and cleaning up their accounting, some companies have found that they were actually insolvent, even though they thought the numbers looked healthy.

Without accurate accounting information, your management team can’t make the right decisions for the long-term financial health of the business. You should know not only how much income you’re bringing in, but also what clients/areas of your business are profitable, where you may need to shift staff, and where you may be over-spending.

Use your time wisely

To manage your company profitably, you should put your staff’s time to its highest and best use. Rather than mailing out routine checks for AP, updating your bookkeeping processes frees up staff time for solving the potentially thorny problems that can’t be taken on by a bookkeeping solution. Rather than spending hours pouring over your books before you can create reports and visualizations to help management make sound financial decisions, what if you could have accurate figures at your fingertips within minutes, prepared by professionals who you trust? Transforming your bookkeeping by placing it in someone else’s hands can be an easier way to do your accounting that also helps confirm you are working with the right data.

Creating a roadmap to greater profitability

What would it take for your business to punch above its weight and secure highly desirable and lucrative clients and new customers? Great employees and excellent marketing are, of course, essential. You might not think that accounting also plays a role in your ability to go after and win big clients, but it does.

Here are a few of the reasons that midsize companies should have spotless accounting and bookkeeping to succeed.

• Your company has a fiduciary duty to its clients. It’s harder to sell yourself as a trustworthy business partner if you’re not keeping your own financial house in order.

• Accurate accounting can help you identify the clients you want to attract. When you understand the profitability of each team, you can focus on expanding the business in areas that can contribute to your overall financial health.

• You put yourself in a better negotiating position. If you don’t have an accurate picture of your financials, you might be at a disadvantage when you negotiate terms with a new client. You may want to offer a discount on a product or service. Is it worth it? The answer lies in your accounting. Without a clear picture of your overhead and costs of doing business, you could sign a contract with a new client or supplier that is only marginally profitable or even loses money. Fiscal clarity can help you make wise decisions about new clients.

• Advance staff time. When you don’t have to worry about managing your own books in house, you help free up your staff for other tasks. In addition, modern bookkeeping solutions help eliminate errors, and that can reduce the amount of time spent reviewing and correcting bills.

A better way to do your company’s bookkeeping

If your team relies on rarely-updated figures or accounting reports that contain hidden errors, you don’t have the information you need to make good management decisions. Streamlined, simple, and up-to-the-minute accounting protects you from mistakes that can drag the business down. That’s why PwC started Bookkeeping Connect to make accounting simple, efficient, transparent, and, above all, accurate.

Bookkeeping Connect gives you a constantly updated picture of your finances, backed by a team of PwC professionals. PwC’s easy-to-use, cloud-based reporting helps make accurate accounting simple. It digitizes bill payments, so accounts payable are handled seamlessly. Bookkeeping Connect puts the full picture of your company’s finances at your fingertips.

Migrating to Bookkeeping Connect is quick, easy, and fully-supported. It can make your accounting and bookkeeping more accurate and efficient.

Get the information you need to make decisions based on a clear assessment of your company’s financial picture. Improve your financial planning with greater transparency and accuracy in your bookkeeping. Reallocate staff time to better uses and help eliminate the need for new hires to handle accounting tasks.

Let Bookkeeping Connect streamline your midsize business’ accounting. Connect with us to learn more!