How to Choose the Best Accounting Software

Fund accounting is essential for charities & not-for-profits

The primary function of finance professionals within the Charity and Not-For-Profit sector is fund accounting. Most available cloud accounting software can cope with cost centres or chart of accounts processes, but fail to offer nonprofits the complex reporting dimensions that grant bodies demand.

Fund accounting takes days, sometimes weeks, to trawl through and collate data. Then, finance teams must present data in reports that become outdated as soon as the figures are extracted. Static reports, PDFs, and Excel-based balance sheets do not offer the nuance that charities need to detail their funds.

However, there is an alternative: a finance system that contains fund accounting processes, where every transaction is posted against a relevant fund. The best accounting software, like Xledger, offers a deep dive into restricted and unrestricted funds — income, expenditure, money left, and period financial statements, among others.

Using true-cloud finance software ensures statutory reports can be completed weekly because data is consolidated, recorded, and reported accurately. With a fixed asset register and automated workflow capabilities, Xledger can help manage your finances, save time, and support your nonprofit in completing its mission.

Housing associations need reliable finance software integrations

Integration is fundamental to the Housing industry. Finance systems and Housing Management Systems (HMS) must speak to each other to ensure real-time data, such as cash flow, rent income, component information, and purchase invoices flow seamlessly from one system to the other.

Legacy systems, like Sun Systems and OpenAccounts, do not operate in the cloud and, therefore, cannot automatically consolidate HMS and financial data. A lack of real-time insight into cost control can lead to poor forecasting and poor reporting, two crucial operating elements that ensure housing associations can support vulnerable people and communities.

A user-friendly, integrated accounting software alleviates these issues, and housing associations that invest in an automated online accounting system help to future-proof their business. Systems like Xledger flex and scale as the business expands its entities while remaining a central hub of truth.

Intercompany trading is vital for property management organisations

Intercompany trading is an important accounting method for controlling expenditures across multiple entities. It’s fundamental for property management groups as these tend to have complex organisational structures where each business arm is held in a separate statutory entity.

Within these separate entities — sometimes referred to as Special Purpose Vehicles, or SPVs — finance teams will perform intercompany transactions to help balance credits and debits, fund projects, and share resources. If completed manually, or without the best accounting software, this process can be costly, time-consuming, and open to error that puts whole groups at risk of non-compliance.

Our accountancy-trained consultants highly recommend that multi-entity property management organisations choose accounting software built on a hierarchical structure. This allows appropriate trustees and super-users to access a top-down view of each entity, including whole registers, financial reports, fixed accounts, and product and expense information.

Multi-entity organisations in this sector should also look to leverage automated and integrated accounting software to aid complex billing processes. Often, businesses may receive funds from the government, and this method of income causes complex billing processes, so choose the right accounting software to help reduce these back-office manual tasks.

Professional Services industry relies on accurate invoicing modules

Professional services organisations rely on expenses and timesheet management to invoice customers correctly. Personal finance software with fully integrated timesheet, project accounting, and expense and invoice modules promotes accurate and transparent invoicing.

Not only does this facilitate accuracy, but it also helps professional services organisations create digital records for audit trails, another complex, time-consuming, and error-prone accounting process. As such, reporting, billing, and project accounting are three non-negotiable functions that professional services organisations must look for in the best accounting software.

Energy companies benefit from automated consolidation

Solar farms and wind parks in the Energy sector will benefit from accounting software that supports complex billing processes. Through integration and automated consolidation, organisations can easily calculate the energy price sold to the “grid”.

CFOs in this sector may not quite grasp how much duplication of effort is required to maintain each SPV. For instance, finance teams may need to set up the same supplier in the system multiple times or carry out the same task in each individual entity, one at a time. Integration combats the need for manual transfer of data, and automation streamlines invoice handling, payment approvals, and timetables.

Start your implementation journey today

At Xledger, we understand that each business requires a nuanced and specialised approach to choosing the best finance software. With high-quality customer support, learning and development experts, and 280 years of accountancy experience, our consultants are ready to guide your business through its financial transformation. Get in touch today.