As your business grows, your financial management systems need to adapt as well. Here are some indicators that you may need to upgrade your accounting system and processes.
1) Large tax preparation bill. A big bill for tax preparation may indicate that your tax accountant is doing a lot of cleanup work before actually working on your taxes. Getting your books in order will both save you on your tax preparation bill and allow your tax accountant to do a better job helping you with tax planning.
2) Loan approvals take a long time. If the bank is slow to approve a loan request, it could just indicate that they need better financial information. Giving your banker solid and easily understandable financial information will make your bankers job easier and give the bank more confidence in your business, which will increase your odds of approval.
3) Lack of data. If you struggle to get the financial data you need to support business decisions, you may need to update your accounting system.
4) Cash flow is a struggle. If your business is profitable, but you still struggle with cash flow, you may need to upgrade your financial planning to give you greater insight and ability to plan for cash needs.
5) Numbers don’t make sense. If the numbers on your financial reports are hard to follow or don’t seem to make sense with what is going on in your business, you may need to transition from cash basis to accrual basis accounting.
6) You don’t feel confident about your finances. Your finances shouldn’t be a mystery or difficult to understand. With the proper accounting system in place, you can feel confident in your financial position.