How do you know when your business has outgrown QuickBooks?

As your business grows and evolves, so will your customers’ demands and expectations. Few things can impact an otherwise healthy customer relationship quite like the money side of the equation.

Sustaining your growth isn’t a matter of just continuing to do what you’ve been doing. It means taking a hard look at the limitations of your business—especially your current accounting and business management systems—and knowing when to leave those tools and practices behind in favor of something more flexible, intuitive, and robust to maintain your growing operation.

Here are some signs indicating you may have an outdated system:

  • Manual data entry errors and timely invoicing can’t be addressed simply by adding more headcount
  • Generating more frequent and more complex reports still leaves gaps in information
  • Operating with incomplete information adversely affects sales and customer satisfaction
  • Difficulty accessing business data from anywhere at any time
  • Switching back and forth between multiple applications and systems that can’t talk to each other

Yet a solution to address your growing pains goes much further than just upgrading hardware and software.

The cost of outdated technology

Essential functions like integrating processes, resolving ordering and processing issues, improving data integrity, and even knowing when to reduce inventory are paramount to meeting the next-level requirements of a growing business. As small and mid-size business (SMB) leaders know all too well, the cost of technology limitations or failures can be felt in virtually every process, interaction, and outcome across the company. In fact, more than 90 percent of consumers said they would consider taking their business elsewhere rather than work with a company that uses outdated technology.

Unfortunately, entry-level, or outdated accounting software cannot effectively manage many of these business-critical activities and can negatively impact your growth.

Luckily, cloud technologies have caught up—and scaled down—to meet the needs of today’s SMB, enabling virtually any business to manage their financial and business operations quickly, securely, and reliably. At the same time, these new services replace costly IT overhead, providing much-needed flexibility to grow with your business, while helping your team give customers the experience they have come to expect.

Connecting people and processes through the cloud

While software like QuickBooks may cover the basic needs when businesses first get off the ground, they are less able to accommodate growth and change over time without significantly disrupting teams and workflows and impairing customer relations.

Instead of patching the issue with multiple disconnected platforms under the umbrella of IT, a one-point cloud solution quickly pulls together everything you need to know, see, and do into a convenient, consolidated experience.

With the expansion of seamless cloud capabilities into all areas of business, you are better positioned to grow and scale as necessary while also improving efficiency and security. Additionally, cloud-based technology allows for broader visibility into all aspects of your business, and—when combined with accurate data and easier reporting—enables you to make better decisions, streamline processes, and communicate more effectively with employees and customers.

Delivered as a service, Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Financials securely automates, integrates, and manages accounting, sales, customer service, and operations—connecting everything from your general ledger and payables to customer relationship management (CRM) systems and business analytics—without needing to switch between applications.

For business owners and leaders, this translates to:

  • Improved and increased productivity with easy-to-create workflows, quotes, orders, and audit trails using the same Microsoft Office tools you’re familiar with
  • Consistent experiences across mobile devices regardless of location, complete with enterprise-class security
  • The ability to spot trends and delight customers through centralized, business-wide, up-to-date data
  • A fast, intuitive platform to get you started right away

Simply, a cloud-based solution connects your people and processes as your business transforms. Rather than being dependent on IT to set the pace of change, cloud technology puts the keys in your hand to grow and adapt in ways that make the most sense for your business.

Try it for free today, and see for yourself!