What Is an Integrated Accounting System and How Can It Help Your Company?

In simple terms, an integrated accounting system is a software package that consolidates several major financial accounting processes. Whereas businesses were once dependent on keeping separate books and files for management accounting, now they can complete all the processes with just one application.

Integrated accounting systems make the task of handling finances so much easier on companies, especially those that are looking to upscale or to modernize. The consistent and uniform flow of data, as well as the capacity to process it all, will grant any business owner a big competitive advantage. By using this software, a business can gain greater control over its financial processes, and in turn become more lucrative in its operations.

Before you adopt such a system for your own business, you may want to know more about what it entails. To that end, here’s a briefer on the workings and the benefits of an integrated accounting system. This should give you a good idea of what to expect when you purchase the software.

What Is the Integrated Accounting System Capable of Doing?

The key selling point of an integrated accounting system is its ability to “self-balance” financial records. It is capable of reconciling all the financial data keyed into it in real-time and in an accurate manner.

Thus, a typical package of integrated accounting software will be able to complete the following tasks among others:

• Everyday billing and bookkeeping tasks
• Bank reconciliation, or matching the cash balance in company books with the amount in its bank statement
• Keep track of purchase orders
• Keep ledgers for accounts payable and accounts receivable
• Process electronic payments
• Manage the company’s payroll

Some systems can also be linked to a company’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software or its customer relationship management (CRM) software. In addition to accounting data, such systems will also be able to access data from point-of-sale (POS) terminals or inventory management modules from warehousing facilities. In other words, businesses can enjoy “all-around” functionality from software packages like these.

The Benefits of Adopting an Integrated Accounting System

Among the benefits to be had from an integrated accounting system, these are what a modernizing company can look forward to.

Less of a Need to Manually Input Data

One of the most exhausting tasks in traditional accounting is the manual input of numbers. Nobody in your accounting team looks forward to writing the same numbers over and over again, and then needing to balance new figures against them. But the self-balancing feature in an integrated accounting system will greatly reduce your need to key in these numbers. It will save you and your team a lot of time and reduce the number of mistakes made by human error.

Stay on Top of Complex Accounting Processes

An integrated accounting system will help you clear even difficult accounting processes, such as job costing and calculating sales commissions. You and your staff will have a much easier time doing these with the software as compared to doing them through traditional accounting methods.

Get a Bird’s Eye View of the Business’s Financial Situation

Thanks to the features of an integrated accounting system, you’ll be able to garner some wide-ranging insight on your company’s financial situation. Both your business forecasting and your financial decision-making will be backed up by credible, accurate, and up-to-date accounting records.

Push Your Business Towards Modernization

20th century accounting methods will eventually cease to be enough for a 21st century company. While you have the opportunity, it would be good for you to modernize your accounting processes. Doing so is one of the most effective ways to keep your business competitive and to guard it from obsoletion.

Making the Shift to Integrated Accounting Software

There’s no denying that you will have to shell out for an integrated accounting system. And once you purchase the software, you will also need to give your staff time to learn how to use it.

But for the greater efficiency and control that it will afford your company, integrated accounting software is a worthwhile investment. Look up the software packages offered by business solutions experts in your area.