Financial Figures

AI is making bookkeeping and tax returns easier

Most area companies aren’t implementing technology to streamline bookkeeping for lower costs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. This is a conservative industry in a conservative town, so it’s no wonder firms are slow to adopt.

Today, there’s no good reason not to be automating at least some of your financial reporting. Sure, you need expert human oversight to ensure errors don’t occur, but the time and cost to do this can be greatly reduced with Artificial Intelligence, or AI. Imagine a future when your bank transactions, credit card purchases, billing, and invoicing are recorded in almost real time, producing accurate reports you can access 24/7. That future is now.

Poor financial management costs business owners a ton each year. These cutting-edge software tools pay for themselves almost immediately. They’re customized to your particular needs so the AI learns about your business while working in tandem with smart CPA oversight. That saves the traditional time, hassle, and cost of doing manual data entry while giving you a clear picture for bidding jobs, making good depreciation decisions, managing inventory, and implementing wise strategies come tax time.

Where’s AI showing up?

Some of the best industries to implement AI-assisted bookkeeping are those that tend to struggle the most with complicated issues. Businesses in the construction, healthcare, and legal fields are benefitting from a less cumbersome approach.

Sure, there’s resistance to handing over some of the accounting work to machines, but remember, these AI solutions work in concert with a seasoned pro providing oversight. That lets the financial expert focus on what they’re best at, namely providing big-picture perspectives and solutions, while menial tasks are delegated to software that learns over time so fewer adjustments are required.

Think of it this way. Do your customers like paying for you to run to the hardware store to pick up job materials? No. They hired you for your construction expertise. It’s the same with accounting support. Why pay for manual bookkeeping data entry when you don’t have to? Plus, as much as we hate to admit it, automating the process leads to fewer mistakes. If you’ve struggled with keeping your financial records up to date, can’t get current financial reports quickly, or dread tax time, consider a better approach for bookkeeping. AI is here to stay. Why not be an early adopter for a change?

FINANCIAL FIGURES

By Michael Shelton

Executive Summary: Accounting has come a long way in recent years.

Michael Shelton is a financial retirement counselor. Reach him at michael@discover360 Financial.com