When a company is looking to maintain and accelerate growth, the internal finance team is the place to look to kick-start your plan. Accounting departments are typically number driven but business growth goes much deeper. Here are a few ways that your accounting department can help your company grow beyond the numbers.
Stability
A good accountant, and accounting software, are integral for a company’s stability. Without the ability to reliably report on your financial status and metrics, your business is missing one of its foundational components. A strong accounting team that provides accurate, timely information using modern accounting software is critical to your future growth. Not only can they help you understand where you are today and provide critical reporting for tax and regulatory purposes, they can also analyze trends and provide forecasts for the future.
Efficiency
When you think of efficiency you’re probably thinking about getting a task done as fast as possible. Efficiency in accounting is a little bit different and although it can be a factor, it doesn’t always relate to how quickly tasks get done. In accounting, when considering efficiency, you measure the productivity of your company’s assets. This includes machinery, space, employees, software etc. Managing and improving your company’s efficiency is integral for business growth.
Employee Retention
Losing good employees can be costly and time consuming for a business and in the end stunt a business’s growth. The real costs to losing a well-trained and reliable employees can cost tens of thousands of dollars each time you have to hire a replacement. Keeping employees happy can sometimes fall on the accounting department. In one majorly obvious way that accounting influences retainability is making sure there is room in the budget for salary increases and bonuses for deserving employees. Money isn’t everything for employees; keeping employees happy and reducing stress levels in relation to work helps too. Making their job easier and more manageable with streamlined processes and solution-based software can also make a huge difference.
Customer Satisfaction
Without customer satisfaction it is nearly impossible for a business to grow. Business growth relies heavily on customer loyalty and repeat business. If customers are not happy, you likely won’t maintain their business or the business of their referral networks. However, when a customer is happy, they keep shopping and they tell their friends. Word of mouth, glowing reviews, and frequent referrals are an easy and fast way to help a business grow without spending extra money. Accounting plays a key role in customer satisfaction. When working business to business, the accounting department can help build a formal and close client relationship. They can make sure billing is done properly and in a timely matter and even extend leniency and understanding when small businesses are experiencing hardships and possibly need a few extra days to pay. Treating customers with care and respect during the payment process can have a huge effect on their perception of the organization. Using software solutions that help manage these client relationships is a great way to make sure that all of the relationships are nurtured and maintained across the board.
