What is financial reporting software and why should you use it?

What is financial reporting software?

Let’s start with the basics.

Financial reporting software helps you to automate and analyse financial information, generating and drilling down into data, streamlining processes and monitoring the financial health of your organisation.

Key to the success of financial reporting software is the ease in which users can access up-to-date financial information and communicate the relevant data clearly to stakeholders, including internal decision-makers as well as external parties such as shareholders, investors, lenders and regulatory bodies.

What is cloud-based financial reporting software?

As the name suggests, the defining characteristic of cloud-based financial reporting software is that everything is held securely in the cloud rather than being located on an internal server or desktop computer. Cloud-based financial reporting software has evolved significantly over the last few years and many businesses are choosing to revert to this kind of set-up due to the numerous benefits it brings.

One of the biggest advantages of cloud-based financial reporting software is that it can be accessed anytime, anywhere and on any device. This makes it possible for your financial team to work remotely if they need to, ensuring that when a report needs to be provided or a financial question answered, it can be done immediately.

But that’s not the only plus. Another of the big benefits of cloud-based financial reporting software is the enhanced levels of security that go with it. The mass migration of huge volumes of data and functionality to the cloud is backed up by the state-of-the-art security protocols that cloud providers must have in place. These surpass anything most businesses could reasonably afford to put in place for themselves; this enhanced level of security gives additional protection and peace of mind in the ongoing fight against bad actors attempting to steal information or cause mayhem to legitimate businesses and organisations around the globe.

Automating your financial reporting

If you spend hours carefully crafting complex bespoke financial reports and updating reams of core data in Excel spreadsheets, it really is time to take a closer look at automated financial reporting software. For starters, it will save you a lot of time and effort. And secondly, integrated financial reporting that pulls data directly from your finance system also effectively removes the huge margin for error which automatically arises when people are rekeying large amounts of data by hand.

What are the key features of financial reporting software?

• Financial dashboard – this is where your software pulls together various business systems and data into one place so that it can be quickly accessed as required. It makes life so much easier for finance professionals who need an immediate view across business performance and data. Gain real-time visibility into financial performance with up-to-date reporting.
• Financial reporting and analysis is much more effective and accurate when data is brought out of silos and combined – not least because this enables deeper queries, greater insight and more informed decisions but it provides you with a single, unified view.
• Excel financial reporting is a preferred method for many finance professionals and with the right financial reporting software you can utilise two-way data integration, filter and query data easily, and build familiar Excel reports at the click of a mouse.
• Automated Data Collection from various sources, with the use of automated accounts payable software or expense management software, will eliminate the need for manual data entry thereby reducing errors and making your financial reports more accurate.
• Customized Reporting Templates allow you to meet specific reporting needs, whether you need to create bespoke reports to meet internal stakeholder requests or one off reporting needs. 

Why should you use financial reporting software?

Yes, it is possible to build a successful business without financial reporting software in place, however as your business grows, the need to keep control and on top of finances becomes ever more pressing over time. Financial reporting software enables you to make fully informed business decisions because it puts all the crucial information at your disposal exactly when you need it.

The main benefits of financial reporting software for your business

• Take control of financial health and business performance
  To build and run a successful business which maximises opportunities, it’s imperative to be on top of the numbers at all times – that way you don’t miss anything. Financial reporting software takes the grind out of processing the wealth of financial data your business generates on a daily basis. And, most importantly, it enables you to see all the relevant information instantly. By always having the complete picture at your fingertips, being able to spot trends or changes in a timely fashion, and ensuring that small problems don’t quietly become bigger issues before you can respond, you’ll build business confidence and be able to grow more easily too.
• View data in real time from anywhere
  Ways of working have changed such a lot over the last three years. Even prior to that, many businesses were heading towards more flexible working practices. The days when finance professionals could only ‘work’ in the office are gone forever. It’s technology that’s made that transformation possible and cloud-based financial reporting software is one of the many tools that can now be successfully used to view data in real time, from any location. Instant, secure and reliable access to business financial data supports fast, confident and robust decision-making for every business.
• Make better business decisions
  Sound business decisions require access to all the relevant information; complete confidence in the accuracy of the facts being presented; plus the ability to determine useful insights using the data available. All of this is possible using financial reporting software which draws together data that previously was held in silos, enabling a full picture to be presented every time. For many businesses, this is a game-changer.
• Give confidence to stakeholders
  Internal stakeholders and external ones all need to feel sure that the financial information they are looking at is accurate and provides a complete picture. Using up-to-date financial reporting software is a great way to ensure that everything your stakeholders see is exactly as it should be.
• Enhanced Compliance 
  Implementing cloud financial reporting software ensures that your software is always up to date with the latest accounting standards and legislation.

Examples of financial reporting software

Once you start looking at what’s available, you’ll soon discover that there are lots of options that could make a real difference to the financial reporting processes in your business. The important thing is to take time to consider the level of functionality needed. Small businesses may well find that the simplicity of popular packages such as Sage, Xero and QuickBooks is sufficient to meet day-to-day requirements. Bear in mind, however, that medium-sized companies or those with active growth plans underway may need a more bespoke financial reporting software package such as the solution offered by Access Financials. This gives more flexibility and usability and is better able to meet more complex requirements.

How financial reporting software and cash flow forecasting software go hand in hand

Whilst financial reporting software keeps you totally up-to-speed on the detail behind the financial health and performance of the business today, it’s also good to have a sense of what the position is looking forwards. That’s where cash flow forecasting software comes in. Utilising both options gives finance professionals and business leaders even more insight into their numbers: choosing compatible systems for financial reporting and cash flow forecasting (such as the solutions offered by Access Financials) is much simpler practically from both an IT an a data flow perspective.

Choosing your new financial reporting software

Whether you still have questions, or if you’re ready to take the next step, the financial software experts at Access Financials are ready to help you. It’s clear that introducing financial reporting software offers practical and useful benefits for every business – from faster access to reports and insights to more confident decision-making – but it’s important to choose a provider who offers the best fit.

Take a closer look

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Alternatively, watch the 2 minute video of our financial reporting software below.