Let’s face it; while most accountants may disagree on a wide range of issues, they generally concur on one intimidating concept: the month-end closure. According to a survey, 82% of accountants believe that doing a month-end closure exercise is one of the most dreadful experiences in the accounting field. Well, from such a distinguished career, this is not a good number. If you find yourself in this situation, there is something you can do to improve your financial situation.
Why month-end close is not an easy process?
Well, if Your Business makes use of NetSuite solutions, the accounting procedure is definitely simpler and quicker. However, NetSuite is only capable of handling a finite amount of items. The financial close is complicated since NetSuite cannot handle the remaining tasks, like recording and tracking workflow.
Financial closing is currently less impressive due to the disorderly file exchange over local drives and the lack of documented procedures. Furthermore, everyone is less concerned about the veracity of the information shared at work as a result of the tight schedule. The month-end close is when the majority of faults that would have been fixed sooner are discovered.
Methods for reducing month-end close stress
The month-end close has had some negative consequences on the staff, thus getting rid of the procedure and implementing these four tips is absolutely necessary.
1. A Checklist for a Collaborative Financial Close
A checklist keeps track of the duties and accomplishments of each employee. For instance, everyone will be aware of their responsibilities during the accounting process. On the flip hand, employers will also be aware of any potential restrictions on employees’ objectives.
You may believe that with NetSuite’s checklist, your business might have completed all the necessary month-end close procedures, but that is false. Consider NetSuite Checklist as a 30,000-foot view that enables you to check a box next to an AP as an illustration. Checking just one box indicates that multiple steps must be completed before checking off just one item on the list.
Additionally, tracking sign-offs and duties might be done quickly using Excel and Google Docs, but a new staff might find this procedure difficult. It’s important to note that FloQast has the capacity to effortlessly offer top-notch services to the other accounting teams in the mid-market.
For instance, Stack Overflow saw the checklist’s potential. Since their previous soft-close approach was quite a skeleton, the training and networking company employed this collaborative checklist structure to construct a superior closing list. The monthly close was shortened by twelve days thanks to their new close list’s schedules, controls, and well-defined procedures, which sped up the closing process. They used to close after 22 days, but now they’ve only saved ten days’ worth of time and resources!
2. Produce more templates for reconciliation and standard folder structures
Your team can streamline the review, training, reconciliation, and auditing procedures by using a uniform template. All you have to do is automatically paste work onto a template to avoid repetitions. Furthermore, since your business has now created a better-arranged folder design, it is simple to access a file.
For any significant transactions that need to be cleared, your accounts department should pay special attention to NetSuite’s Fixed Assets and Bank Reconciliation Module. You may cut the time it takes to reconcile large accounts in half by automating this procedure.
3. Reexamine the combination of your talents.
Accounting and financial processes are being replaced by technology. As a result, Your Business has to hire tech-savvy employees by setting up an IT department. Additionally, keep an eye out for staff that has experience with NetSuite or cloud ERP and provide them with responsibilities that fit their skill sets.
4. Use cloud accounting software
Adoption of cloud platforms can change how Your Business stores data. The technology of cloud accounting will make data access more convenient and quick. Furthermore, since documents are already available online and are more transparent, you don’t need to worry about them.
By keeping a Microsoft checklist on OneDrive or SharePoint, your business can begin utilizing cloud accounting technologies. A software system for instant management is mostly used to track review notes, reconciliations, and item listings like RevLocal.
There is no question as to what NetSuite is capable of. It is capable of doing revenue recognition, bank reconciliations, and accounts payable. However, your accounting team needs to use more scalable tools to handle workflow and paperwork.
Conclusion
Taking Your Business to the next step can only come to reality if you have the right expertise to deliver outstanding solutions. At Seibert Consulting Group, we specialize in delivering modern solutions to businesses that aim at taking full advantage of the eCommerce platform. We always customize our solutions to align with Your Business’ requirements and goals. Let’s start talking about your project and find out how we can help Your Business grow. Get in touch with us via our chatbot or email at hello@seibertconsulting.com and via our direct line at 760-205-5440.
