Significant growth has been noted for several years in the accounting sector. New technologies bring opportunities and with the emergence of innovative companies, customer expectations are increasingly higher. This development is particularly noticeable with accounting software. What are emerging trends in accounting software ? Let's find out.
The Cloud
The majority of SMEs now use cloud-based accounting software. Cloud technology has grown rapidly and has been adopted by new industries such as accounting. The Cloud allows the company to save money. Indeed, its use does not require investments in expensive IT equipment.
With the cloud, applications are run on servers. Thus, companies that make use of it will be able to access their accounting data at any time, online. With the proliferation of connectivity, more and more organizations are starting to use cloud-based accounting software such as Xero or Quickbooks.
By opting for the digitalization of their data, accounting firms can have access to a secure space for sharing files with partners, or externally with suppliers or customers. This method improves access to information and limits errors.
Manual data backup takes a long time. It prevents accountants from having time to perform other more important tasks. In the cloud, it is possible to schedule a regular and automatic backup of customer information.
Data analysis
The rapid development of data analysis allows companies to gain more insight from existing data. These are more in-depth. For example, analytical tools make it easier for them to simulate, analyze risk and better understand business trends. In the future, manual data entry will certainly disappear. However, we will wait for accountants to be more efficient in their work with the use of these technologies.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are shaping the age of automation and are not about to stop. This is a boon for the finance and accounting industry as professionals are relieved of their tedious and time-consuming manual tasks.
Artificial intelligence automates repetitive tasks and sets up predictive analysis capabilities. Optical character recognition enables relevant information on a purchase order or invoice to stand out from the crowd. This feature is the first contribution of artificial intelligence to accounting.
Artificial intelligence and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) enable the robotization of time-consuming manual tasks. Machine learning, on the other hand, alerts you to late payments or exceeded credit limits. It can also perform predictive analyzes: anticipate a risk of non-payment in time based on the history of payment habits of a customer account.
Other artificial intelligence solutions manage supplier data verification. These are data such as IBAN, Siren number, VAT number. With the elimination of tedious tasks, artificial intelligence helps in the development of accounting.