It’s that time of the year again, when the pressure mounts for many CFOs and financial teams. The End of Financial Year (EOFY), which falls within the June/July timeframe for many companies, brings with it the challenges of reporting, forecasting, and consolidating financial data.
Mark Culverson, General Manager with Klugo, having been an accountant in an earlier life, knows first-hand that when working with a frustrating collection of independent systems and add-on tools, “Accountants tend to spend too much of their time just pulling numbers together, when the real value they provide is understanding the impact of those numbers and looking at the lead measures which impact the business.”
If you’re tired of struggling with entry-level systems like Xero and MYOB, accompanied by an ever-growing number of external, disconnected bolt-ons and apps, manual processes, and an EOFY rush of long working hours, it’s time to consider becoming a data-driven business and upgrading to a more powerful enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. In this article, we explore some common problems faced during EOFY and how a centralised system like NetSuite can provide solutions to streamline your financial processes.
1. Budgeting & forecasting
One of the major challenges during EOFY is budgeting and forecasting. Entry-level finance systems often have limitations that force finance teams to rely on manual calculations and API integrations with external forecast applications. This leads to excessive importing, exporting, and collating of reports in spreadsheets, consuming valuable time and increasing the risk of errors. NetSuite offers a centralised data management solution that provides accurate, real-time budgeting and forecasting capabilities. There’s no need to duplicate or compare data across different platforms and extensions. With NetSuite, you can make informed decisions based on reliable data, eliminating the need for cumbersome manual processes.
2. Reporting limitations
Reporting limitations can cripple finance teams during EOFY. Entry-level systems that lack centralised data require cumbersome import and export processes between various applications. This manual-intensive task consumes valuable time and resources, leaving your team exhausted and prone to errors. It also results in staff frustration; as Mark notes, “Staff don’t want to spend their time crunching numbers. They want to spend their time adding value.” NetSuite provides a centralised system that eliminates the need for importing and exporting data. With NetSuite’s customisable reporting capabilities, you can generate reports efficiently and effortlessly, saving time and reducing the risk of mistakes.
3. Cash-flow challenges
Managing cash flow can be a challenge, especially for businesses with multiple subsidiaries. Many entry-level systems struggle to support the consolidation of financial statements and cash flow between companies. NetSuite seamlessly manages cash flow across multiple subsidiaries, providing real-time visibility and empowering businesses to make data-driven financial decisions. With NetSuite, you can consolidate your financial statements quickly and accurately, gaining a clear picture of your company’s financial position at the end of the year.
4. Cost accounting
Entry-level systems often have limited reporting capabilities for cost accounting. This can result in slow itemised billings and inconsistencies caused by imports from different warehouses and billing applications, which may even be using different terms for the same thing: closed invoice or received invoice? Closed sales orders or shipped goods? With NetSuite, everyone is using the same names for the same purpose, eliminating duplication, improving efficiency, and offering your business accurate insights into your cost accounting processes. NetSuite’s customisable reporting, powered by Australian data centres and Oracle database technology, ensures fast results even with large amounts of data.
5. Stocktake struggles
Managing stocktake with entry-level systems can be chaotic, and severely tax warehouse staff at year’s end. Tracking materials, stock levels, and managing purchase orders between different platforms often involves exporting and importing data, leading to complications and inefficiencies, not to mention the struggle to make sure all the information is properly updated in each system to coordinate closing off at the same time. This can result in poor customer service and difficulties in tracking real-time inventory. NetSuite’s inventory management system seamlessly integrates with your financial operations, providing real-time visibility and streamlining the stock management process. With NetSuite, you can effectively track your stock, manage purchase orders, and ensure smooth customer service during the busiest time of the year.
Why FSM matters
Given the speed of today’s businesses and market, having an efficient and integrated ERP platform is crucial for smooth operations. When coupled with an on-platform field management service (FMS) system, the benefits are even more pronounced, particularly during the end of the financial year.
Companies heavily reliant on manual data capture, especially those with field service operations, often struggle to connect diverse systems during this critical period. User input in these systems is typically delayed until the end of the day, and in some cases, it can be up to three days behind schedule. This delay triggers a chain reaction that disrupts essential processes such as inventory management, billing, cash flow, and reporting. The delayed data in each system then needs to be reconciled, adding further complexity and room for errors. Recognising the significance of tackling manual data input alongside connecting disparate systems is crucial.
With an integrated solution like Next Service, businesses can automatically and instantly transfer all aspects of field service into the accounting modules of NetSuite, eliminating delays and ensuring real-time accuracy. This integration empowers companies to navigate the end of the financial year with ease, optimising efficiency, reducing errors, and ultimately achieving greater success in their financial processes.
Plan now for an easier EOFY next year
“Now, when you’ve just been through year-end and you’ve got all that information at hand, it is a perfect time to start planning for the next EOFY. Start the process of engaging with stakeholders across the business and a delivery partner such as Klugo to understand the investment and value adds NetSuite can bring to your business,” advises Mark Culverson.
Taking control of your financial reporting and consolidations by investing in a centralised system like NetSuite may require some addition to this budget, but it will pay off with a much quicker EOFY process in future. It will also give you the scope to spend less time crunching numbers and guiding colleagues through the mess of a patchwork system, and more time reading the data and planning for your business’ future success. Mark reports that July and August are popular months for CFO and accountants to book a meeting with Klugo to discuss the steps they need to take to ensure a successful transition to take them to the next EOFY and beyond.
Conclusion
By investing in NetSuite, you can eliminate the pain of disconnected systems and reap the benefits of real-time data and streamlined processes, empowering your business to accelerate its growth, and as Mark points out, “NetSuite’s architecture means it can keep growing alongside your business. Your company will not outgrow a NetSuite solution because it’s an endlessly scalable solution.” Make the switch and join the growing number of businesses that are embracing the power of NetSuite. Say goodbye to the frustrations of entry-level systems and welcome a new era of efficiency, accuracy, and data-driven decision-making for your EOFY and beyond.
About Klugo
NetSuite + NextService
Klugo’s vision is to unlock the full operating potential of our customers to maximise the value of their business. We do this by helping our customers achieve operating excellence using NetSuite + NextService, the world-leading cloud ERP and FSM business platform for small-to-medium-sized businesses.
Feel free to call an expert in operational excellence today. Find out how cloud-based technology can support and quickly adapt to your growth strategies.
