It’s that time of year, and once again, you have visions of what you’d love to have for the holidays dancing in your head. Sure, it’s a little different for everyone. Down in Austin, Texas you might be wishing for a better inventory management system (and a 6-pack of Lone Star Beer). Or, out in Detroit, Michigan, you might appreciate a consolidated database (and a few mugs of craft beer from Eastern Market Brewing Company). Or, who wouldn’t mind having a maintenance-free accounting solution (and a Peloton workout bike)?
Or, perhaps you’ve already come up with a wish list of your own.
You probably started out your business using an entry level accounting solution like QuickBooks. And don't get me wrong, QuickBooks does the job for startup businesses. But now that your business is growing, it's time to write that letter to the big guy up North. You know, the one dressed in red with the electric-zero-emissions sleigh, not yet autonomous driving because Rudolph will never retire. And maybe that Dear Santa letter goes a little something like this:
Dear Santa,
My team and I have worked hard all year long, and as you probably already know, our company is really starting to take off. Our customer base has increased substantially, and now we’re barely able to keep up with orders and deadlines.
Things have gotten to be so frantic that we had to open a second location to help store additional inventory, which we can’t seem to manage or track with any accuracy. Sure, the orders are getting filled, though we’re on back order more often than not. And our reports are eventually submitted and usually reliable. While our customers can’t seem to get enough of our product, they also don’t like it when their order is delivered to an incorrect/ outdated address because we didn’t update their information in our customer database.
While we love that our business is growing, we’d love it even more if we could move forward without all the growing pains. As hard as our team is working, I just don’t think we have an accounting solution that can sustain our operation, much less, accommodate our projected growth. So, I’ve put together a short list of what would be greatly appreciated. And if you’re able to hook us up with even a few items on this list, we’d be forever grateful.
Powerful Drill-Down and Extraction Capability
Sometimes we need information and answers, like yesterday. Like when our most valuable customer calls, asking about product availability. The last thing you want to tell them is no; and the second to last thing you want to tell your customer is I don’t know.
Sharing Master Files
One question I never want to hear or utter again: Who’s got that information? I need to be able to share data in an instant, with of course, proper security measures in place.
Reporting on Consolidated Information
Sometimes our location in Detroit shares an invoice with our location in Ferndale, Michigan. I need to be able to track and breakdown vendor expenses by location.
Capturing and Analyzing Critical Data, like overhead expenses by location
As you’ve probably gathered, I really don’t like waiting for answers; and I probably wouldn’t have to wait nearly as much if all of my data was consolidated into a single, secure database. If my data were properly consolidated, I could retrieve those answers faster than I could ask for them.
Multi-Company Operational Reports
While contrary to the name, an Aging Report shouldn’t take forever to produce. And I shouldn’t have to wait until New Year’s Day to get them either. A good lead-time for a multi-company Aging Report: how’s less than 2 minutes?
And, while the list goes on, those are just a few things I would greatly appreciate (like the one Mirror or Peloton bike to workout with, just gotta love new technology).
So, Dear Santa,
Can month-end financials be easier?
Forever grateful,
Yours Truly!
P.S. Cookies and milk are on the table.
What's your wish list?
While Santa may not bring everything on your wish list, he is known to have the hook-ups when it comes to real accounting solutions for growing businesses. After all, he knows that he and his sleigh won’t be the only ones in the sky. If you look up, you might find your cloud-based accounting solution with Gravity Software® (Gravity).
Gravity is built on the Microsoft Power Platform (aka Dynamics 365 CRM). Gravity allows for financial consolidation in less time without absorbing large implementation costs of a more conventional on-site, accounting solutions. Learn more about Gravity and schedule your online demo today!
Gravity Software
Better. Smarter. Accounting.
This article was originally published in December of 2017 and has been updated and edited for clarity