Newer technologies are coming on the horizon that are impacting several industries and their consumers at each stage and this is not going to stop. If that’s not much, the consumers are increasingly becoming demanding. They would like to have more personalized interactions, innovations, proactive customer support, customer experience, data protection, and non-disruptive services.

Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, the Internet of Things, Big Data, and so on are increasingly influencing your customers and changing the way how business and accounting are done. That’s why you will have to be proactive and adapt to these new realities to survive in the market for the long term. Therefore, adequate attention must be placed on the latest accounting trends and innovations that are affecting the industry.

Let’s focus on some of those trends that are affecting the retail industry.

Technologies and Trends that are Influencing Retail Accounting

Rise of Accounting Software Solutions

Due to increased complex accountings the practice of doing manual accounting is becoming a thing of the past. Also, manual accounting is quite time-consuming and is a big source of human errors. That’s why businesses are increasingly preferring to get their accounting done through accounting software. The demand for this solution is increasing and is not going to die down soon.

Some accounting softwares are increasingly preferred and are

Quickbooks: It offers desktop applications for accounting along with cloud-based versions that help with bill generation, payroll management, payment processing, etc.

Xero: It allows accountants to track and edit transactions, process payments, and monitor billing and invoicing.

Sage Business Cloud Accounting: This software combines basic accounting, compliance management, and expense management – all in one place.

Artificial Intelligence

Retail Accounting is increasingly becoming complex due to constant changes to tax laws and regulations by HM Revenue and Customs. This has increased stress levels, time consumption on accounting, and diversion of resources from your core business activities. That’s why automation and to be specific Machine Learning is increasingly being preferred in retail accounting functions such as invoicing. Under Machine Learning a substantial set of data is taken to recognize patterns and trends by applying numerous analyses. Through it, you can easily identify frauds, financial fluctuations, and forecasting.

Not just that, even labor-intensive accounting tasks such as payroll, bank reconciliations, audits, and tax preparation are increasingly being done through artificial intelligence. This latest technology is increasingly being used by accounts outsourcing service providers to reduce human errors, increase speed, and improve efficiency. However, it is important to mention that these technologies require human intervention to control and review the accounting works. It enables your accountants to do their job better and reduces their workload.

Cloud Accounting

You can gain many advantages from cloud accounting from cost saving to getting real-time financial information. Using a cloud computing accounting system, you can hasten the processes in accounting and it is required if you are working with AI and data analytics. With the help of cloud accounting, you can make your financial reports more inclusive and productive.

Use of Social Media

Social media has been used for a long time by marketing teams to communicate with their customers about their products and services. However, it has been increasingly preferred by accountants to do their job. Wondering how?

The job of accountants does not require social media but due to rapid changes in industry standards, laws, and strategies, it has become important for them to connect with industry experts who frequently share posts on social media. Through it, they stay updated about all the new trends in the industry.

By being active on social media, your accountants can gain new knowledge, skills, and expertise. This will help in transforming your retail accounting process and your business like never before.

Big Data Analytics

You must have not heard of Big Data, it is a combination of data sets that are in organized, semi-organized, and unorganized form gathered by organizations that can be mined for information and used in advanced analytics applications and machine learning projects.

Using big data, accountants can transform retail business’s internal data into very secure data sets. Using these data sets, they can analyze financial records and forecast accounting issues on time.

Accounts Outsourcing

How can we forget it, it has been lately catching a lot of accountant’s eyeballs all thanks to the multiple benefits it offers. As a retail business person, having an in-house team is an expensive proposition. Along with monthly salaries, you will have to take care of medical insurance, travel allowances, retirement benefits, and other employee benefits.

By choosing to outsource to a service provider, you can save on cost by only paying for the services you have chosen. Along with that, you can also benefit from the scalability offered by the service provider to meet your business requirements.

Conclusion

Technology and industry trends are influencing the way how retail accounting is done. Hence, you must encourage your accountants to adopt these new technologies which will enable them to perform efficiently, accurately, and quickly multiple accounting tasks such as preparing balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and so on. But we understand that it will be too much for your in-house accountant team to incorporate. Hence, to make their life easy you can choose to outsource certain tasks to a service provider such as Corient Business Solutions.

At Corient, we specialize in offering services as per your retail accounting requirements. Our teams have vast experience in multiple payroll applications such as Sage, Brightpay, Xero, Moneysoft, Earnie, Star Payroll, and several others. Our services are designed to give your practice an edge in the market. Upgrade your practice by partnering with us and adding value to your services. We can connect at your convenience on a call or online meeting where we can discuss in detail about our services.