Embracing the Digital Transformation in Accounting and Billing
The digital transformation is one of the hottest topics in business management right now. It is not necessarily a new concept, having actually started a few years ago. But companies not yet fully functioning in a digital environment are gradually finding themselves caught up in the transformation whether they like it or not. We have seen this firsthand in accounting and billing.
Accounting and billing are extremely important to what we do as an AR factoring company. Factoring is a short-term financing tool that enables us to provide companies with cash by buying some of their unpaid invoices. Rest assured we get a lot of insight into individual accounting and billing systems just through our normal course of business.
We can tell you that a lot of businesses have already transitioned to digital accounting and billing. Others have not. The latter will eventually have to make the transition or be left completely behind.
Not the Same Thing As Digitization
It should be noted that the digital transformation is not the same thing as digitization. Companies have been digitizing for decades by turning paper documents into digital equivalents. The computer age has seen to that.
So what is the digital transformation? It is the process of transitioning analog systems to digital systems. More importantly, it involves putting those systems in the cloud. In an accounting and billing scenario, the digital transformation almost always involves investing in a single solution for managing everything accounting related. That includes payables, receivables, billing, and daily bookkeeping.
Accounting Made Easier
Embracing the digital transformation across a company’s entire infrastructure drastically changes everything. It certainly makes accounting easier. First and foremost, utilizing a single cloud-based app to manage every aspect of accounting streamlines everything from billing to budgeting. A centralized location for all accounting data makes reporting easier. And when it comes to something like factoring your invoices, it is a lot easier to see the bigger picture.
Tips for Going Digital
Understanding the advantages of the digital transformation is one thing. Actually going digital is something else entirely. If your company hasn’t started the transformation yet, know that your time will eventually come. Here are a few tips we can offer:
- Start with an Assessment – Not every company makes the digital transformation in the same way. Before you spend a dime, start with an assessment of your company’s needs. Hire a consultant to help you figure it out if necessary.
- Assess All Options – With a good handle on your company’s requirements, you need a thorough assessment of all your options. You will be looking at different accounting and billing solutions; you’ll be comparing off-the-shelf products against custom solutions; you will have to consider cloud products as well as locally hosted apps.
- Plan for Migration – Once you settle on your billing and accounting software, make a point of planning data migration well ahead of time. The more you plan, the more seamless the transition.
- Invest in Training – Your vendors will take care of testing and refining software. But will they provide training? If not, invest in training in-house. Trained employees adapt to new software more quickly.
The digital transformation has arrived in billing and accounting. We see it firsthand as an account receivable factoring company. Whether you ever factor invoices or not, embracing the digital transformation in your accounting and billing environment will literally change the way you do business.
Everything is going digital. If your company isn’t, you’re not keeping up. Do yourself and your employees a favor by not falling too far behind. Get on board with the digital transformation and bring your company into the 21st century.