One of the less apparent problems with financial management software is the very thing that is often the most important and attractive attributes to their solution – automation.
Automation is one of the most desirable and key attributes on offer when you’re selling a financial management software solution. Customers want to make their lives simpler, easier and to be able to maximise their time spent, which is completely understandable and easily achievable in today’s world. The way in which we can work far more agile, from home and on the move and with more flexibility around when we work. But what happens when the automation works against us?
Automation: friend or foe?
When we automate every element in a process, we inevitably lose control and errors are more likely to occur. Excessively relying on automation creates potential unwanted potholes in your otherwise smooth road to efficiency. There has to be human involvement as well to ensure everything runs smoothly and is compliant.
As with everything, there needs to be balance. Automation can quickly go from being your best mate to your foe in a heartbeat if you overly rely on it.
Good automation
Automation within a financial software solution is super important – not only for customers, but it’s what sets a provider apart from the rest. Good automation is balanced, simplifying a process or facilitating paperless processes free up time and save money. For example, Sage automatically helps its users meet GDPR regulations with built in reports that enable them to update and delete records quickly and easily – as well as being able to identify older data. GDPR can be an absolute headache, so having visibility means the headache is minimised. It’s automated, yet amenable.
Bad automation
Overly automated financial software may lead to reduced human oversight, which can be problematic if there are unexpected or complex financial situations that require human judgment and intervention. Over-automation can also lead to an overreliance on algorithms and quantitative models, potentially neglecting qualitative and judgment-based aspects of financial decision-making.
Striking the right balance
Having automation is not a bad thing, after all it was designed to make everything easier. Finding the right balance is the key for success, and making sure your finance team have visibility and efficiency through automation means you can work smarter with the resources you have. Financial software automation isn’t equipped to replace people – it’s like giving your finance team a yacht to sail the choppy payment waters instead of a rowing boat.
Being able to reduce human error and increased efficiency across your finance team, with the balance of human involvement keeps you in control. If you’d like to find out more about the Sage solutions Innov8 offer, get in touch with us. We can help you upgrade from that rowing boat and into that yacht in no time at all!