Enterprise Accounting Services 101

One of the best moments in any entrepreneur’s life is the moment they realize that their business has grown and succeeded in such a way that their old ways of managing their resources are no longer enough.

That’s also one of the scariest moments. When you begin to scale your business upward, your tools need to scale with you. This is especially true when it comes to accounting.

When your business grows beyond an off-the-shelf accounting solution and demands more efficiency, functionality, and mobility, it is time to embrace enterprise accounting software. 

Off-the-shelf software simply does not allow for a full information lifecycle—including document exchange and management, and process automation. To get the most out of your accounting software, you need a system designed with your needs at the forefront.

Enterprise Accounting for Beginners

When you are first learning about different types of accounting system software, it can be confusing. There is so much business finance software on the market. So what makes enterprise accounting systems stand out? What does enterprise accounting mean?

While there are many accounting systems that will track financial transactions, enterprise financial systems track those transactions and incorporate modules that focus on a broader spectrum of accounting processes.

Those processes include accounts payable and receivable, inventory management, payroll, and budgeting and forecasting. One of the greatest strengths of an enterprise accounting system is that you can customize it to fit your needs.

Enterprise accounting software can also be implemented as part of a unified, end-to-end content management solution. This allows for greater ease of communication and helps eliminate inefficiencies in existing workflows.

Who Should be Using an Enterprise Financial System?

There was a time when some people viewed enterprise systems as accounting software for large companies only. Big, multinational conglomerates have long recognized the necessity of expansive functionality in accounting software for large businesses.

However, as technology advances and innovative software becomes more affordable and available, medium-size companies have become a huge part of the enterprise accounting market.

As a company transitions from the accounting needs of a small business into new, complex ownership structures and financial realities, securing accounting software for a medium business becomes a necessity.

Of course, going from small to medium is just the beginning. As you grow further, you will need a system that can scale with you. If your goal is to turn your small business into a large-scale corporation, accounting software that only tracks general ledger functions won’t cut it.

When it comes to enterprise accounting, the question really isn’t about the industry. It’s about the size and scope of your business and facilitating its further growth and success. 

How do Enterprise Accounting Services Work?

Your business is your enterprise. Enterprise accounting software takes the tools from what might be considered a more standard set of accounting system software. It blends them with data and content management platforms to create the necessary finance management tools for large businesses. 

There are some accounting software companies that close off their API’s—limiting the level of integration you can leverage to get a more full and thorough analysis of your processes and workflows for better optimization across departments.

But with a customized platform designed with the interaction of financial software and systems for data and content management and analysis, you get the benefits of a top-tier accounting management system while opening the door for process automation, improved cross-department collaboration, and a unified collection of data from which to analyze and rate business performance when evaluating business strategies.

Essentially, enterprise accounting software uses integrated financial and accounting systems to make your accounting functions operate as part of a more unified whole with your other systems to give you a more complete view of your business.

Using M-Connect and M-Files to Augment Your Accounting System 

So what does customized accounting information system software look like? It looks a great deal like the unified, secure, and accessible content management system of M-Files. And using M-Connect in conjunction with your enterprise accounting software means that your system can be accessed via web or mobile to ensure that your financial software systems will still work for you, your partners, and your vendors, whether those teams are working in their home offices or working remotely.

M-Files allows you to store data more efficiently by prioritizing the function of the data rather than where it comes from. Instead of a file system that puts general ledger data in one place, accounts payable in another, and requires you to find the relevant information from all corners of your system to perform budgeting and forecasting tasks, you can pull your relevant data from one accessible source that connects to your full suite of business financial management software.

M-Connect then allows you to create a customized web portal for you and your clients to access your M-Files and utilize them remotely. You can generate those budget reports and supplement them with graphs and tables that are easy to build and easy for your clients, partners and vendors to read and understand. 

Using M-Connect and M-Files also gives your team members a consistent way to save and share data. 

Security in Consistency

During the global pandemic in 2020, many companies were forced to pivot to a majority remote workforce very suddenly. Some workers in companies that did not have a clearly defined workflow for information management would save sensitive information on their home computers, leaving that information vulnerable.

That is bad for any data, but when that data contains as much potentially sensitive information as your accounting systems? That is a disaster waiting to happen.

Using M-Files and M-Connect gives you a platform to address those needs. You can blend on-premises software with seamless, secure web and mobile access to ensure that, no matter where your team is working, they will be able to perform their tasks as though they were in the office.

Staying Ahead of Enterprise Accounting Software Trends

The biggest trend in corporate accounting software is automation. By taking a full view of your processes and workflows, you can recognize areas that regularly become bottlenecks. This is as true in accounting as it is in any other department.

M-Files and M-Connect are designed to remove bottlenecks and create streamlined processes where automation can be used to optimize your information management. 

That can look like automated reminders about contract milestones and key dates getting sent to relevant parties, report generation that pulls data from all relevant departments to show a 360-degree view of how budgets are being used across a company, a dramatically reduced processing time for invoices in accounts payable, or any number of options tailored to your needs.

What to Look For When Upgrading your Financial Accounting Systems

It isn’t a matter of finding the best accounting software for medium business—you need to focus on the best financial systems software for your business.

A system that is easy for your team to learn and use, secure from outside threats, gives remote access to authorized users that can be tailored to your unique needs, and that can be expanded upon as your needs grow, and change is a paramount necessity.

The variety of functions combined with automation capabilities and customizable properties of M-Connect and M-Files meet all those requirements and more. Talk to an expert today to see how enterprise accounting software can take your financial operations to a whole new level.