Digitized Accounting Saves Employee Time

The development of technology and a series of habit-changing events inevitably bring us closer to a turning point after which successful business operations without digital solutions will simply be unimaginable. All signs indicate that this boundary will be reached within this decade. The most conscientious business leaders have already realized this and have undertaken or are implementing the digitalization process, while the rest will join sooner or later. 

For entrepreneurs less familiar with modern technologies, the constant mention of the all-encompassing term 'digitalization' is more likely to confuse. What exactly does it entail? Should digitalization be carried out in one go across the entire company, or should it be divided into steps? And where exactly should one start?

Step-by-step changes

The good news is that the comprehensive process can be broken down into many small steps and started with the simplest or most necessary ones. Depending on the specifics of the business, this can vary for each company. The most important thing is to start with routine tasks, the automation or digitalization of which will make life easier for employees and make the company's work more efficient. For some, it might be an order tracking system, for others, it might be abandoning the printing of hundreds of pages of contracts and other document bundles. 

A proven and secure step towards comprehensive digitalization is transferring accounting from paper sheets to a computer. Many companies have long used accounting software, but due to habit or partially misunderstood legal requirements, a large portion of them still duplicate each document on paper. If this were abandoned, it could save an accountant dozens of working hours each month. 

The law states: a company has the right to convert paper-based accounting documents into electronic form for storage in an electronic environment. This regulation is commendable as it helps reduce the amount of paper in the company, saves resources on paper and printer ink purchases, eliminates postal expenses, and so on. Not to mention a greener life and the conservation of natural resources.

Start with the simplest

The easy path to digitalization involves starting the process with the simplest and at the same time most necessary things. For example, businesses working with corporate clients can implement electronically prepared and machine-readable invoice circulation. The content of these invoices is automatically 'pulled' into the accounting software, freeing employees from data entry and preventing potential transcription errors. Moreover, the data is automatically processed and can be used for preparing all kinds of reports. 

Meanwhile, retailers have had access to digital receipts for several years, which will sooner or later completely replace the traditional paper strips from the market. This is inevitable both due to the influence of the green agenda and because digital receipts have more advantages than printed ones – they don't get lost, crumpled, or fade, which helps customers in cases where they need to contact the manufacturer or retailer with complaints about product quality. These receipts are easy to find for both the buyer and the seller, speeding up the resolution of disputes. Secondly, digital receipts are easily searchable and accessible – you just need to enter the retailer's name in the search, and the system automatically displays the necessary ones. From the accountant's perspective, it is, of course, extremely important that the data is transferred to the accounting system without external assistance and does not need to be entered manually. 

Entrust storage to specialists

Digitalization also addresses the issue of archiving. There is no longer a need for an entire room or several shelves for annual reports and other financial documents, as they can be stored digitally in the cloud. The advantages of cloud storage have been discussed hundreds of times. Placing accounting data in the 'cloud' allows access to the data from anywhere in the world with an internet connection, and it is possible to create solutions that display the data in a web browser or smartphone. Moreover, data in the 'cloud' cannot be lost, as the service provider creates backups stored on different servers. A properly chosen service provider uses certified data centers with high-security levels, where data is encrypted and not easily accessible to unauthorized persons.

Although the listed solutions may initially seem confusing, in reality, everything is much simpler. Service providers have already developed comprehensive solutions where everything is taken care of. For example, the cloud solution Jumis essentially provides everything a company needs for accounting: from remote access capabilities and automatic updates to storing all information in secure, guarded data centers. All necessary services are included in one contract, so there's no need to worry about them anymore.