Imagine an accounting team that is able to instantly provide your enterprise with the information and insights needed to make informed business decisions. Or better yet, your business processes are so well tuned that at any point you have instant access to the workload of each team member. Imagine doing all of this without having to replace your existing accounting systems.
Shouldn’t your accounting team be focused on high-value tasks like improving cash flow, managing costs or refining the quality of products and services? Instead, they often are bogged down pushing paperwork and tracking documents, which distracts them from strategic responsibilities.
“When you have well-designed and automated business processes, you supercharge the great people that make up your organization,” says Heather Stump ECMp, business process analyst at Blue Technologies Smart Solutions.
Smart Business spoke with Stump about how improved business processes alleviate pain points for accounting and help differentiate your organization.
How exactly do well-designed business processes help save time?
On average, business professionals spend 18 minutes locating one document — and that doesn’t include copying, scanning or distributing that document. Document management solutions bring structure. These custom solutions allow you to digitize and store documents in a way that is logical to you, making lost paper a thing of the past.
Once documents are digitized, processes can be automated and better tracked. Documents aren’t shuffled from desk-to-desk, but are forwarded digitally. The system monitors work flows to provide visibility and help identify bottlenecks. It can go as far as automatically notifying the responsible party of the delay.
How does mobility aid in making decisions?
Imagine you are out of the office with a client and unable to view business-critical information. Or you are making trips to the office just to review and approve a pile of paperwork. You are not alone. In this mobile world, employees need access to documents and the ability to make decisions on those documents while on the road.
Many document management leaders have developed mobile applications to integrate with tablets and smartphones. These apps provide access to custom search windows and work flow actions for you to view and act on a document awaiting review. The right solution can be customized to internal processes and with the click of a button, the document is instantly routed to the subsequent reviewer — allowing you to move on and your accounting team to complete tasks in a timely manner.
Do you need to replace your existing systems to make this possible?
Sometimes it will be necessary to replace your current business systems, however, many times designing and automating business processes can improve productivity regardless of your existing environment.
Accounting systems focus on managing your data. The value organizations have found from implementing the right document management solution is that it enhances your existing systems.
In many cases, the two systems can integrate in a way that allows staff to view relevant documents without leaving the familiar interface they are comfortable working with. Furthermore, data residing in existing systems can be utilized to streamline the deployment of a document management solution. Leveraging existing information eliminates the need to enter duplicate data and reduces the likelihood of human error.
The idea isn’t to start over. Your solution provider can identify your inefficiencies but also the efficiencies that have been implemented by your accounting team.
How can you get started?
To identify how employees can save time and then redistribute that time to focus on tasks that affect your bottom line, you need to pinpoint an ROI. Whether monetary or timesaving, identifying an ROI exposes true bottlenecks and provides a starting point.
Many solution providers offer business process assessments to analyze what is currently being done and identify areas that are candidates for improvement.A technology expert’s role is to help you identify your needs and begin the search for the right solution for your organization.
Insights Technology is brought to you by Blue Technologies Smart Solutions
