Signs Your Accounting Software Is Outdated, Needs an Upgradation

Table of Contents:

• Signals for Upgrading Accounting Software
• Why should you Upgrade your Accounting Software
• Benefits of Updating Accounting Software
• Summary

Is your business still using outdated accounting software? Does this stop you from achieving optimum levels of performance in your operations? Upgraded accounting software has powerful features that make the employee’s work easier and more efficient. So it saves both time and money, thus, we recommend you upgrade to the accounting software hosting when you see these trigger signs.

Did it ever occur to you that it needs up-gradation to inherit  relevant features for your business to succeed? If yes, you have arrived at the right spot!

Signals for Upgrading Accounting Software

Today, many businesses say that their inventory management system is very manual, which leads to human errors. From the outdated solution, firms can see observe the following disadvantages :

• Software taking ample time to pull financial reports
• CRM gets completely disconnected from other systems
• Various complexities in daily accounting tasks

If you have not updated your existing application , you cannot expect the best  results or end product for your business. Given below are the significant indicators that will help you understand why  upgrading your accounting software is essential.

1. When you Cannot Connect to the Cloud

With outdated software, you would not be able to connect to the cloud. It takes away the perks of getting rid of the in-house infrastructure. 

Not just this, it could sadly make your business miss out on all the additional features like:

• Remote accessibility
• Advanced security
• Round-the-clock tech support

Moreover, it hampers the workflow in the long run.

2. Real-Time Reporting Becomes Difficult

In simple terms, real-time reporting means gathering up-to-the-minute data and relaying/conveying it to users as it happens. The information is presented in real-time, helping the managers make quick decisions under heavy time constraints.

With outdated accounting solutions, ample time gets exhausted. Your real-time accounting reports gets incorrectly represented as it should be as per the current time. This increases the chances of profitable opportunities and magnifies the risk of errors.

3. Lack of Useful Insights

The accounting software that gives a full view of the entire business or its financial status at one glance is more preferred by users nowadays. But if your solution is outdated, you will be unable to get a detailed insight into each area of work.   

You may face integration-related issues with your current accounting system in the areas like:

• CRM
• Inventory
• Warehousing

The outdated business software would not allow access to specific pages, withholding your business to make more informed decisions by keeping a 360-degree view.

4. No Mobile Competences

It is clearly  visible  that outdated accounting software faces several difficulties, including syncing with the latest mobile support/updates. Besides this, it makes it fall behind in the competition. Here are a few warning signs.

• Your software does not provide applications for mobile OS like iOS and Android
• It has limited functionality on mobile devices
• It works on your mobile device but lacks essential features.

An updated accounting software will not only help your business grow but also provide insights pertaining to your financial health even when you’re on-the-go.

5. Does Not Integrate with any New App

CRM and inventory management have very close yet crucial roles in accounting. Most firms use different applications to run their businesses smoothly.

Though, the inability to import or export data from other applications increases the burden on the manpower. While most of the modern applications now are compatible with other applications, the up-gradation assures manpower to make manpower contribute to helping hands to the business. In simple words, a lack of integration can cause users to miss out on additional functions that aid their respective operations.

6. Limited Automation Features

Amongst other essential complex functions, accounting software’s automation feature helps ease out recurring tasks, giving business owners more time to focus on developing their business.  Automation also helps in decreasing duplication errors for manual entry-based tasks.

But, where a good accounting solution makes things easier for you, without an upgraded one, you can face issues with:

• Recurring invoices
• Recurring bills
• Default terms and conditions
• Scheduled invoices
• Customer note fields on invoices
• Default email messages for various types of emails
• One-click estimate-to-invoice conversion
• Generating the accounting reports automatically and more

Hence, upgrading your accounting software will ensure you possess clear data records along with a data system free of errors.

7. No Payment Gateways

Have you ever come across any payment incident when you swiped your credit/debit card in a store but the POS/billing machine did not recognize your card or showed an issue regarding the internet link being down? 

A payment gateway allows the online store to connect to your merchant bank account. But an old or outdated platform of accounting solutions has no option of paying it from the software. This can create a stir, thus making it difficult for the customers to make proper payments.

