Jeremy Tauri: Do you have the right systems?

Modern businesses know they need to offer products, services and information when and where their customers need them.

Having information at your fingertips about your business is no different.

Missing payments that you're meant to have paid can cost you penalties or a lost discount and not invoicing on time can negatively affect your cash flow.

Putting in place accounting systems help you save time and can provide information on the health of your business.

Accounting software has been around for decades now but if you're still using pen, paper or Excel then it's probably (definitely) time to look to upgrade what you use.

Get some advice: There are people who work with this software stuff all the time, such as bookkeepers, accountants, and those in your industry may have some insight to what's appropriate and what's not.

How much can you spend? Back in the day hardware used to be quite important. You needed a decent PC to run programs that could only work on a PC or laptop. These days, a lot of software options are subscription-based and sit in the cloud, meaning less demanding hardware as long as your internet connection is solid. Consider training costs, as the cost of not getting training can be expensive come year-end. Check and ensure the cost of updates as well.

What are your needs? Do you invoice a lot of customers? Then you'll need invoicing. GST features if GST registered, and maybe an accounts payable function.

Make a list of what you want your software to do, what information you need and then narrow down the functions of the software options to your chosen few. Get good advice — it's worth spending time and effort now to get the right systems to guide your business to future success.

Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants.