What Every Controller Must Know: 3 Productivity Traps and How to Eliminate them with the Paperless Office

1 ) Inefficient Workflow

Think about the documents you use to run your company. Consider the process each invoice, for example, must go through in order to make things happen. Invoices are created, routed, reviewed, approved, and paid.

The process can be slow and inefficient. First, the invoice arrives, then (hopefully) is routed to the right person for entry. Once entered, the invoice moves into the (manual) approval processes.

Hopefully, the person authorized to approve it has returned from her two-week Caribbean cruise. If not, it will sit on her desk until she returns tan, rested and ready to tackle the mountain of paperwork overflowing her inbox.

Once she reviews it, she finds a discrepancy. No problem, she’ll just leave a voice mail for her colleague who will get back to her as soon as he returns from the three-day training on TPS reports.

Well, you get the idea.

If only you had implemented a paperless office.

Think of the time and money you would have saved – not to mention the improved productivity! Here are a few ways utilizing the paperless office can streamline your business processes:

• Workflows can be initiated manually or based on predefined business rules.
• Documents can be attached to invoices and approval notifications sent by email.
• If the designated approver is on vacation, notifications can automatically be redirected so someone else can keep the process moving.

2 ) Not Ready for Prime Time Financial Reports

It’s not always easy to get a presentation-quality report out of your financial software.

Maybe you can run a report that extracts the data, such as Crystal Reports, but it’s not ready for prime time viewing. Or, you could export the data to a spreadsheet then hand it off to someone else to format. But will they be able to meet your deadline?

You could try doing it yourself. Sure, you’ve got time to copy, paste, and massage the data. Maybe a multi-step workaround will help you get what you need. Of course, you should be able to squeeze all this in while working on the month-end close.

Or, you could skip all the hassle and use accounting software that includes paperless office functionality. With just a few clicks you could export the data into a presentation-ready report suitable for distribution by email or on paper.

3 ) Underperforming Financial Software

Accounting software that hasn’t kept pace with your business growth inhibits productivity. Can you attach digital documents (a key feature of paperless office)? Are you able to access business data from a single screen? If not, your financial software is holding you back.

Admit it. Standing pat is easier. When you stick with an old version of software because the thought of upgrading is too daunting, you miss out on expanded functionality and increased productivity.

So, if your accounting staff is struggling to do what you need them to do, you may have outgrown your financial software.

Using an off-the-shelf software package may cost less up front but can’t address the specific needs of your industry. Not to mention the fact that in today’s dynamic environment your business needs are always evolving. Your accounting software should be able to scale with your business challenges and be a tool for managing growth.