With finance innovations and new solutions continuing to emerge across the financial sector, choosing the right finance technology for your business has become an overwhelming decision that finance teams are struggling to make. However, with new technology brining automation and AI capabilities to the table, the industry has seen a rise in investment in finance systems as businesses battle to increase their efficiencies and boost their competitive position.
To help you keep pace with the industry, we have created the complete guide to finance systems, which explores the best business finance tools and capabilities you need to look out for and sets you up with the questions you need to ask internally to help you evaluate which solution is best for your business.
Assessing your business needs
Before you dive into any decision making, internally you need to agree on your business needs and what you hope to gain from deploying a solution across your finance team. From increasing productivity to creating a holistic view of financial performance, each system will offer slightly different USPs, so knowing your needs and priorities will help narrow down your search. Some questions you could ask to narrow down your evaluation include…
What current financial challenges are we looking to solve?
From cybersecurity to the accuracy of data and agility, there are an array of universal challenges that financial business tools can resolve. If accessing real-time data to improve forecasting and planning is a necessity, this is feature you should factor in to your search. Or, if cyber security is part of a bigger priority within the company, a finance system with advanced security capabilities may help persuade key decision makers. Some key security features to look out for include data encryption, muti-factor authentication and compliance with industry standards.
How much are we willing to invest in a new solution?
Especially for startups and SMEs, cost can be a high contributing factor that will narrow down your search. However, affordability doesn’t have to equal lack of quality. With industry leaders such as Microsoft offering cloud-based ERP solutions (such as Dynamics 365 Business Central) on a pay-as-you-use plan, advanced finance tools for small businesses have become increasingly accessible. Plus, retailers are event using leading systems to create their own out-of-the-box version, with the perfect functionality for small businesses.
What’s the scope for the project?
The size of the project might be a factor that filters your search. If you already have certain finance and communication systems in place within your tech stack, compatibility and ease of integration may be two of the biggest factors you need to consider. Or, if you’re looking to replace an outdated platform, you’ll need to check that the new finance system can do everything it can currently do, and more.
How will this fit into our long-term plan?
An important consideration within your long-term plan is your growth goals. As a business scales, you need a finance system that can scale with you – whether that’s supporting new currencies, handling an increasing number of transactions, or having add-on extensions that offer advanced functionality.
When you’re doing your research it’s also important to consider the number of capabilities a solution has. Although data accuracy might be a current priority, finance automation is a feature that can completely transform the efficiency of your operations, which would naturally become a priority in the near future. Lots of all-in-one accounting software such as Business Central, Dynamics 365 Finance and NetSuite offer an array of advanced capabilities such as automation, AI, data centralisation and advanced security, which would be one of the best options if you’d prefer to future-proof your choice.
Read reviews, recommendations and case studies
So, you’ve narrowed down your research, but how do you pick between the top three? Reviews and case studies are some of the best ways to see how a finance system has made an impact in a business similar to your own. Not only do they put the platform’s capabilities into context, but they can also spark ideas surrounding ways your business can leverage its features.
Get help finding the right finance technology for your business
Get in touch with our team of experts and we can work together to explore your finance challenges, needs and goals, and make a recommendation on the best finance system for you.