How to Get the Most Out of Your Financial Reporting System

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A financial reporting system is a vital part of any business’s success. Ensuring it’s done accurately and efficiently will save you valuable time and money.

Many companies choose the traditional route: hiring a financial manager and using financial reporting software to review their reports. However, this is time-consuming and doesn’t give you real-time financial data so you can make the kind of split-second decisions required to get the most out of your business.

As a result, more and more companies are switching to cloud-based accounting platforms – and loving the difference they make in their productivity. 

What is Financial Reporting?

Before you can understand why cloud-based accounting is beneficial, you must know what financial reporting is, and why it’s essential.

Financial reporting uses your statements to monitor the health and growth of your company. Although it offers many benefits, the main ones include:

• Evaluating your business’s performance
• Helping you make decisions on the future
• Mitigating errors
• Monitoring cash flow

Each of these areas is a vital part of running a successful business. Another reason financial reporting should be such an integral part of your business is to ensure you maintain SOX compliance. Sarbanes-Oxley or SOX is used to ensure your business isn’t partaking in fraudulent financial activity. By having a thorough and up-to-date financial report, you can avoid problems during this audit and save yourself a massive headache in the future.

What Does a Cloud-Based Accounting Platform Do?

Cloud-based accounting platforms can empower your company to operate more efficiently and make smarter financial decisions. For example, it allows you to gain a real-time view of your financial reports with multiple entities.

But why is that important? A real-time financial reporting system provides the most up-to-date view of your business, no matter where or when you want it. Unlike other systems where you have to close the books, have management review the reports, and then make time-consuming decisions, real-time reporting is instantaneous and far more accurate.

It also enables you to integrate with other systems and close your books faster. All of this leads to an optimized accounting workflow and allows you to create consolidated or unconsolidated reports. It’s no wonder why so many companies are choosing to switch.

Advantages of Using a Cloud-Based Accounting Platform

There are many advantages to using a cloud-based accounting platform for your business beyond real-time reporting. Listed below are some of the top benefits you can use to help your company not just grow but thrive!

1. Financial Management

Cloud-based accounting platforms are easy to learn for even the most technologically-challenged individuals and allow fast implementation and adaptability. They facilitate account consolidation, purchasing and order management, and easy access and monitoring of accounts payable and receivable. They also allow for the consolidation of financial statements, streamlining your workload and saving you time and energy.

2. Headless Accounting API

High-quality cloud-based accounting platforms enable software providers to build their own accounting functionality or connections to other software.

They provide pre-built features for support as you scale, seamless third-party integrations, and general ledger accounting and reporting APIs. This process enables you to create a custom financial reporting system that fits your company’s individual needs and lets you get the most out of your reports.

3. Cryptocurrency Accounting

Cryptocurrency is one of the fastest-growing currencies globally. As a result, the cloud-based accounting platform you choose needs to provide a service to help you utilize this lucrative option.

However, cryptocurrency is inherently volatile. As a result, it’s vital you select a platform capable of keeping up with the ever-changing crypto market. Make sure to choose a crypto accounting software that allows for seamless integration with crypto exchanges, features multi-wallet crypto management, and allows for real-time transactional accounting and reporting. 

What to Look For in a Cloud-Based Accounting Platform

When choosing the right cloud-based accounting platform for your business, there are several features you should look for, including:

• Adaptability: Ensure you choose a platform built to adapt as your business grows.
• Multi-Entity Structure: The platform should provide multi-dimensional charts of your accounts to enable you to manage multiple entities and locations seamlessly. 
• Real-Time Accounting: You should have access to real-time reports on your company’s gains, losses, and asset balances; there should never be a need for manual processing.
• Developer-Friendly API and Entity Structure: The platform you choose should allow software providers to build their own accounting functionality or connections to other software.
• Cloud-Native: Your platform should have cloud-native accessibility, which allows you to connect your transactions easily and get your financial data faster. 
• Intuitive and Easy-To-Use Functionality: The platform should allow your team to get the information they need effortlessly and faster than they ever thought possible.

In today’s high-tech and fast-paced economy, businesses need to ensure they have the tools necessary to maintain an edge over their competitors. This is precisely what a quality cloud-based accounting platform can provide. In conclusion, it’s vital you choose one that offers the wide range of services required to help propel your business forward and allow you to get the most out of the hard work you’ve put in. 

Empower Your Business

SoftLedger’s cloud-based accounting platform was purpose-built to empower its users to make informed, strategic decisions. With Softledger, you get all the power you need to operate multiple entities and layer in more complexity as you grow.

It also provides you with real-time data, easy connectivity, and all the tools required to ensure you can manage your business with ease. The best part is you get all the tools you need for your business at a fair price. This ensures you always get everything you need and nothing you don’t.

To see for yourself how SoftLedger can improve your financial reporting processes, book a demo today.

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