The 5 things to look for in a financial management system

Does your financial management system (FMS) work for your organisation, or does it feel like you’re always having to fight against it?

If you want to find an FMS that works for you, look for these five features.

Tailored functionality

Your Financial Management Software should work around your needs – not the other way around. Don’t spend money on a system that won’t do everything you need it to.

Think about what your business needs from an FMS and make a list. This could include:

• Integrations and APIs
• Procurement functionality
• Reporting suites
• Multi-location and multi-currency functionality

You should also consider any industry-specific features you may need – for example, industry-specific compliance reporting.

Over the years, you’ll also need an FMS that has the flexibility to add more functionality as your business evolves. Will you grow out of your FMS over the next few years? You can ensure this doesn’t happen by choosing a system that can grow with you; otherwise, you’re going to have to look for another supplier again in the near future.

Ease of use

Your provider should offer training alongside your software implementation, which is a great way to get everyone up to speed.

However, financial experts aren’t the only people who use a financial management system. It needs to be simple enough for everybody in your team to use. For example, it could work like a spreadsheet software package to make it easy to understand, as it would mimic software that most people are already familiar with.

This also futureproofs you if your finance staff later decide to move on to another company as they won’t take with them a very specific set of skills that would be needed to run your entire finance function. Your other staff members will be able to fill in the gaps and keep your company running smoothly.

Automation tools

Modern financial systems should be designed to make your life easier. Automation tools can drastically reduce the time you spend on low-value, high-effort tasks.

Look for a system with automated workflows and other tools that can make your team more efficient. Even tasks like invoice processing and ledger consolidation can be managed for you nowadays, which could free up huge amounts of time for your busy team.

Cloud hosting

At a time when the ability to work from home is more important than ever, your financial management system needs to be cloud-based.

It’s not just remote working that’s important, either. Safety and security should be a top priority, especially when talking about sensitive financial data. Look for a provider that offers secure cloud-based hosting to protect your valuable data.

Happy customers

What are customers saying about the potential financial management systems you are thinking about adopting? This is a great way to find out about any extra features – or any reasons to avoid buying in to a system.

You don’t have to take a supplier’s word for it anymore; they should have case studies and customer testimonials that tell you exactly how their customers feel about their product.

If you’re in the market for a financial management system, we can help. IRIS Financials meets all five of the points above – and more. For more information, speak to one of our specialists – we’d be delighted to help you.