Accounting is Human: From Counting Beans to Helping People | Basis 365 Accounting

Helping Employees

Although payroll is a human resource function, the processing and paying often falls under the accounting team’s area of responsibility. Payroll is something that most employees don’t think too much about. It just happens on a set frequency automatically, right?

Behind the scenes, the accounting department and managers of teams may be collaborating behind the scenes. This all needs to sync up in time for payroll cut off every time, without exception. If your expense reports are paid through payroll, there is another exercise with very specific deadlines that must take place so employees are reimbursed. 

How about those commissions some employees receive that are based on when the customer pays the related invoice? Easy? Nope. Some customers have a complex compensation structure that requires the accounting team to build processes that can quickly calculate those amounts in time for a pay run. 

Does payroll need to be accurate? You bet. Employees need to trust the process so they can focus on providing the value the company is paying them for. Payroll issues can cause distaste with an employee that may impact performance. 

The accounting team’s goal is to ensure employees are paid on time, accurately, every pay period. Our mission is to make payroll look easier than it really is. 

Helping Customers

Our favorite part of the accounting function is the sales invoicing process. Although this process can be very complex, we know timely and accurate invoices help ensure the company gets paid faster. Cash flow is king and any bottleneck in the cash receipts process can kill a business. Especially when that business is rapidly growing.

It’s imperative that the accounting team help ensure invoices out quickly. An electronic, email-based solution that can scale is paramount. Using systems that also allow the customer to pay their invoice online reduces friction in their payables process. Although shocking, many companies are still set up to pay via check. 

As previously noted, a significant part of a sales team’s compensation can be commissions based on sales invoices and often the cash collections. Getting cash in the door keeps the sales team motivated and business owners stress levels at a minimum. There are few things more de-motivating for a sales person than their customer expressing frustrations to them about the lack of, or incorrect sales invoice. 

As odd as it may seem, customers may fire your company over invoice issues – not even over the quality of the product or service that you sell. An accounting team knows the important role they play not only with internal stakeholders but with overall experience your company provides to its customers. When a customer is attempting to pay, there shouldn’t be anything on our end preventing them from doing so.  

Helping Vendors

Vendors are sometimes looked at as “costs” but a better way to look at them as partners that support your business. Successful businesses and leaders surround themselves with quality partners. Keeping your partner’s happy is a good business practice. If you have worked at a company where vendor relationships are adversarial you know that type of business culture will not be fulfilling to work in. 

The accounting team plays an important role in keeping your business partners happy. From time to time it  may be necessary to float a vendor’s invoice (pay it after their due date) due to cash flow issues. A responsive, friendly accounting team can help make those decisions less difficult for your vendors. 

In an ideal world, vendor invoices are paid on-time. An astute accounting team will also identify if vendor terms allow for a discount by paying early, assuming cash flow allows. Vendors being paid early helps ensure they’ll continue to do business with you and perhaps prioritize your company in the delivery of their product or service. Timely payments also help keep your credit in place or possibly increased or terms extended.

In order for all of that to happen, invoices need to get into the accounting workflow timely and tee’d up in the accounts payable system. Sometimes invoices can slip through the cracks, so a good relationship with your vendor’s accounting team ensures both systems are in agreement. 

Once you’re ready to pay, offer methods for your vendors to be paid timely and electronically. Larger corporations may be just fine with wires but smaller, modern businesses may be OK receiving ACH payments or through virtual cards or even by credit card (they love the points). Flexibility on how you pay may give you a vendor win they’ll appreciate.