When comparing business accounting software features, you’ll quickly discover that not all solutions offer the same flexibility. A growth-oriented company needs software features that manage increasing organizational complexity, volumes of data, and users. 

At Cargas Systems, we work with businesses of all types as they look for a solution that meets their current requirements and will adapt to their future needs. 

If your company wants accounting software that can evolve with you, look for solutions with the following features: 

1. Multi-Dimensional Reporting

Multi-dimensional reporting is a unique accounting software feature that lets you streamline your chart of accounts. You can scale down the volume of account numbers and gain enhanced reporting capabilities. 

With a traditional segmented chart of accounts, a business with 100 accounts and three departments at three locations ends up with a total of 900 records to track. But when you have multi-dimensional reporting capabilities, you’ll only need 106 records across all accounts, locations, and departments.  

Multi-dimensional reporting lets you create customized reports that are easy to drill down into and gain meaningful insights from, such as: 

• Revenue per item by customer 
• Ticket revenue per event 
• Expenses per department by location 
• Profit and loss by truck 

With this type of reporting, you can easily put insightful data in the hands of your managers, executives, board members, and CPAs. 

2. Dashboards

Dashboards offer “at a glance” views of a company’s financial performance. They provide real-time data like financial information, statistics, KPIs and analytics, charts, graphs, and reports—all with drill-down capabilities. Your team can use the latest data to make quick business decisions rather than rely on outdated historical data from month-end close. With this information at your fingertips, your organization can jump on opportunities and immediately address issues. 

Look for a software solution that will allow you to have unlimited dashboards and customizable permissions. You may want to limit access to just one individual or department. You might also need to provide dashboard access with drill-down capabilities to individuals and groups that are not on your accounting and finance teams such as branch managers, department managers, external CPAs, board members, and private equity or venture capital partners. 

3. Multi-Tenant, Cloud-Based Environment

With a multi-tenant architecture, software is affordable as well as feature-rich. Accessibility to your accounting system from any Internet-connected device means you can stay on top of your company’s financials anytime and from anywhere. Make sure the solution you choose offers automatic, regular upgrades that give you consistent enhancements and fix known issues while reducing downtime.  

You should also look for a secure software solution that offers white-glove testing, top-level security features, continuous data backups (rather than just one per day), and a reliable disaster recovery plan. 

4. Integration Capabilities

When information can flow in and out of your accounting system easily, you save time, ensure data integrity, and give yourself the ability to analyze business activity 24/7. You shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to pull data into your software, so look for a solution with standard CSV templates to simplify the job.  

Also, seek a system with public-facing APIs that will enable you to create integrations with your other best-in-class systems. Why suffer through the hassle of exporting information from disparate platforms and shuffling them together when there’s a better way? 

5. Multi-Functionality

Things can get complicated when running a business with multiple locations, entities, and currencies. But the right accounting software can make collecting data and analyzing financials less complex through dimensional tagging and reporting. Set your sights on a solution that can capture and accommodate information from different business locations and entities, all from one login. Also, look for a solution that can record and report transactions in multiple currencies. 

What Solutions Offer These Features?

This is just a small sampling of the robust and innovative features you can get with modern cloud accounting software. If you’re interested in learning more about how accounting software can transform your business, contact us today. At Cargas Systems, we’re here to listen to your current needs, assess where you’re headed, and implement solutions to help you get a better grasp on your data and achieve your goals. 

As a Sage Intacct Premier Partner and President’s Club member, Cargas Systems can empower your business to scale and succeed.