Microsoft just published a very useful paper called The business owner’s guide for replacing accounting software. It starts with a sobering statistic: “More than 90 percent of consumers said they would consider taking their business elsewhere rather than work with a company that uses outdated technology.” (Microsoft Research) Wow… Perhaps it’s time to replace your accounting software. The paper explores why this might be a wise move.
Overview: Keeping Pace with Evolving Customer Demands
Why would 9 out of 10 customers defect if they felt a company’s technology was obsolete? According to the paper, customer needs and expectations are evolving. They expect your technology to evolve with them. This usually requires modern software, which can do things like:
- Connect your business and your people in new ways
- Automatically bring systems and processes together so your people don’t have to
- Provide a complete picture from across your business, with comprehensive reporting
How to Know if Your Accounting Software is Putting Your Business at Risk
Microsoft suggests looking at your business and trying to spot signs that your accounting software is putting your business at risk. For example:
- Wasting time dealing with multiple systems that can’t communicate with each other
- Relying on error-prone manual processes that can’t keep up with demand even when you add headcount
- Finding report creation overly complicated, and ending up with reports that don’t provide the right information
The paper also highlights the risk of customer dissatisfaction and lost sales that can arise from having incomplete or incorrect information about orders. Other signs that your accounting system is affecting your business include struggling with increasingly stringent compliance and security concerns and losing productivity switching between multiple, disconnected applications.
Finding the Right Solution
The paper presented data on how businesses can benefit from adopting modern accounting software. For example, it revealed research from the Boston Consulting Group explaining that 45% of business said their employees got more done in the same time using cloud and mobile technology. In addition, 47% of business said technology is critical to their companies’ futures. Their conclusion: Move accounting software to the cloud.
With a solution like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, a company gets comprehensive integration. It becomes possible to deploy one solution to manage your financials as well as sales, service and operations—along with payroll, CRM and banking apps. A cloud-based accounting solution like Dynamics 365 Business Central also enables managers to connect their entire business. It automatically pulls systems and processes together.
Modern accounting software like this automates and secures business processes. In addition to improved security, the results include higher rates of productivity, better audit trails and flexible workflows. Centralized data and enhanced reporting capabilities offer an end-to-end view of the business. Working with better data and reporting gives you the ability to spot trends, prevent issues, and deliver great customer experiences.
Dynamics 365 Business Central also offers a number of industry-specific extensions. These are available through Microsoft’s AppSource marketplace.
To get your copy of the paper, click here.
