Why Apparel Accounting Software is Essential in your Fashion Store
When it comes to taking care of accounts payable, accounts receivable, financial statements, and general bookkeeping, it’s definitely a wise idea to utilize accounting software. After all, these functions are just as important as maintaining a correct inventory system, and no one wants to track them by hand anymore. Even if they could, you wouldn’t want them to, as it could easily lead to a big accounting error. Instead, protect yourself and your apparel business by providing your accounting team with the proper software and technical services.
Why apparel businesses need accounting software
Truthfully, who doesn’t need accounting software? If you’re running any type of business, you’ll need accounting software to help ensure that the financial side of your business runs as smoothly as possible. Whether you provide your accounting team with specific software or decide to purchase an all-in-one solution such as N41’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, it’s vital that every necessary component is accounted for.
For instance, you wouldn’t want to accidentally fall behind on your bills because you were attempting to track them manually, just as you wouldn’t want to purchase more products than you can reasonably sell. Put simply, accounting software—when utilized correctly—offers a fantastic resource for making sure your business is a success.
Features to look for in apparel accounting software
There is a wide array of different accounting software options. Thankfully, this means that you can pinpoint which features are most important to your company before you choose one. You’ll want to ensure that each of the following features is available in your apparel accounting software of choice.
Generates Invoices
Not only should your accounting software for the apparel industry be able to track your invoices, but it should also provide you with the ability to drill down to see PO details. It’s also critical that your software meets tax compliance guidelines.
Asset Management Tools
Every apparel business needs to be able to track audits, distribute resources, calculate depreciation, keep cost records, and more. Without these vital details, setting your company up for future success will be much harder.
Forecasting Tools
Your budget should be based on two integral pieces of information: historical trends and future forecasting. Accounting software gives you access to both, thereby making it critical to your business operations.
Ability to Integrate
Integration is the name of the game for any type of software you decide to utilize. If you can integrate your various pieces of software so that they work seamlessly together, you’ll shave a lot of time off your employees’ efforts.
Robust Reports
Apparel analytics and reporting tools should make it easy to tell at a glance which areas your team excels at, along with which areas can be improved upon.
Integrating apparel accounting software with other systems
As previously mentioned, integration makes everyone’s life easier. Here are five main reasons to only purchase accounting software with strong integration tools.
- Empowers your users to be more efficient.
- Reduces your operational overhead.
- Makes your business practices substantially faster.
- Makes the process of onboarding quicker and smoother.
- Increases customer satisfaction and confidence.
Therefore, even if you think you’ve found the ideal accounting software, take a beat to ensure it has the ability to integrate with your other tools. Otherwise, it’ll just end up making life more difficult for your accounting team.
Common challenges and solutions in using apparel accounting software
Accounting software—just like any other software—isn’t perfect. The good news, however, is that there are solutions for each of the most common challenges.
Steep Learning Curve
Accounting is a complex process, so it’s not surprising that there is a learning curve. The problem, though, is when it hasn’t been built intuitively. Be certain that you do not purchase software that will further complicate your business.
Slow Software
Has your existing accounting software become slow and/or unreliable? This is an indicator that it’s time to upgrade.
User Limits
Does your team get locked out when too many people try to access your data? Welcome to the not so wonderful world of user limits. If you want your employees to get their work done in a timely fashion, you’ll need to make sure you purchase enough accounts to take care of your team’s needs.
Lack of Support
If you can’t reach your software’s support team or if it takes a long time to receive assistance, it’s time to make a change. Choose a software provider that takes your needs seriously and offers a quick response time.
Less Efficient and/or More Complex Software
You’ve selected and implemented new accounting software. Sadly, your employees find it to be harder to use and/or less efficient than what you’ve had in the past. There are two solutions. Take the time to train each employee how to use the software properly. If that fails, choose a different provider.
ERP Software is the Perfect Solution
We’ve covered the fact that you need accounting software, but why not purchase an all-in-one solution? You may assume an ERP won’t provide you with the same robust accounting features, but at least with N41, you’d be wrong! Get every accounting feature you’d receive with specialized accounting software, plus order processing, PO processing, bill of materials, shipping, EDI, raw materials, and much more, all in one easy-to-access place.
N41 has an unprecedented 99% client retention rate and is completely scalable to grow with your company. Request your free demo today!
