What is ERP – Financial Tools

ERP software can do many things for your business (for an in-depth discussion on the benefits of ERP, read the first part of this “What is ERP?” article series). In this second part, we want to go into a little more detail on what Financial Management ERP software is and how it can take your business to the next level.

What is Financial Management ERP Software?

Financial reporting is the heart of any business. The ability to produce accurate, timely and useful reports is arguably the most critical function in the entire accounting process. These financial reports are the pulse that enables us to monitor a company’s financial health and quickly identify potential problems that can be addressed before it’s too late.

Most people associate ERP software with things like supply chain management and inventory management – but not necessarily financial management. While an ERP system helps to improve departmental productivity and effectiveness, it also offers tools to enhance and simplify a company’s finances. Financial management software functions as an overall, comprehensive set of resources to figure out your company’s finances on both a short-term and long-term basis.

Financial management software helps to ensure you’re achieving maximum efficiency, accountability and productivity. The software aggregates and integrates information which can be supplied to ledgers, employee journals, financial statements and expense reports as transactions occur. Further, analytical models and reports can be built and used to provide detailed, real-time insight about finances and operations across an entire enterprise. Additionally, internal reporting created with an effective financial management ERP solution helps financial decision-makers collaborate and develop plans of action based on accurate, comprehensive information.

Acumatica Financial Management Suite

We’ve discussed how financial management software supports businesses in their success by making information accessible to decision-makers. As well as providing tools for reporting, analysis, budgeting and planning. Now, let’s take a look at what makes Acumatica Financial Management Suite the most effective financial management solution for your business.

What distinguishes Acumatica from other options is that it is feature-rich, can be fully integrated with every other Acumatica product suite and is designed for companies with complex requirements yet is scalable for use in smaller organizations with fewer system requirements. Acumatica’s financial management software was created to help you operate more efficiently and grow your business with ease.

Operate More Efficiently

• As a cloud-based and mobile-friendly solution, Acumatica gives you a complete picture of financials anywhere, anytime on any device.
• You can also save time by automating key processes using workflows that are easy to configure and modify as your needs change.
• You gain real-time visibility into how your business is performing with dozens of out-of-the-box financial reports and personalized dashboards.
• With Acumatica you can automate the process of entering timesheets, submitting expense claims and assigning work with the Employee Portal.
• Enable your people to work together with the same information in real-time utilizing Acumatica’s centralized database.

Grow Your Business with Ease

• With Acumatica you can quickly move your data between public and private cloud deployments as your business needs change.
• With our growth-friendly licensing you can add unlimited users at no additional cost.
• As you grow, reach international markets quickly with multi-currency, multi-language and multi-company capabilities, as well as localized functionality.
• Utilize inter-company accounting to track financials and create reports separately for an unlimited number of related companies within your organization.
• Seamlessly conduct recurring billing across customers, accounts, districts, organization and channels and product lines.

Acumatica’s Financial Tools

• General Ledger: Create a central repository, fully integrated, with analysis and real-time reporting power.
• Cash Management: Control day-to-day transactions, cash balances, funds transfer and bank account reconciliation.
• Accounts Receivable: Automate invoicing and manage collections.
• Accounts Payable: Manage liabilities for goods and services.
• Mobile ERP Applications: Enable employees to enter time and expense, review cases, approve orders and assign tasks from anywhere, at any time.
• Currency Management: Do business internationally and manage international subsidiaries.
• Tax Management: Support centralized tax configuration, management and reporting.
• Deferred Revenue Management: Systematize and accurately account for revenue recognition in future periods.
• Inter-Company Accounting: Direct financial reporting, payments, cash management and inter-entity transfers among multiple entities.
• Fixed-Assets Management: Track fixed assets and manage depreciation calculations.
• Recurring Revenue Management: Manage recurring billing for accuracy and visibility.
• Payroll Management: Handle all payroll functions for your company (or multiple companies) with automated functions.

Chat with an Expert

Financial Management Case Study – Firewire Surfboards

Firewire Surfboards manufactures high performance and eco-friendly surfboards. They are dedicated to using innovative materials and construction methods to improve sustainability. When they were a start-up, the Firewire team purchased a low-cost ERP and used it for basic transaction processing and as a company database for more than a decade. With this inexpensive ERP solution, the financial team spent a significant amount of time recreating financial reports that could have easily been automated with a more robust system.

As they began to experience rapid growth of more than 30% per year, they reached a point where their prior ERP solution wasn’t comprehensive and sophisticated enough to support their growth. When Firewire decided to walk away from their old provider, they started looking for a modern ERP solution with an open platform that aligned with their ambitions towards innovation.

With these criteria in mind, they decided on Acumatica Cloud ERP Software. With Acumatica Financial Management they gained an affordable, flexible ERP that helped them maintain a competitive edge and remain a market leader in high-performance, sustainable surfboards.

Some of the critical results of Fireside’s partnership with Acumatica were: they gained a modern business suite for financials and reporting as well as transparency into operations, finance and inventory. They were also able to avoid costly on-premises server upgrade investments because of the cloud-based nature of Acumatica. Further, with this new ERP solution in place, the financial team won back days wasted time manually creating financial and operational reports.

“We have a lot more real-time visibility into what other entities are doing, which allows me to be more effective and keep better tabs on what’s going on and helps us make more strategic financial decisions.”

– Franklin Shiraki, Financial Controller, Firewire Surfboards

Main Benefits for Firewire Surfboards

1. Unlimited User Pricing

• Firewire can add as many users as it needs without requiring additional user licenses.

2. Modern, Flexible ERP

• Acumatica’s open platform integrates well with several third-party partners, which helps Firewire remain the leading surfboard maker in the market.

3. Smooth Third-Party Integration

• Brandscope is Firewire’s sales and inventory management solution for its customers, giving them full insight into inventory levels and allowing them to place orders for stock.

4. Improved Visibility Increases Sales

• Acumatica helps Firewire make better decisions because executives have much better visibility across all operating entities and access to real-time data at their fingertips. Employees no longer worry about bothering the finance team to ask for a report or using hours of their time because those with role-based permissions can run their reports, thanks to Acumatica’s ease of use.

ERP systems allow instant visibility into data for accounting, budgeting, financial reporting, sales, order management and billing, all of which can be used by all levels of management to make better decisions. Implementing the right ERP solution gives you access to the information you need. With Acumatica’s ERP Financial Management Software, you gain the tracking capabilities and audit trails you need to ensure compliance and avoid being put in a bad financial situation.

Need more information on the software? Check out the overview of Acumatica Cloud ERP Software.

Have any questions about Acumatica or want to request a demonstration? Contact our team.

Remember, the company you choose to implement your software dictates the success or failure of your software investment. At Aqurus we’re passionate about providing superior ERP solutions and support.

Looking for information on industry-specific ERP software solutions? Check out these posts that are part of our What is ERP? article series:

• Financial Tools
  • Accounts Receivable
  • Accounts Payable
  • General Ledger
• Distribution Tools
  • Advanced Inventory Management
  • Purchase Order Management
  • Sales Order Management
• Manufacturing Tools
  • Bills of Material/Routing
  • Material Requirements Planning
  • Production Management
• CRM Tools
  • Sales Automation
  • Service & Support
  • Customer Self-Service Portal
• Project Accounting Tools
  • Project Cost Tracking
  • Advanced Billing
  • Time & Expense Management