Financial Software Search: Five Considerations to Guide Your Purchase
As your organization navigates complex business environments, manual processes can drain your productivity, and it becomes challenging to analyze the growing amount of financial data.
Lack of financial visibility hinders insightful decision-making, which in turn harms company performance. Financial Management Systems (FMS) are designed to solve these problems by getting you the financial information you need quickly, reducing manual effort, increasing efficiency, and allowing you to respond and excel in all types of environments.
A robust FMS will automate and streamline core financial management functions, such as Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, and the Financial Close, but that’s just one item to consider.
Sage Intacct shares the top five things you should be thinking about when purchasing an FMS. Read on, and then download the full PDF eBook!
At the heart of any FMS sits the financial processes that are supported. For your business, this means your GL, accounts payable and receivable, order entry, purchasing, cash management and reporting.
Your FMS needs to have a robust set of features to support those accounting processes and accommodate your ever-changing business. For organizations with more than one entity, multi-entity support and fast consolidations help simplify monthly reporting.
When it comes to selecting your FMS, how the vendor responds to your business needs is just as important as the solutions they offer you. It’s important to do your homework on the vendor.
As you talk to vendors, look at their sales process. Beyond the interactions, look at their company culture. Do they have any workplace awards? How about endorsements? If a company has endorsements, odds are their customers are satisfied with the service.
While the benefits of cloud, such as higher availability, a reduced need for IT, and the ability to scale, are known, what’s less clear is what the technology behind it enables. All clouds are not built the same.
When it comes to cloud applications, there are two main types: Cloud enabled and cloud native. The difference? Cloud-enabled applications are made in an on-premise environment and are typically legacy so ware connected to the cloud. Cloud native applications were designed and built in the cloud and have distinct advantages, such as scalability, faster implementations, and more robust integrations with other so ware. Sage Intacct leverages the native cloud to connect directly to SalesForce! It also allows for the introduction of Artificial Intelligence features into the software.
A simple fact: no single vendor can do it all for any business. That’s where having a strong partner ecosystem comes in.
When choosing a vendor, look at their partner offerings and consider the following:
- Do they have a network of implementation partners, maybe even someone you’re already working with?
- Is their software used and endorsed by CPA firms?
- How well do they work with third party software? Is there an existing marketplace of vendors that have already been vetted and will work seamlessly with their platform?
AI helps transform the work of finance and accounting teams so they spend less time on routine tasks and more time on analysis. The result is better, faster decisions, and more time spent towards planning and executing a winning strategy for your business. When evaluating vendors, it’s important to look at their AI strategy. Do they have AI in their product? What types of intelligent features do they have?
Forward thinking software companies are embracing AI and making investments to integrate it into their products. These features will benefit your organization and are seamless, working in the background while you focus on what matters most – your business.
Purchasing a new FMS is no small task. Much consideration must be given to choosing the right vendor and platform for your organization. Choosing the right platform will help you realize this savings, making everything from your AP and AP to your overall reporting more efficient and effective than ever before.
