Embracing the advantages of automation has revolutionized the business world. Being able to automate core operations means that a company has adopted new strategies, new processes, or a set of new rules to the business model with the clear intent to make the company function more fluidly and add further benefit to the customer.
In the business world, it’s important to make note that rewarding the customer is always the main goal of automation. The spread and proficiency of automated business processes means that companies are now more flexible and efficient, able to focus more on directing the business and less on the basic day-to-day operations. Without automation, it becomes increasingly difficult to scale business operations which also threatens the emphasis on delivering prompt and effective customer service. Lacking automation also creates a void in your business strategy because you’re limited in what you can accomplish.
James Robbins, CIO of ArrowXL, a UK home delivery, and collection service, sees automation as impacting both the top and bottom line. “We believe automation will reduce costs by being easy to do business with – we will retain and increase our client base, and therefore, grow our revenue, so it is top-line and bottom-line growth,” he says.
Automation in Business Involves Positive Changes
Automation tends to frighten people when it’s being discussed because they associate it with rules being set into place. Or, they grow concerned over their job status, fearing that their work will be taken over by machines. However, your colleagues shouldn’t be afraid when it’s being discussed, because, at the end of the day, automation is a good thing. It helps teams do their jobs faster and easier, while also enhancing quality. There is no need to be afraid of automation, it’s merely a tool to help you and your company perform better.
When discussing implementing automation, some companies struggle with setting rules, mainly because it involves change. Employees also get nervous whenever big changes come to the workplace. But, a good company that sells a product or service should look forward to changing the ways they do business if the change ends up rewarding the customer in the long run. Eventually, every company has to change the way they do business to continue thriving.
Automated Accounting is Innovative
Today, there are many innovations in accounting software. However, many accountants and financial experts around the globe still rely on old technology that doesn’t fully utilize the potential of automation. This form of old-school bookkeeping involves a lot of clicking, way too much repetitive, manual work, and an exhausting amount of time wasted on just collecting and validating data. It’s sad to see companies still using this form of financial management when there are solutions available that simplify their business processes while helping them draw more value from accounting data.
Many companies are starting to automate a lot of their accounting processes, even using AI applications like RPA . Most accounting software, like Accounting Seed, offers fully automated features ranging from data-entry to bank reconciliations, and more. Some are even speculating that by 2020, accounting tasks such as tax, payroll, audits, and banking will be fully automated.
Improve Efficiency with Automation
The main goal of improving efficiency is to speed up information processing to make quicker, better decisions. Automation gives financial parties the time to shift their work to more knowledge-based work by completing repetitive activities more efficiently and accurately than humans can. For instance, the use of automated revenue recognition to recognize financial patterns, make connections, and classify financial data liberates accountants’ time.
Lee Edwards, IT director of the UK’s NHS Shared Business Services, highlights the role of automation technologies in meeting back-office operational productivity objectives. He says: “RPA will bring significant efficiencies to our back-office functions and help improve customer services through improved speed and accuracy of processing.”
The average return on investment and payback period in months for automating your company’s finance and accounting departments is eye-opening. On average, it takes only 11 months for companies to see their average payback period fulfilled, while the average return on investment is 12 percent.
In a recent survey conducted by Oracle and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), 44 percent of agile finance leaders said they have implemented robotic process automation (RPA) – rules-based programs that capture and interpret information – while 12 percent of all other finance leaders have taken meaningful steps toward this level of automation.
Automating Your Business Cuts Costs
Among organizations implementing automation at scale, back-office functions such as finance and accounting drive cost savings of 13 percent. Given the extraordinary effectiveness, enhanced financial accuracy, and more empowered decision-making, choosing financial management software that has an emphasis on automation, like Accounting Seed, is an easy call.