• Products
    • Sales Order Management
    • Inventory Management
    • Inventory and Demand Planning
    • Shipping & Fulfillment
    • Warehouse Management
    • Retail Accounting
    • Purchasing & Supplier Management
    • Workflow Automation
    • Reporting & Business Intelligence
    • Payments
    • CRM
    • POS
  • Services
    • Implementation
    • Training
    • Support
    • Customer Success
    • Service Tiers
  • Integrations
  • Who we serve
    • For Online Retailers
    • For Wholesalers
    • For Brands
    • For Multichannel
    • For Brick & Mortar Stores
    • BigCommerce
    • Magento
    • Shopify
    • Amazon
    • eBay
    • Walmart
  • Why Brightpearl
    • Why Brightpearl
    • Customer Stories
    • Our Partners
    • Pricing
  • Resources
    • Resource Center
    • Guides
    • Blog
    • Press
    • Hot Topics
  • Book a Demo
  • Login
Understanding The Omnichannel Retail Customer Journey [Infographic]
February 9, 2017
Accelerate your business: Hear top tips for retail success
February 16, 2017

6 Reasons you Should Use Accounting Software with Small Business Clients

Published by Brightpearl on February 15, 2017

When working with small businesses, many accounting firms look to products like Microsoft Excel. This may seem like a simple “go-to” option for clients that have less volume, especially given the comfort most people have with such tools and the negligible cost.

There are, however, some overlooked advantages to using official accounting software with small business clients. To offer an analogy, imagine you’ve asked a large real estate firm to help you sell your home. Because the firm specializes in larger, commercial real estate, instead of using their existing tools and processes to market your home, they piece together a new process just for you. This new process may suffice, but it won’t sell your home as quickly as the other.

This same scenario plays out when we reserve our accounting software for only large clients. Here are six reasons you should use accounting software with small business clients as well.

 

1. Developed by Accounting Professionals

Most accounting software is developed and designed by experts who live and breathe accounting. When you use accounting software, you’re not going to be designing and developing your own process for each small business client. You’ll be able to keep all of your work consistent, which saves time and conveys integrity to your customers.

2. Access from Multiple Devices

The days of working from a desk and clocking out at 5 p.m. are dwindling. More professionals are using mobile devices to work “on the go,” both because of the obvious convenience and to maximize productivity. You will need to be able to access your client’s information from any device (not just your desktop), as will any other associates in your firm who require visibility into that account. Additionally, your client will want to be able to access their information as well. When you’re utilizing accounting software, there is no need for a “master” form as is necessary within a tool like MS Excel.

3. Make Audits Easier

Accounting software automatically provides an audit trail. This lets you know who made changes and updates to a client’s books, what those changes were, and when they happened. In the event of an audit, this information can be simply and easily retrieved, which takes the guesswork out of compliance. Automated workflows also reduce the risk of costly human errors.

4. All-in-One Capabilities

Rather than using a separate system to create, send, and receive invoices, accounting software lets you process invoices from the same place you already do most of your work. When you’re doing ad-hoc projects, you might have to create one process to manage client books and another to manage their invoicing. Why not bring all of those accounting functions into one place?

5. On-Demand Reporting

Small business clients are no different when it comes to wanting reports quickly. Without the use of an accounting software tool, you’ll have to create those reports manually, by analyzing data, crunching numbers, and creating your own visualizations. Software tools can generate several kinds of reports in just a few clicks, providing your client with the most up-to-date information possible.

6. Client Engagement

Accounting software isn’t just for accountants; you can also share access with decision-makers in your client companies to improve visibility and trust. When a small business client is engaged with your accounting process, they develop a better understanding of their finances and with accounting “jargon” that would otherwise be confusing. That means they can be more confident with the accounting side of their business, rather than looking at is as a necessary evil.

 

The reasons for using accounting software with small business clients aren’t terribly different from the reasons for larger clients. Making accounting processes run more smoothly and engaging your clients in a positive way provides a win-win for both you and your customers. If you’re looking for more advice, why not take a look at this blog that highlights 8 important features to look for in a retail accounting software. 

