Jolene chats to Joel from Digital Autopilot about tools to help save time and improve cashflow.

 

Most of us are constantly on the lookout to work smarter not harder. Therefore, as the new financial year begins, it’s a good opportunity to explore how you can refine systems within your business.

From working closely with businesses daily, we know and understand the two key areas where a lot of owners struggle are:

1) Managing time
2) Managing cashflow

The good news is that technology has come a long way and has helped make life easier for many businesses. Here are just two simple ways to save time and improve cashflow using innovative tools.

If you are already one of our clients, you are probably already familiar with the benefits of these applications!

 

Keeping Financial Records

As a business grows, so too do the financial administration tasks. This can result in a huge time drain and lots of extra effort needed.

Thanks to a financial document management tool called Hubdoc, it has become a whole lot easier.

Hubdoc is one of several available applications, others including Receiptbank and AutoEntry, that act as a document collection and management tool.

You can think of Hubdoc as a digital shoebox that is compliant with the Australian Tax Office.

The Hubdoc app collects documents and receipts and then converts them into a usable format which is then easily integrated into your accounting software, such as Xero. This information can then be accessed by the business owner, their bookkeeper and accountant. It represents a single source of truth of all paperwork.

As we all know, there is nothing worse than locating a random receipt from months ago that is buried in email records.

Hubdoc solves this issue and offers three easy ways to upload your documents:

– Take a photo from your phone directly into the Hubdoc app
– Link automatic accounts such as your telephone and electricity directly to Hubdoc
– Forward your email invoices from your inbox to Hubdoc

The primary benefits of the Hubdoc app are that it becomes your paperless accounting system and allows you to source records easily. This saves a lot of storage space as well as a lot of time and stress, especially during tax time.

Less printed paper is a big tick for the environment too!

 

Taking Payments Easily

As your business grows, the satisfaction of increasing revenue may also be coupled with cashflow issues.

One of the easiest most effective ways to improve cashflow is to reduce your payment terms on your invoices.  For example, if you currently have a 30 day term reduce it to 7 or 14 days and you will notice an organic improvement in cashflow.

Another way to help improve cashflow is to implement a payment service such as Billpower that can make it easier for your business to get paid faster. Other popular payment services include Integrapay, Paypal, Pinch, and Stripe.

Payment services act as an add-on service to an electronic invoice sent through your accounting software. They allow your clients and customers to pay you directly from that invoice, rather than via their banking app or delaying payment for a later date.

The most significant benefit to your business is an increase in steady cashflow, as most customers will find it easier to make payments immediately.

Keep in mind that an analysis is required to ensure the most suitable payment service is selected based on your company needs, so we suggest getting your Bookkeeper’s recommendation before you choose.

 

Save Time and Increase Cashflow

If you would like more information on how these tools can help streamline and improve your business, we are happy to offer a free consultation to discuss your needs.

Centegrity has over 14 years of experience assisting businesses with bookkeeping and business mentoring.

Get in touch by filling in the form below.