6 SIGNS YOUR ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE IS PUTTING YOUR BUSINESS AT RISK

As your company expands in size and complexity and your consumers demand better and faster service, the tools that previously helped you may become a hindrance. Overhauling accounting software or business management systems may appear to be a daunting process for developing firms.

But what is the actual cost of trying to keep a system running that can’t keep up with demand? Failing to upgrade your technology can be a costly decision, whether it results in lost sales, customer unhappiness, or regulatory problems.

Here are the 6 Signs your accounting software is putting your business at risk, if any of these warning signals apply to you, it’s time to make a change.

1. We waste far too much time dealing with different systems that cannot communicate with one another.

2. Manual processes are prone to errors and, despite increased staff, cannot keep up with rising demand.

3. Creating and setting reports is exceptionally time-consuming and frequently fails to provide the required information.

4. Customers are dissatisfied, and sales are lost when incomplete or wrong information.

5. You can’t sleep at night because of increasing compliance and security concerns.

6. Time is wasted switching back and forth between various apps and disconnected systems, resulting in a loss of productivity.

There has never been a better time for businesses to modernize their systems. The cloud provides new opportunities for businesses of all sizes to expand capabilities, improve efficiency and mobility, and adapt to ever-changing business conditions at a lower cost.

It can be challenging to distinguish between solutions and find the best fit for your company, with many technology providers vying for your business. A modern technology platform, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, has the following characteristics:

Customers’ requirements and expectations have changed, but your accounting and business management systems can’t keep up. You require a cutting-edge technological platform that will link your company and its people like never before.

A comprehensive business management solution that can:

• Pull your systems and processes together automatically so your people don’t have to.
• Provide you with a comprehensive image of your organization, as well as reports when and where you need them.
• Get you up and running promptly so that change doesn’t disrupt your daily routine.

Information silos, fragmented systems, and manual processes prevent you from providing the level of service that your consumers expect, putting your company at risk. But which solution is best for your current business needs as well as your long-term growth objectives? How can you best prepare for change, and how will you know when your systems are ready to migrate to the cloud?

This article will help you assess the current health of your accounting and business management systems and processes, as well as the factors to consider while looking for new solutions.

1. Streamline chart of accounts
2. Set Default Dimensions
3. Restrict Dimension Combinations
4. Retire Dimensions if they become obsolete or create new dimensions without making a chart of account change.

In Business Central, there are two main types of dimensions: global dimensions and shortcut dimensions.

1. Global Dimensions — the most critical dimensions for your business. Unfortunately, in Business Central, you can only have two global dimensions, and they are located on the same table as your master records.
2. Shortcut Dimensions — allow for six additional analysis categories, called shortcut dimensions, which you can assign to other categories relevant to your business. These are mainly used as filters on journals and document lines.

Although Business Central can only have two global dimensions and six shortcut dimensions, the dimensions themselves are entirely customizable. It is up to you, as a company, to determine your worldwide dimensions. When it comes to shortcut dimensions, the number you may have is six, but you don’t have to use all six straight away. For example, you need to set up three shortcut dimensions if you only need three when you first start, and you may add more as needed. It’s also up to you to figure out what they’ll be and how you’ll put them to use.

Account schedules are tools we can use to arrange accounts listed in the chart of accounts in ways suited for presenting information about those accounts. You can set up various layouts to define the information you want to extract from the chart of accounts.

Business Central allows users to export their account schedules into Excel quickly as a Microsoft product. In addition, exporting them directly into PDF to attach to an email as a report pack is also possible.

Account categories can be used to alter the appearance of your financial statements. The underlying account schedules for the key economic reports are updated once you set up your account categories in the G/L Account Categories box and choose the Generate Account Schedules action. New totals and subentries are added based on your changes the next time you run one of these reports, such as the Balance Statement report.

We use Account Schedules to get visibility into the financial chart of accounts data stored in Business Central. As a result, reports like income statements, balance sheets, and cash flows are generated. Account Schedules aren’t quite as old as Business Central. Because Business Central is based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV, those familiar with or have worked with NAV may already be familiar with Account Schedules. Because Account Schedules are accessed and used directly within the Business Central program, report creation relies on proprietary code, layout, and formulas.

You can use the sample account schedules provided by Business Central or create your rows and columns. Account schedules, for example, can be used to compute profit margins based on dimensions such as departments or customer groups. Unfortunately, while you can construct as many account schedule financial statements as you desire, they are only available within Business Central unless and until they are manually exported to Excel using an export option.

• Learn about D365 Business Central (Cloud – ERP)
• Explore D365 Customer Engagement (Cloud – CRM)
• Discover Power Platform to build and automate low-code business solutions.
• Discuss how the TruNorth Dynamics team and Microsoft Dynamics platform can solve your unique business problems.