8. Only One Currency Option

The outdated accounting software comes with limited currency options. Upgradation brings the multicurrency feature to the forefront, which allows you to assign a specific currency type to the following profiles and accounts.

• Customers
• Vendors
• Price levels
• Bank accounts
• Credit card accounts
• Accounts receivable
• Accounts payable

Companies that deal with more than one type of currency will find that their needs are met by up-to-date accounting software.

9. Software isn’t Being Updated Regularly

Your old bookkeeping solution might not be getting regular updates. Without the update, this will cause you to face errors and bugs; that can crash your software and restrict its functionalities.

Why Should you Upgrade your Accounting Software

Software upgrades are made available when developers discover security problems, make tweaks to existing features, or fix compatibility problems. Mentioned below are some of the reasons for updating your accounting software:

1. Security

Data security is considered the top priority for any business. Added to that, things are even more critical when it comes to accounting data.  Upgrading the accounting software gives better storage and the ability to take routine backup. It ensures improved data security and removes the extra pressure on the business.  Also, the timely upgrades assure that your software is immune from most potential threats and bugs.

2. Remote Access

The cloud version of an application allows different users to work on the same file, even from multiple locations and devices.  Further, it ensures that employees have flexibility at work. Such aspects maximize the business’s productivity as people virtually connect and work together effortlessly.

3. Ease of Customization

The updated accounting software offers better and enhanced features. It helps in the adaptation with distinctiveness, growth, and the change in the style of your business with better customization.

4. Updated Information

Taxation policies, accounting patterns, rules, etc., are apt to frequent changes. This affects the accounting equations by a wide margin. Your up-to-date software can ease up the task and adjust to the changes that may occur with different information.

5. More Space for Records

Businesses and companies compromise on several grounds, from storage restrictions to security concerns. With the advent of cloud solutions, such as QuickBooks, these limits are now diminishing.

Most of the small and medium-sized businesses prefer QuickBooks Hosting as it comes with:

• Cost-effectiveness
• Advanced security
• 24×7 technical support
• Back-up services
• Many more additional features

So, upgrading to such software can easily increase your storage space without any hassle of maintenance.

Benefits of Updating Accounting Software

The benefits of accounting software can only be enjoyed when the accounting software is updated on a regular basis. Mentioned below are some of the accounting software benefits with regular upgrades.

1. Cost-effective

With the cloud, there is no need for a dedicated team for security and technical support. This saves a considerable amount.

As there is no additional team, the company does not require buying expensive hardware or spending on the expensive security infrastructure. All of these save a fortune for the business/company, which can be invested somewhere else.

2. Time-Saving

The time that the business would have invested in the security and technical support of the company gets saved.

Updated accounting software cuts down the rigorous manual bookkeeping tasks. It ensures the smooth workflow of back-end transactions as well as the processing of front-end documents.

3. No Time-consuming Back-ups

The confidential files and data of the business are protected with automated quick backup and recovery solutions. Business companies can be assured of the safety and availability of the data. The data is safe even in case of accidental data deletion or natural disasters. Regular updation also facilitate frequent backups.

4. Accuracy

The benefits of updated accounting software include increased accuracy by reducing or eliminating human errors in calculation. 

Also, the process of manual bookkeeping involves a lot of mathematical calculations by hand, and an incorrect calculation early on in the process can have a huge impact on the end balance.

Computer systems are virtually incapable of making such errors. However, it should be noted that accounting software is not immune to human errors that arise from data entry or interpretation mistakes. 

Still, the probability percentage is nearly negligible.

5. Improved and Advanced Features

Accounting software updates offer cutting-edge features and functions that target a company’s market-based operations.  

6. Smoother Operations

With new updates financial departments are able to streamline their functions and even perform financial adjustments efficiently.

 7. Controls and Compliances

New updates to accounting software also come with new features and even controls that help in consolidating processes with just a click.

8. Easy Collaboration

With the constant advancements to accounting software, the updates are making multi-user mode more efficient and collaborative. These updates enable the multiple users to work on the same platform without interrupting each other’s operations.

Summary

If you have outdated software, you are way far away from seeing better results for your company.

Therefore, keep the points as mentioned above in mind and upgrade your business’s software soon. This will help you get the most out of business bookkeeping solutions to maximize productivity, hence, ensuring a good return of investment for your business.