The festive period is over. During that time perhaps there’s been an opportunity to reflect on the previous 12 months, while also setting goals for the year ahead. These can vary and depend of multiple factors. However, one area that has seen steady growth is the adoption of accounting software, with smaller to medium sized businesses now implementing such systems.

You can see where the theme sits for this month’s blog. So, diving straight in, why is accounting software important and why should it be a priority for your business this year? With various options out there, it can be a bit of minefield to navigate, not to mention time consuming when it distracts you from your day-to-day.

One such software integration to consider is FurnitureBooks. But we’ll get onto that shortly. Now, let’s take a moment to understand just why accounting software is a smart move and why it should be towards the top of your New Year’s Resolution list.

Accounting software allows you to automate financial tasks, save time, reduce errors, gain real-time financial clarity and ensure tax compliance. Not only does it shift the laborious task of manual spreadsheets to digital, accounting software portrays an accurate picture of your business’ health, which leads to better decision-making and potential growth.

In addition, accounting software is becoming essential under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT and Income Tax. In fact, software is becoming mandatory for submitting tax returns, with HMRC removing certain free tools.

Here’s the top five points about accounting software:

1 – Time, Efficiency and Accuracy: Software enables automation for various tasks such as invoicing, payment tracking, bank reconciliations and expense management. This not only saves crucial time but also streamlines processes in an efficient and accurate way.

2- Real-time Insight: Alongside the efficiency perks, software systems can provide instant insights into your business. From cash flow and profitability to stock, VAT and financial reports, software can shine in real-time to share data at a click of a button.

3 – Simple and Safe: Using accounting software keeps tax simple with a smooth process and tools to help comply with regulations. Furthermore, cloud-based options offer better data security and backups than physical records, protecting sensitive financial information.

4 – Better Business: Knowing all the data, financial health and clear insights enables better business practice, which leads to making better business decisions. Whether that’s to plan the next stage of growth or navigate a potential challenging environment, having the financial knowledge behind you provides confidence in moving forward.

5 – Smarter Integration: Accounting software also has another key benefit, which is the simplicity behind integrating with other tools seamlessly. From managing purchase orders, automation and creating a smoother, more streamlined workflow, using the right software that fits your business can open other integration options.

In a nutshell, accounting software transforms bookkeeping from a time-consuming chore into a strategic tool, putting the power into your business and control over insights, while remaining fully compliant. As highlighted earlier, FurnitureBooks is an ideal place to start. Here’s why.

Powered by RetailSystem, FurnitureBooks integrates directly with QuickBooks Online – the world’s number one online account software, which is used by 4.3 million global subscribers. The FurnitureBooks tool helps track VAT automatically, as well as income and profit through plenty of reports.

Furthermore, it allows users to run their business anytime, anywhere and on any device, making it easier to maintain financial control than ever before with real-time financial data and reports. The integration also creates entries just as they would be if entered manually, no shortcuts, uploading or downloading. This means a huge time saving for users, and vastly increased levels of accuracy as no re-keying into the accounts system is necessary.

Payments taken from customers are also passed into FurnitureBooks from RetailSystem, and configured to match with the way the retailer receives them into their bank account. This allows proper reconciliation of customers’ monies as they are received, and highlights any discrepancies between entries in RetailSystem, and actual bankings.

Supplier invoices are entered onto RetailSystem, allowing correct validation of costings on purchase orders, which – again – pass in real time, so creditor payments can be efficiently handled, and duplications/mistakes avoided.

FurnitureBooks allows the user to link to their bank/credit card and PayPal accounts, and then imports the transactions in real time – automatically, then looking to reconcile and match these, further boosting efficiency and the ability to identify anything not accounted for.

And there’s more. The VAT functionality is very simple and also intuitive to use too. Returns are submitted directly from the software and HMRC receipt is instantly provided. The VAT Audit checker allows the user to make spot checks within the return to be submitted on transactions that FurnitureBooks sees as possible issues or anomalies – such as duplications.

For furniture and bed retailers, the new year isn’t just about sales figures and stocktakes – it’s also the time when financial years reset and businesses look for better ways to manage performance. That makes now the ideal moment to plan a smarter, more connected way of running your accounts for your next financial year.

It’s easy to get going too. Starting a new financial year is the easiest and best time to make the switch. RetailSystem’s implementation team helps each retailer set up their FurnitureBooks integration with precision and care. With over 18 years’ experience managing accounting integrations, the specialist team ensures every connection is configured correctly – so you begin the year with clean, accurate data.

FurnitureBooks has already delivered strong results. Orders, deposits, payments, credits and supplier invoices now move between systems automatically, removing the dreaded late-night manual entry. If your business wants real-time clarity, cleaner books, fewer errors and more time to focus on what actually grows your business, then FurnitureBooks is a powerful tool to do just that.

Get smart with accounting software today and begin your new financial year with FurnitureBooks.

www.retailsystem.com/uk/features/accountsmodule-powered-by-quickbooks/