Accounting Automation & Real-Time Reporting for Hotels
Jo Fuller, Head of Pre-Sales & Product at Percipient, looks at the increasing importance of automation and reporting for hospitality CFOs, and highlights the benefits of moving across to a system which has these functions at the very core.
Hospitality CFOs are fast becoming the drivers and innovators of a new era. As finance departments increasingly become recognised as the intelligence hubs of the business, their role extends way beyond record keeping. The modern hospitality CFO is focused on gathering insights from which to guide business decisions and shape strategy. At the centre of this shift are automation and reporting.
Automation: The Cornerstone of Best Practice
Automation is intrinsically linked to efficient operations. Through eliminating manual input, de-duplicating spreadsheet-based data, and unlocking bottlenecks, substantial amounts of time can be saved and re-deployed on higher value tasks which bring business value. In parallel, the errors which come with manually intensive process are eradicated, representing a win-win.
AP Automation in Focus
Take Accounts Payable (AP) for example. While financial management, overall, has been subject to significant digitalisation, the volume of processes, formats and variables inherent in AP has meant that this area has been slower to the automation table.
Typically, invoices land in many forms, from physical documents, e-mails or links via portals. Once received they must be approved, checked, filed and paid. This involves reconciling every invoice against its purchase order and order details to ensure that it contains the relevant information and is for the correct amount. Getting this right is crucial, as even one missed, or incorrect invoice, can cause mismanaged VAT, overpayments and impede cashflow.
Sage Intacct’s AI-powered AP Automation cuts AP processing time in half, learning as it goes. Not only does thus capability save time through automated invoice entry, but it also streamlines every process involved in AP to enable the team to review and leverage the intelligence created.
Streamlining for Greater Visibility
With streamlined, automated processes comes wider visibility and more comprehensive, real-time data from which to inform reporting and expedite decision-making.
With automation and reporting at its core, and easy, intuitive, customisable dashboards to access intelligence from any area, in as much detail as is available, crucially in just a few clicks, Sage Intacct’s reporting not only enable fast access to insights, but deep analysis into financials and operational trends. It really is a game changer when it comes to facilitating this evolution.
Our Sage Intacct customers embody this transition with many highlighting that Sage Intacct really raises the bar as to what is possible and underpins a new mindset for the way financial management is embraced.
New Era, New Mindset
With economic headwinds continuing to represent challenges for hospitality, in particular the National Insurance rises set to come into force next month, the automation, visibility and reporting available in Sage Intacct have never been more important. Through having access to reports which can pinpoint wage cost increases against the revenue generated by certain departments for example, resources can be adjusted and re-allocated to offset balance sheets and drive-up profitability.
It’s certainly a challenging era to be a CFO in hospitality but with the right digital mindset, the right platform to automate processes, and the real-time intelligence to drive dynamic business planning, it is set to be an exciting one.
Sage Intacct for Hospitality
To find out how we can help automate your financial processes and gain greater visibility with Sage Intacct, get in touch or call our hospitality finance experts on 01606 871332.
