Using Software to Broaden Your Accounting Practice's Offering

Small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) are a vital part of any country’s economy, accounting for a significant portion of employment and GDP. They are also a key source of innovation and new job creation. In South Africa, SMMEs are the engine room of the economy, making up 91% of formal business entities, providing about 61% of jobs and between 52 and 57% of GDP.¹ The SMME sector is the fastest-growing business sector in the country, with industry leaders and government predicting the sector to continue to grow significantly over the next decade.                     

Also anticipated over the next few years is the changing face of the accounting profession, with accountants increasingly taking on more business advisory responsibilities, in addition to bookkeeping and accounting.

And, small business clients’ expectations of their accountants are changing too—they are increasingly expecting their accountant to provide advisory services, such as how to access finance, and advice on business and tax structuring, to mention a few types.

To help accountants keep up with the pace of change and proactively respond to the finance needs of their clients, in particular SMMEs, while broadening their services, two new software products, SMEasy and finfind, were recently developed in South Africa. SMEasy and finfind can help accountants proactively respond to their clients’ finance needs and broaden their service offering without having to increase their staff and overhead costs.

While these products were developed in South Africa, the experience of SMMEs around the world is very similar, so the software can help SMMEs globally with two of the primary challenges they face: effective financial recordkeeping and access to finance. SMEasy provides a business management and accounting system specifically designed for entrepreneurs who don’t understand accounting, and finfind addresses the challenge of access to finance for small business. These products are endorsed by the South African Institute of Professional Accountants (SAIPA).

SMEasy
SMEasy is an online business management and accounting solution for small businesses. SMEasy was expressly developed to assist entrepreneurs who know nothing about accounting, allowing clients to easily capture and manage their records. The product is fully integrated into the backend GL and trial balance data. It gives accountants easy access to all the information required to compile their clients’ financial statements, giving them more time to spend being their business advisor, rather than their bookkeeper. As an online solution, the product gives accountants access to their clients’ business data remotely, from anywhere at any time and all their information is backed up and secure at all times.

SMEasy also gives accountants and their clients the ability to easily manage their contacts, quotes, invoicing, including payroll, social media marketing, and more. It also produces a simple cash flow report to help clients stay on top of their business.  

finfind
finfind is an online, mobile friendly, one-stop solution for access to finance for small business. It brings together the providers and seekers of small business finance and focuses specifically on SMME finance readiness.

finfind is the result of a five-year research and development initiative by USAID’s Financial Sector Program in South Africa, aimed at addressing the challenge of small business failure. It is due to be publically launched by the South African Small Business Ministry in partnership with USAID, SAIPA, and four large banks.

The main challenges hindering SMMEs from accessing finance are: finance literacy, finance readiness, lack of knowledge about who the lenders are, and what lenders require.

Finfind addresses these challenges by:

• Providing comprehensive finance literacy training with content that is specifically written for entrepreneurs so it is easy for them to understand;
• Measuring the readiness of small businesses to access finance via a series of simple questions.
• Providing access to simple tools to assist small businesses with financial recordkeeping and accounting; and
• Offering access to accredited small business accountants and advisors to assist with financial statements, business plans, and any other outstanding requirements based on their assessment.

The small business sector is crucial to job creation and the growth of economies globally. As such, access to finfind is provided free-of-charge to small businesses and is strongly supported and marketed by partners, such as SAIPA.

New software such as these products can help accountants to empower and provide even greater service and a wider offering to their clients.

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What accounting software has your practice used and has it enhanced your practice? Please share your experience below.