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Interested in improving efficiency and future-proofing your SME? Here’s how in 10 easy steps…

Improving efficiency is on the wish list of many a business; we all want to spend our time more productively and see profitable growth, right?

Identifying the action you can take to improve efficiency isn’t always that easy though, but with these fool-proof 10 easy steps you can achieve greater efficiency for your SME.

1. Plan it out.

Efficiency in business requires a solid, well thought out business plan – it’s what provides you with the roadmap to achieving your goals and the strategy by which you get there.

A great business plan that includes some adaptability will enable you to make well-informed business decisions and to allocate budgets and resources to the right places.

2. Figure out your financials.

Having the right financial management system at the heart of your business will set you on the path to success and profitable growth.

Future-focused businesses need a future-focused accounting solution – like cloud finance software, Sage Intacct. Intacct provides the essential tools to overcome barriers through powerful functionality, innovative features and impressive integration capabilities.

Smaller, growing businesses will find Sage Intacct Starter Edition ideal to support their vision with essential core functionality and features designed to grow with the business.

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accounting software

3. Prioritise Payments.

Your payment collection system needs to ensure no outstanding payments are missed, but make sure you time it properly:

  • Too soon = irritated customers
  • Too late = awkward and long-forgotten about!

With an intuitive software solution, the payment process can be automated, making it simpler and more effective.

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4. Utilise Resources.

However big or small your team is, when everyone’s operating on optimum efficiency, so is your business.

Choosing a finance management solution like cloud native Sage Intacct provides you and your team with the productivity tools and insights they need, that enable them to:

  • Utilise time in the most productive way.
  • Free up time through process automation.
  • View real-time progress of projects and tasks in permission-based dashboards.
system integration

5. Integrate Sales & Finance.

Alignment of your finance and sales systems is key for unrestricted business growth.

Modern cloud financial management solutions like Sage Intacct seamlessly link your sales and finance systems together, for a streamlined and more efficient way of working.

Salesforce and Sage Intacct integration improves efficiency in sales and finance through:

  • A ‘click-to-convert’ process of Salesforce quotes into Sales Intacct orders.
  • Automated invoicing.
  • Automatic revenue recognition.
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information on demand - real time reporting

6. Embrace Automation.

Switching from labour-intensive manual processes to automated processes eliminates manual error and can reduce month end close time by up to 79%.

Best-in-class solution Sage Intacct automates the complete quote-to-cash process, improving efficiency and freeing up time to focus on planning and growth.

7. Simplify Revenue Recognition.

Ensure you stay on top of your industry compliance regulations and audit ready with automatic revenue recognition.

The Sage Intacct-Salesforce integration recognises revenue at the right time, matching it to the right expenses. All your sales team need do is input an open and close date per opportunity, and the software does the rest.

8. Improve Project Profitability.

Managing multiple projects efficiently equals greater profitability and greater client satisfaction – a win-win situation.

Sage Intacct Project Accounting streamlines every step of project management – from creation to costs & status tracking.

Project Managers using Sage Intacct benefit from:

  • Custom on-demand reporting, drilling into granular detail.
  • Intuitive permission-based dashboards giving total visibility into the project at all stages.
  • Remote access to project status and progress via any internet-connected device.

With a complete picture of your projects in real time, tracking budgets vs actuals and making necessary adjustments ensure a more profitable project all round.

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Sage Intacct encourages Company-Wide Responsibility

9. Promote Ownership & Collaboration.

Giving your team the information they need, when they need it arms them with the toolkit to stay on top of their tasks and deadlines with ease.

Sage Intacct does just this, with functionality including:

  • Deep reporting capabilities that let you slice and dice data in real-time.
  • Instant visibility into KPIs across the business via role-based dashboards.
  • Saving finance teams up to 40 hours a month through process automation.

These time savings and efficiency improvements help foster an environment of cooperation and proactive strategic planning – with the added benefit of a happier workforce!

Free Infographic: The Digitalised Finance Function

10. Single source data management.

Still using manual processes and spreadsheets to manage sales and finances? Then it’s time to consider creating and maintaining one single source for data handling and storage.

Sage Intacct and Salesforce integration enables you to create items and enter data into one system, with automatic synchronisation to the other for accessibility across departments.

Using this type of solution improves efficiency by significantly reducing data entry time, as you only need input it once and reducing the risk of errors and duplication. Tracking business performance then becomes a breeze as well when everyone is using a single source of truth.

 

Ready to find out more?

As the only UK Sage partner offering fixed-price implementations, at Acuity we pride ourselves on building successful relationships with our customers.

We have 30+ years of Sage product experience and expertise in complex UK and international implementations, and a friendly, knowledgeable team!

Simply fill in the below form and we’ll be in touch to arrange an informal discussion or free demo.