5 Common Accounting Problems and How to Avoid them
Most accounting practices will have come a long way since the opening of their businesses. Through trial and error, you have learned how to work more efficiently. Every practice is different, and therefore there is no universal process to achieve optimum efficiency. Through testing different processes and initiatives, you can find methods which best suit your needs and help get the job done as efficiently as possible.
Constant updates and changes in bookkeeping regulations can sometimes be quite difficult to keep up with. However, through technological advances, accounting software has evolved. Surf Accounts offers an easy-to-use accounting software that makes keeping up with these changes easier than ever.
Below are 5 common problems you can avoid with Surf Accounts.
#1 Not backing up your data
Failing to back up your data is a common, and costly, mistake for accountants. By not saving your data to the cloud, a third-party file hosting service or an external hard drive , you are liable to lose work that you’ve put time and effort into. This can lead to a lot of time wasted, as you must re-create your clients’ accounts which can cause you a lot of frustration and stress.
Thankfully, with our cloud-based accounting software, Surf Accounts, you no longer have to worry about backing up or losing your data. Surf Accounts uses Microsoft Azure, one of the most secure cloud servers in the world, to store data. Surf Accounts will automatically back-up your data to the cloud, keeping it safe and giving you peace of mind.
#2 Losing your receipts
As your business grows, tasks such as organising receipts will start to become less manageable and it can be easy for receipts to be lost or misplaced. Managing receipts is important as it provides evidence when claiming tax deductions through Revenue.
To make things easier for you, Surf Accounts is integrated with workflow software, Dext Prepare, which is a digital accounting platform where you can store all your paperwork in one place. For example, you can save invoices and receipts, in just a few clicks.
Dext Prepare takes away the hassle of holding onto receipts for long periods of time, as you can manage and save them on your mobile devices by simply uploading a photo of the receipt to Dext Prepare.
#3 Lack of organization
Following on from our previous point, organisation is a key factor when dealing with a large number of clients. Without excellent organisational skills, you will struggle to run a successful practice.
With Surf Accounts, you no longer have to worry about being organised as our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) feature will help you work more efficiently . Using our CRM feature allows you to understand your customers better and view insights on prospects to help grow your clientele.
You can use the Surf Accounts CRM feature to record customers, prospects, business, and personal contacts. Alongside this, you can drilldown into accounts, view invoices and receipts, and send emails or SMS messages to your contacts. Ultimately, this feature will store important contact data in the one place and help you to build healthy relationships with your clients.
#4 Incorrect bank reconciliations
Often, issues arise when reconciling your clients’ accounts. It’s easy to make simple mistakes such as double entry, not including transactions, or mistakes due to deposits in transit.
With Surf Accounts’ bank reconciliation feature, you can import your bank statements directly into the software, allowing you to reconcile large numbers of transactions quickly. Thus, Surf Accounts allows you to automate bank reconciliation which in turn, can help you save time and avoid possible human error mistakes.
#5 Poor payroll management
When managing your clients’ payroll, making one simple mistake can disrupt your payroll data entry and leave you with inaccurate payments. It is essential that you accurately run your clients‘ payroll with full focus, to make sure that their employees are paid correctly and on time.
The new integration between Surf Accounts and payroll software, BrightPay, can help accounting and payroll processes become more seamless as data can be transferred from BrightPay to Surf Accounts from within the software.
While it is inevitable that problems will arise from time to time, Surf Accounts can help to minimise their occurrence. Surf Accounts automates processes to help you avoid these problems and make your life easier.