8 Financial Processes Every Finance Team Needs to Automate to Reduce Costs and Streamline Operations
Finance teams are under immense pressure to manage their operations more efficiently while reducing costs.
One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by automating key financial processes.
Automation not only saves time and reduces errors but also allows finance professionals to focus on more strategic tasks.
We will explore eight critical financial processes that every finance team should automate, along with how NetSuite and UniFi can work together to enhance these processes.
1. Data Entry
Data entry is often seen as a mundane but essential task within finance teams. Manually entering data is not only time-consuming but also prone to errors.
Automating this process can drastically reduce the time spent on data entry while ensuring greater accuracy.
Technologies such as Autonomous Data Capture and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can extract data from various sources and input it directly into the financial system.
For instance, NetSuite and UniFi can integrate to streamline data entry by automatically importing financial data from multiple sources into a unified platform.
This integration allows finance teams to reduce manual work and focus on analysing the data rather than inputting it.
2. Accounts Payable (AP)
The accounts payable process involves multiple steps, from receiving invoices to making payments.
Automating AP processes can ensure that invoices are matched with purchase orders, coded correctly, and paid on time.
By automating these tasks, businesses can avoid late fees, take advantage of early payment discounts, and maintain good relationships with suppliers.
With the combined power of NetSuite and UniFi, finance teams can automate the entire AP workflow.
UniFi can automatically route invoices to the appropriate approvers and integrate with NetSuite to ensure payments are made promptly.
This integration eliminates the need for manual intervention, reducing errors and speeding up the payment process.
3. Accounts Receivable (AR)
Accounts receivable automation can significantly improve cash flow by reducing the time it takes to collect payments from customers.
Automated AR systems can generate and send invoices, follow up on overdue payments, and even integrate with credit management tools to assess customer risk.
A platform like UniFi can track outstanding invoices and send automated reminders to customers while ensuring that the financial data is accurate and up-to-date.
This helps businesses maintain a healthy cash flow and reduce the number of days sales outstanding (DSO).
4. Expense Management
Managing employee expenses can be a complex and time-consuming process. Manual expense reports often lead to errors, delays, and even fraud.
Automating expense management can simplify the process of submitting, approving, and reimbursing expenses while also providing better visibility into company spending.
A great example is UniFi’s Employee Expenses Automation app, which automates the entire expense process. This not only reduces the risk of errors but also provides real-time insights into spending patterns.
Recommended: How Can Automated Workflows Help Your Organisational Processes?
5. Purchase Orders
The purchase order process is a critical component of procurement and finance. Delays in processing purchase orders can lead to supply chain disruptions and missed opportunities.
Automating this process ensures that purchase orders are approved and processed quickly, reducing the risk of delays.
6. Financial Reporting
Financial reporting is essential for decision-making and compliance. However, generating accurate and timely financial reports can be a daunting task, especially for large organisations.
By automating the financial reporting process, finance teams can reduce the time it takes to produce reports and ensure that the data is accurate and consistent.
NetSuite offers robust financial reporting capabilities, and when integrated with UniFi, finance teams can automate the entire reporting process.
UniFi can pull and push data from various sources to generate reports in the desired format.
This automation allows finance teams to focus on analysing the reports rather than spending time generating them.
7. Budgeting and Forecasting
Budgeting and forecasting are crucial for financial planning, but they can be complex and time-consuming when done manually.
Automating these processes ensures that budgets and forecasts are based on accurate and up-to-date data, allowing businesses to make informed decisions.
8. Tax Compliance
Tax compliance is a complex and ever-changing area that requires constant attention.
Automating tax compliance processes can help businesses stay up-to-date with the latest tax laws, reduce the risk of errors, and ensure that tax filings are completed on time.
Conclusion
Automation is no longer a luxury but a necessity for finance teams looking to reduce costs and streamline operations. By automating these eight financial processes, businesses can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and free up time for more strategic tasks.
NetSuite and UniFi provide the perfect combination of tools to automate and enhance these processes.
If you’re ready to take your finance team to the next level, consider implementing NetSuite and UniFi. Get in touch with us today to discuss your needs!