This post was updated in November 2023.
If the word ‘reporting’ makes you cringe, you’re not alone. Many organizations struggle with reporting for different reasons—chief among them using small business accounting applications.
While they’re ideal solutions to start organizations, small business accounting applications become inadequate as growth occurs and complexities increase. Some organizations have complicated needs like revenue recognition and multi-entity consolidations, and the reporting functions in small business accounting applications can’t support these requirements.
With the right technology, reporting is fast and easy. Here are some of the most common reporting automation challenges—and their solutions.
Reporting Is Done Manually
Organizations must operate in an always-on digital world where results are expected on demand. It’s unacceptable for only one person to know how to pull reports out of your legacy system, and you can’t afford the chaotic reporting scramble that occurs before an executive meeting. The bottom line is that manual reporting processes take too much time and cause mistakes.
Data Is Languishing in Excel
Small business accounting applications’ feeble reporting capabilities lead to using spreadsheets as workarounds. That means you’re switching between tabs, reformatting, applying formulas, and copying and pasting. Not only is this a time-draining, error-prone initiative, but by the time you sort out your data and present it to your team, it’s already outdated.
You Can't Make Data-Driven Decisions
Challenges and new opportunities can pop up any time, requiring you to pivot direction. Without instant access to real-time data and the ability to customize reports for your business and industry, you can’t get deep insights for fast, confident decisions.
Solving Reporting Challenges With Digital Transformation
Undergoing a digital transformation will make reporting automation much easier. And while it sounds overwhelming, it's not.
There are many definitions of digital transformation, but here’s our favorite: Adopting new—or modifying existing—technology to make your business run better.
Digital transformation occurs one small step at a time. Start by identifying your business’s biggest pain point and finding technology that can simplify, streamline, automate, or integrate your processes to relieve it. Then move on to the next pain point.
Start Here
Digital transformation doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or disruptive to your operations. To learn more about it and how it can overcome common reporting automation challenges, visit the resource page below for blogs, customer success videos, on-demand webinars, demos, eBooks, and more.
