As the well-known Christmas soundtracks follow us around the shops at this time of year, one particular song from the 1970’s may well capture the aspirations for your business in 2017 (more on that later).

We often hear from business owners that they feel they are spending too much time in the business and not able to lift their heads, away from the detail and administration, to understand performance and where the future opportunities lie.

One way a business can take control of this situation is to carry out a review of their accounting system.

Questions such as the ones below can start the process:

• What information would you like to receive?
• What are the problems with the current system?
• What would you like the accounting system to do?

Three ways to then address the issues identified include:

Am I getting the most out of the current system?

• Would we benefit from training?
• Has the software been updated recently?

Are there any other pieces of new software that can help improve efficiency/reporting?

• Add ons that link with your existing package
• Areas such as purchase invoice scanning/ecommerce links are popular

Is there a better accounting solution now on the market?

• Online software such as Xero and Net Suite  are gaining customers
• A number of niche offerings are now out in the market

How we can help

Start 2017 with an accounting system detox – our Accounting System health check works with you to go through many of the points above. It is a cost effective and quick way to prepare for the coming year. Get in touch with our Business Solutions team to find out more.

And the song from the '70s? Johnny Nash’s "I can see clearly now [the rain has gone]".