No matter the business, big or small, managing finances is arguably the most crucial aspect of running a successful company. Because finances are so important, finding the right software that can protect, automate, and forecast financial information and data can be just as important.
Whether you’ve just begun your search for accounting software or are maybe looking for an upgrade, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll break down exactly what accounting software is/does for your firm, why you need it, and how having both accounting software and professional services automation (PSA) software in your tech stack can stabilize your cashflow.
Speaking of tech stack, there are lots of different tools out there. Check out the following articles to learn the difference between other common types of software:
PSA vs Project Management Software: Feature Breakdown
PSA vs ERP Software: Feature Breakdown
PSA & CRM: A Software Dream Team?
PSA 101: Intro to Professional Services Automation
Accounting Software
What is accounting software?
Accounting software does various accounting and bookkeeping tasks. It stores a business’s financial data and is often used to perform business transactions. Basically, the goal of using accounting software is to make expense tracking, budgeting, income tracking, and other activities as simple as possible. Sounds nice, right?
Why would I want accounting software?
Accounting software helps companies to use the resources in their accounting departments efficiently and can reduce costly bookkeeping mistakes through automation. Other perks include improving decision making, increasing data accuracy, improving financial data security, and financial forecasting.
What industries/companies use accounting software?
Accounting software can be used by any type of company that wants to manage their financial transactions and have access to tools like online invoicing, bill payment, payroll, and financial reporting. The most common types of industries that are taking advantage of accounting software are IT services, accounting, marketing, architecture, legal firms, and many other professional services organizations.
Professional Services Automation (PSA) Software
What is professional services automation software?
PSA software is designed to help firms manage client engagement throughout the entire project lifecycle. By using a PSA solution, service-driven organizations can manage important information with ease and clarity. This covers information like project management basics like project/task assignment and tracking, layered with more sophisticated operations like time/expense tracking, resource allocation, budgeting, invoicing, and payment processing. When firms have one central place to view this important data, management teams are given access to in-depth reporting and KPIs to help manage financial health and more,
Why would I want PSA software?
PSA software will benefit not only your employees’ internal workflow struggles, and give you company insights, but also improve your client relationships. From creating new projects and allocating staff to reporting and collecting payment, a good PSA solution will be a helping hand throughout the entire project lifecycle to deliver the best product to your client. Plus, having real-time data allows firm leaders to spot operation inefficiencies, all leading to a smoother-running firm.
What industries/companies use professional services automation?
Professional services! (Shocker, we know). This kind of software is built for industries like accounting, engineering, architecture, marketing & creative, IT services, legal, government contracting, and consulting businesses.
PSA & Accounting Software
Finally we get to share one of our favorite things here at BigTime — integrations! Because every firm is different with different needs, not all tech stacks will look the same and that’s okay. What really matters is that it works for your firm and team. With integrations, you have the ability to customize BigTime to make it your go-to tool and central source of information.
BigTime integrates with QuickBooks (Online & Desktop) and Sage Intaact, two popular accounting software tools. These integrations allow you to sync BigTime with Sage Intacct or QuickBooks to support your accounting process with the added benefits of time tracking, scheduling, and billing without the hassle of double data entry.
How PSA & Accounting Software Work Together
BigTime works with the tools you use and trust to deliver you a seamless flow of information between your teams. When you use our QuickBooks and Sage Intaact integration, you’ll be able to:
Make smarter financial decisions with more complex data and real-time insights, you can make more informed decisions on your firm’s revenue projections.
Automate information by entering your project data in once and letting the integration do the rest. (Pro tip: you can configure settings in BigTime for posting and importing data with default accounts, items, locations, and more.) No more double data entry and manual data transfers on all things expense, time, and invoicing.
Bill faster by creating branded invoices in BigTime and having them appear directly in QuickBooks or Sage Intacct. You can invoice out of either program, giving you total control and flexibility. Looking to get paid faster, too? Take it one step further with BigTime Wallet payment processing.
Tie in timesheets by using BigTime to enter and submit timesheets and post them directly into Sage or QuickBooks. Doing this also ensures consistency across systems and multiple projects.
Still Have Questions?
We know that was a lot of information. Let us walk you through it and figure out what’s best for you and your company. Give us a holler whenever you’re ready.
