Insights

Technology Platforms for Efficient Accounting: Part 1

November 11, 2024

Many people imagine accountants working with piles of paper, long strips of calculator tape, and pencils tucked behind their ears. While sometimes that may still be the case, most of today’s accounting work is completed on a computer. There are many technology tools in today’s accounting world that help create efficiencies, allowing accountants to focus more time on analysis and accuracy. At McKonly & Asbury, the Entrepreneurial Accounting Solutions (EAS) team uses several tools and are also continuously searching for new tools every day that could help them serve their clients.

QuickBooks Online and Desktop

One of the main tools of the EAS team is QuickBooks, both the Desktop version and the Online version. With technology moving more towards cloud-based services, QuickBooks Online (QBO) is typically used more often than QuickBooks Desktop (QBD). QBD is becoming more outdated, as Intuit encourages users to use QBO and provides more support and updates to the cloud-based system. However, both products allow a business to keep their financials up-to-date, post journal entries, reconcile bank accounts, and create pertinent financial reports.

Both platforms have similar tools to improve efficiency with accounting processes. Bank feeds can be downloaded from the bank portals and imported into each system. This allows a user to code transactions directly on the bank feed rather than having to manually enter each item. Bank rules can be created to categorize transactions automatically. These are particularly helpful for repetitive expenses, such as utility payments. When set up properly, bank rules can be very effective time-savers. The bank reconciliation process is also streamlined and reduces time spent on reconciling the accounts.

Journal entries can be memorized or scheduled in QuickBooks. This is helpful for recurring entries, such as those needed to record depreciation or monthly mileage expenses. Various financial reports are available, such as Accounts Payable Aging, Accounts Receivable Aging, Transaction List by Vendor, Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and General Ledger reports. Reports can be customized and saved for future use and scheduled to run automatically. They are also able to be exported into both Excel and PDF.

Payroll Integrations

Many businesses use a payroll provider to process payroll for their employees. Some payroll platforms can sync with accounting software to automatically record the payroll expenses once they are processed. When the payroll platform is connected to the accounting software, the resulting automation reduces the need for manual entry.

The EAS team at McKonly & Asbury has found success with this process with ADP RUN and Gusto. Both payroll providers can connect to QBO and “map” the payroll expenses to their appropriate general ledger accounts. For example, payroll taxes would map to the payroll tax accounts, benefits map to their specific benefits such as health insurance, and the payroll payments map to the bank accounts. Once the initial mapping is completed, the payroll platform creates journal entries and sends them automatically to QBO after each payroll is processed. This type of payroll integration ensures that payroll is recorded accurately and allows for a smooth, quick review process.

There are many other tech and AI tools that are available and are continuing to be developed. The EAS team strives to stay abreast of new technology that can be used to provide additional process efficiencies for clients. With new technology also comes potential fear of increased security risk. The IT segment of M&A has strict policies and reviews tech tools before they are implemented. For further information on our EAS team, their services, and their use of technology, please contact Rebecca Lauffer, a supervisor within on our EAS team.