Are you one of those small-scale but rapidly growing startups in the UK that’s touching new milestones quarter by quarter and expanding your team and operations on a large scale?
Were you also one of those super analytical decision-making groups that came across the wonders of accounting software and thought about giving it a chance with a basic plan?
And now, after a few months or a year later, you realise that your software was working great before, but suddenly, it’s more like an additional burden to your accounting process than giving you the much-needed seamless bookkeeping experience?
If your answer to all these above questions is ‘yes’, then this article is for you, and you’re not alone.
Often after starting with the UK bookkeeping software, companies begin to realise their software isn’t working the way it’s supposed to be working for them. For example, they are still bound to maintain spreadsheets outside of the software, or they do not have much storage left in their system to maintain all their data in one place. These are nothing but signs that it is time for you to stretch your investments a little further and opt for an updated version of the UK bookkeeping software. Companies often confuse them with bugs and start looking for alternatives that could result in unnecessary expenditure and a lot of time wastage.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the basic red flags that may indicate that you’ve outgrown your bookkeeping software and know when to make the switch.
Most Common Red flags to note in your UK Bookkeeping Software:
- Disrupted consolidations
One of the significant tasks of the UK bookkeeping software is to seamlessly integrate data and auto-update your software with the necessary information. Furthermore, every month, your software is supposed to auto-generate and share reports with your accountant and you being the business owner. If you’re finding it difficult to get hold of this data or your auto-populate feature is not working anymore, it’s probably the right time to upgrade your bookkeeping software.
- Still using spreadsheets? Uh No!
Spreadsheets are good. They keep you on track and promote transparency. But the very idea of using the UK bookkeeping software was to avoid investing your precious time and resources in making and maintaining that spreadsheet and move towards a simple and easy-to-use data management system. If you’re still stuck in that MS excel cycle, the UK bookkeeping software is probably not doing a great job, and you must opt for an upgraded version with added features for your system.
- Can’t stretch with your needs? Please don’t force it!
If you’ve rapidly growing and expanding your business operations in every possible direction, then your software systems should be able to keep up. Business expansion means more invoices, sales, payment deadlines, and account maintenance. If your software didn’t keep up with this growth, it would signal a high time to upgrade. Your software system should be capable of meeting your growing needs and should scale with your business.
4 Other software Incompatibility
Like any other team, the UK bookkeeping software is an integrated version of many small applications that serve different purposes but work on the same platform and come in a package. Many times, accountants work with additional software or applications that serve other purposes and need to consolidate the data to one place. Suppose your current subscription cannot support these applications, and populating data from these software becomes an additional step towards your bookkeeping process; it’s time to say goodbye to your current package and opt for an upgraded/customised UK bookkeeping software.
- Unable to make data-centric decisions?
The data reports your bookkeeping software generates are needed for your business to make informed decisions of expansion, disinvestments, new product launches, territory diversions, etc. The more in-depth insights your software delivers, the better decisions you’ll be able to make. If the reports you get from the UK bookkeeping software are insufficient to make these decisions, then it’s time for you to opt for an upgraded version of the same.
- Unable to store your data anymore?
This one is pretty basic. If your storage space is running out in your current package, then you should consider upgrading. The UK bookkeeping software stores your data in the cloud. It should be able to support and generate comprehensive reports for a minimum of 3-5 years. If you’re finding it difficult to get past this, then it’s a strong signal that it’s high time to upgrade your package.
Summing up
If you’ve made it this far, then congratulations. This article has tried to highlight some of the major red flags to know when it’s time to switch your current bookkeeping software. The world is changing at a rapid pace. As a result, the way we do things is constantly evolving and being disrupted. The bookkeeping industry is no different and needs constant meaningful updates to stay relevant for your business requirements.