If you’re already using cloud accounting software, like Xero or Quickbooks Online, then there are a few things you can do to get more advanced reporting, save you time and encourage faster payments.

1. Utilise built-in reporting

Keeping on top of your bookkeeping allows you to run real time information and reports within the software at a click of a button. There are lots of reports readily available, such as cash flow projection and business snapshots, to help you make informed decisions.

In Xero go to Business and then to the Short-term cash flow and Business Snapshot reports. In Quickbooks Online go to the Business Overview.

2. Expand reporting and forecasting with third party apps

There are lots of additional third-party apps that can be easily integrated with your Xero or Quickbooks Online account for financial reporting and forecasting. Try Spotlight, Fluidly, or Syft.

Receive your payments quicker with the likes of GoCardless and Stripe. Make it easier for your customers to pay invoices sent directly from Xero & Quickbooks Online, encouraging faster payment times.

3. Review your current subscription

It’s always a good idea to review the subscription type you are currently on for the likes of Xero and Quickbooks Online.

Are you currently using all the software functionalities that you are paying for? Could you instead utilise a smaller, cheaper monthly package?

We suggest that you visit the pricing pages to check you’ve got the package that is right for you – here is the link to Xero, and to Quickbooks.

4. Receipt capture apps

Receipt capture apps are great tools which allow you cut down the amount of time spent on processing bookkeeping and managing paperwork, leaving you more time to focus on running your business.

How do receipt capture apps work? All you need to do is scan in your bills and receipts and using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), the app extracts the relevant information on the document. As it recognises the data on the image, it turns it into text. It will do its best to prepopulate information like date, contact, detail, VAT amount, ready for you to review and push through to your cloud accounting software.

There are many apps on the market. Xero and Quickbooks Online both offer free capture apps as part of their subscriptions, Hubdoc and Quickbooks Receipt Capture respectively, which are great starting points to get going with.

If you require more advanced functionality or are processing large quantities of paperwork, it might be best to use Dext or AutoEntry.

If you’d like to find out more or contact the PKF Francis Clark Cloud Team.