Article
Steps middle market companies can implement to automate their cloud technology
Feb. 27, 2021
Businesses have been hearing about the trend towards more technology and automation for years now. However, the abrupt need to shift to remote working environments over the past year due to the coronavirus for many companies has escalated the need to move to the cloud and become more “tech-friendly”. For companies that have been slow to adapt, these remote working environments have severely affected back-office efficiency, timeliness of reporting and ultimately the bottom line. By exploring current technology trends for your back office operations, businesses can streamline their reporting capabilities and better align their goals to propel their business into the future.
Misconceptions about modern cloud technology for the middle market
Too expensive for small-to-mid-sized organizations
When most people think of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, they may think of software like SAP and Workday, which can be a significant financial investment. However, over the past four to five years, many of the leading software providers (Sage Intacct, Microsoft and Oracle) have developed strong ERP alternatives designed for the middle market. An ERP system is an integrated management application that automates business processes, and provides insights and internal controls. These solutions may not be as robust as some of the larger enterprise solutions, but they are substantial upgrades from other common accounting systems being utilized in this space (QuickBooks and Xero). For most organizations, the additional automation provided by these systems is well worth the price point.
Difficult to implement with limited internal resources
Implementing new systems and changing longstanding processes can be daunting, especially when you are already operating with a lean accounting and finance team. However, with the recent surge of cloud technologies being developed and which are geared towards smaller enterprises, the word “implementation” does not necessarily mean the six to twelve month project it used to. Many of the market-leading cloud ERP packages for the middle market can be implemented and fully deployed in less than six months, with many implementations completed in less than 90 days! Additionally, there are many other complimentary technologies which automate processes like expense management (Webexpenses and Tallie) or accounts payable (Bill.com and Yooz) that can be implemented and deployed in less than a month. In most cases, it is still advised to engage an implementation partner when considering the implementation of a new ERP system.