7 Underused Sage Intacct Features UK CFOs Should Be Using (But Usually Aren’t)

By Kody Devlin, Percipient

Sage Intacct is widely recognised as one of the most powerful financial management platforms available to UK finance teams. Yet in our experience at Percipient, most organisations are using only a fraction of what it can actually do.

The result? Finance teams still rely on spreadsheets for allocations, manually chase approvals, fix errors at month-end, and struggle to get consistent insight across multiple sites or entities.

The real power of Sage Intacct lies in its automation, controls, and dimensional intelligence features that, when appropriately configured, fundamentally change how finance operates.

Below are seven of the most powerful, yet consistently underused, Sage Intacct features we see across UK organisations, particularly in hospitality, leisure, travel, and multi-site environments.

1. Smart Rules: Prevent Errors Before They Hit the General Ledger

Most finance teams rely on training, policies, and post-close reviews to maintain data quality. Smart Rules flip that approach on its head.

Smart Rules enforce financial policy at the point of entry, automatically validating transactions before they’re posted.

Common high-impact use cases include:

• Blocking transactions if VAT codes are missing or incorrect
• Requiring mandatory dimensions (such as Location or Department)
• Enforcing spend limits and approval requirements
• Preventing cross-entity or cross-site miscoding

Instead of correcting errors after the fact, finance teams can prevent them from happening in the first place, dramatically reducing rework and month-end delays.

Productivity trick: start with warnings for 2–4 weeks to see where users struggle, then flip the most important ones to errors.

2. Smart Events: Automate the ‘If This Happens, Then Do That’ Work

Smart Events allow Sage Intacct to automatically respond when something changes, without manual intervention.

Examples we commonly implement for UK clients include:

• Automatically chasing approvers when invoices stall
• Routing high-value or high-risk transactions to senior approval paths
• Triggering alerts when budgets are exceeded
• Notifying finance when new vendors, entities, or locations are created

These automations quietly remove dozens of small manual tasks from the finance function, freeing up time for analysis and decision-making.

3. Dynamic Allocations: Eliminate Spreadsheet-Based Cost Splits

Shared costs are a fact of life for most organisations, but spreadsheet-based allocations are error-prone, opaque, and time-consuming.

Dynamic Allocations allow you to automatically distribute costs based on:

• Revenue
• Headcount
• Rooms, covers, attendance, or usage
• Any statistical or financial driver

Once configured, allocations can run as part of your month-end close, producing consistent, auditable results every time. For CFOs, this means credible cost models, faster closes, and fewer audit questions.

Pro move: build ‘allocation snapshots’ during setup so finance can sanity-check impacts before posting.

4. Statistical Accounts: Connect Operational Reality to Financial Reporting

Financial results don’t exist in isolation. They are driven by operational activity, but many systems fail to connect the two.

Statistical accounts allow you to track non-financial metrics such as:

• Rooms sold
• Covers served
• Footfall or attendance
• Labour hours or headcount

These metrics can then be used directly in reporting, forecasting, and cost allocation, bringing finance and operations into the same conversation.

5. Pervasive Dimensionality: Report by Anything Without Rebuilding the Chart of Accounts

One of Sage Intacct’s biggest strengths is its ability to report across multiple dimensions, without creating a bloated chart of accounts.

Dimensions such as:

• Location
• Department
• Project
• Customer
• Fund or Programme

…allow finance teams to instantly slice results without restructuring the GL.

When used correctly, this delivers faster insight, cleaner reporting, and far fewer ‘can you rerun that report?’ requests from stakeholders.

6. Approval Workflows: Focus on Exceptions, Not Everything

Many organisations enable approval workflows but fail to design them effectively.

The most efficient finance teams:

• Fast-track routine, low-risk transactions
• Escalate only true exceptions
• Automatically chase overdue approvals
• Lock down periods to protect close integrity

When approval workflows are designed with intent, they speed the business up, rather than slowing it down.

7. Quarterly Release Adoption: Continuous Improvement, Not One-Off Go-Lives

Sage Intacct releases enhancements every quarter, but many organisations never operationalise them.

High-performing finance teams treat each release as an opportunity to:

• Introduce one or two efficiency improvements
• Tighten controls
• Reduce manual steps
• Improve reporting or visibility

Over time, this creates a system that continuously evolves alongside the business, rather than standing still.

Sage Intacct as a Financial Control Platform

Used properly, Sage Intacct is not just an accounting system. It is a real-time financial control and insight platform.

The difference between average and exceptional outcomes almost always comes down to how well the system is configured, automated, and aligned to the business.

That’s where Percipient comes in.

Ready to Unlock the Full Value of Sage Intacct?

Percipient works with UK finance teams across hospitality, leisure, travel, and multi-site organisations to:

• Optimise Sage Intacct configurations
• Implement automation and controls that actually stick
• Reduce close times and manual effort
• Deliver clearer insight to CFOs and boards

If you suspect you’re only using a fraction of what Sage Intacct can do, we’d be happy to help. Contact the Percipient team today to discuss a free system review, optimisation roadmap, or an industry-specific Sage Intacct demo.