Your accounting and finance function are often seen as an overhead but knowing how and what to invest in this area can create huge benefits for your business.
Here, Chris Atkinson focuses on the procurement process and explains why having the right technology and processes in place can streamline operations and create cost savings.
Previously requiring big investments but now accessible for a fraction of the price, the rise in cloud accounting, apps and ‘add ons’ that integrate with your accounting software has enabled businesses to adopt much more sophisticated processes.
One area of the finance function that has benefited is purchasing, where technology can be implemented to create and/or supplement the procurement process and purchase ledger.
ApprovalMax is a cloud approval workflow system that enables spend control – allowing you to set budgets and control your teams spend. When synced with your cloud accounting software, ApprovalMax can be used to create approval authorisation levels and automate the approval process.
You can set spend budgets for individuals or departments, creating multi-step routes for approval decisions based on level. Each approval decision is audit-ready and documented with a complete approval history, including all approvers’ comments.
ApprovalMax can be used within your business to eliminate duplicate payments, ensure accountability and make certain your spend is within a defined budget.
Once you’ve raised the purchase order and the invoice arrives, the two need to be matched and processed by your purchase ledger.
Receipt Bank can automate this process, eliminating data entry by scanning key details from the invoice. Quite simply, you can scan purchase invoices, take a picture with your smart phone or send via email and Receipt Bank will process the data entry. Key data such as supplier, amount and VAT will automatically be extracted and processed in your accounting software.
How much does such software cost? ApprovalMax starts at £27 per month, while Receipt Bank starts at £10 per month.
ApprovalMax and Receipt Bank can be used to remove bottlenecks, report in real time, while also empowering teams and individuals to take control of their area.
Using our expertise and experience, our cloud consulting team can work with you to implement the technology and define the process for your finance function.
For more information on how cloud accounting can improve your finance function please visit our website www.bhpprosper.co.uk.