 

This blog was written by Jessica Barrett Halcom from Technology Advice who specializes in accounting software, crm software, and marketing automation software. 

Get more content like this
direct to your inbox.

Share
0
Brightpearl
Brightpearl

Related posts

April 20, 2020

Understanding Landed Costs & The Profit Margin Formula


Read more
March 22, 2020

FIFO vs LIFO – Which is Best?


Read more
March 18, 2019

The Latest On Economic Nexus & How New Sales Tax Laws Affect You


Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

brightpearl logo

Company

  • Brightpearl life
  • Our People
  • Perks & benefits
  • Opportunities
  • Press

Useful links

  • Help center
  • API

Partner Services

  • Find a partner
  • Become a partner
  • Refer a customer
  • Partner resources

Contact Us

  • +1-888-320-5069
  • +44(0) 117 981 7361
  • Get in touch
  • Contact support

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Youtube

© Brightpearl Copyright 2020 All rights reserved

Privacy policy T & Cs Security Terms 0f use
  • Sales Order Management
  • Inventory Management
  • Inventory and Demand Planning
  • Shipping & Fulfillment
  • Warehouse Management
  • Retail Accounting
  • Purchasing & Supplier Management
  • Workflow Automation
  • Reporting & Business Intelligence
  • Payments
  • CRM
  • POS
brightpearl order management icon

Sales Order Management

  • Manage multichannel orders in one system
  • Integrated POS, ecommerce, marketplaces, EDI, shipping and 3PL
  • Process thousands of orders daily
  • Integrate multi-warehouse fulfillment
brightpearl inventory planning icon

Inventory Management

  • Track inventory from purchase to sale
  • Automated inventory cost accounting
  • Make data-driven purchasing decisions
  • Gail real-time insight across multiple locations and sales channels
brightpearl inventory planning icon

Inventory and Demand Planning

  • Automatic forecast for replenishment
  • Invest in the right products
  • Release money tied up in overstock
  • Order enough product to meet demand
brightpearl shipping and fulfillment icon

Shipping & Fulfillment

  • Multi-location warehouse management
  • Manage complex order fulfillment
  • Automated shipping integrations
  • Configurable workflows
brightpearl warehouse management icon

Warehouse Management

  • Multi-location warehouse management
  • Intuitive barcode scanning system
  • Fewer mistakes on the pick / pack / ship process
  • Lower order handling time
brightpearl retail accounting icon

Retail Accounting

  • Automatically account for trading activity
  • Generate a P&L and balance sheet on demand
  • Real-time accounts payable & receivable
  • Expand through cross-border trade with multi-currency support
brightpearl purchasing and supplier icon

Purchasing & Supplier Management

  • Real-time accounts payable
  • Landed cost management
  • Manage relationships with suppliers
  • Update inventory costs using FIFO method
brightpearl workflow automation icon

Workflow Automation

  • Intuitive rule-based workflow automation
  • Automate your entire order-to-cash process
  • Minutes to set up and change
  • Save time on manual tasks and lower human error
brightpearl reporting icon

Reporting & Business Intelligence

  • Analyze sales and performance
  • Real-time accounts payable and receivable
  • Generate a P&L and balance sheet on demand
  • Define low-inventory quantities
brightpearl payments icon

Payments

  • Send click-to-pay invoices
  • B2B payment workflows
  • Take payment for phone orders
  • Save client card details for future use
brightpearl crm icon

CRM

  • Automate your email marketing
  • 360-degree view of customers
  • Wholesale CRM
  • Improve your customer service
brightpearl pos icon

POS

  • Save the sale when you don’t have an item in stock
  • Offline mode
  • Real time performance
  • Pause transactions

By Business Type

  • For Online Retailers
  • For Wholesalers
  • For Brands
  • For Multichannel
  • For Brick & Mortar Stores

By Ecommerce Channel

  • BigCommerce
  • Magento
  • Shopify
  • Amazon
  • eBay
  • Walmart