Key performance indicators are the common currency of any chief financial officer. KPIs are vital signals for CFOs to assess whether all the various parts of the business are improving, static or barely functional. The ability to view these data flows in an accurate, comprehensible way can make the difference between the firm augmenting its position within the market, or charting a course ever downward, toward the scrap heap.
Avoiding the latter scenario requires a special kind of data insights– ones capable of tracking complex metrics like intercompany billing, decentralised payables and differences between multiple tax jurisdictions in ways that not only the CFO will comprehend, but exterior stakeholders will as well. That’s where Sage Intacct comes in. Adopting this technology allows CFOs for a variety of small- and medium-sized enterprises to fully harness their KPIs for the good of the firm.
First and foremost, Sage Intacct provides its users with the ability to automate repetitive tasks, like organising purchase order workflows, bank reconciliations and vendor payments via creation of BACS files. For example, adoption afforded management at air conditioning provider Woodfin Heating wanted to concentrate on increasing productivity levels among staff. “Thanks to Sage Intacct’s powerful workflows, we’re 60% more productive overall,” explained Jennifer Loving, the firm’s CFO. “As a result, we’ve been able to shift 25% of the energy we spent on bookkeeping and data entry into more strategic projects, like supporting the business with analytics or adopting new accounting best practices.”
Sage Intacct also allows CFOs overseeing SMEs to shed their previous reliance on platforms like QuickBooks and Xero, software solutions that scale poorly over time. By being cloud-native, Sage Intacct supports more functionality, such as multi-entity support, currency conversions and smart revenue recognition. It’s made Karyn Hood’s life much easier.
“It used to take me 16 hours every quarter to do our partial exemption VAT return,” says the company secretary for the East Malling Trust, a charity supporting scientific research in horticulture. “Using Sage Intacct, it now only takes me eight hours once a quarter.”
In time, Sage Intacct affords businesses the opportunity to embrace automation throughout the management of their financial processes. No longer do CFOs need to rely on error-prone, hand-built spreadsheets. Now, users can obtain accurate visibility over a whole range of financial transactions. Since they began using the platform, explains the CFO for Quicksilver Express Courier Maggie Rogness, “we can see revenue and expenses for every vehicle. Through that, we’re able to make decisions based not just on location or department but on vehicles. In the transportation industry, that’s really your bread and butter.”
Perhaps most importantly, though, adopting Sage Intacct allows CFOs to save that most elusive commodity – time. “I’ve been freed up to spend more time with my family and volunteer now that I know that I can get my work done quickly, and accurately, in Sage Intacct,” says Adam Herman, treasurer for Peoples Services.
- To learn more about how Sage Intacct is helping finance leaders drive forward their financial processes click here.
