Aaron Sullivan
It's 2019, and we have machines to do nearly every awful task that we never wanted to do again...a dishwasher for our dishes, a washing machine for smelly clothes, GPS for getting us anywhere, and cars that drive and park themselves (also for getting us anywhere). But what about other terrible tasks? We're talking about things that would not only make our personal lives better but also improve our professional lives.
Intuit released Quicken in the '80s to help businesses handle their accounting needs, and the software has come a long way since the first DOS release of QuickBooks. Yet in 2019, nearly 40 years after Intuit's debut, there's still quite a bit of manual work that must be done to get your books in order. Woof.
Fortunately, in 2019, there's a new technology that can help handle even the most mundane and annoying accounting tasks through automated bookkeeping. In fact, Botkeeper's CEO started the company for the sheer fact that accounting is the worst.
Now it's easy to say, "Hey. Come to Botkeeper and we'll make your life easier." But there's actual truth to that. Botkeeper can save you tons of time and money, and here's how.
What does Botkeeper actually do?
The short answer: Botkeeper does all that accounting junk you don't want to do in QuickBooks Online (QBO).
Botkeeper will:
1. Connect your books to your bank and credit card accounts
If you're already up and running with QuickBooks Online or another accounting software, you've likely already done this. However, if necessary, Botkeeper will handle making these connections on your behalf in a secure and efficient way. In fact, security is always top of mind, and Botkeeper provides 256-bit encryption on your financial data, and we don't store your passwords or login information.
2. Simplify and beautify your reporting
Once your accounts are connected and your Botkeeper has had a chance to make sense of your data, you'll be able to run myriad reports at any time of day or night. And yes, we said "beautify" in reference to accounting reports. Analyzing your financial reports is easier when they're presented in a way that's pleasing to the eye. In addition to standard reports like your profit & loss, balance sheet, and cash flow statement, you'll also have a customizable dashboard that will pull in metrics from third-party data sources. We're talking reports on sales, social media, and email marketing, etc.
3. Pay your bills
Never wake up in the middle of the night with the sudden reminder that you forgot to pay one of your bills. Botkeeper organizes your bills and makes sure they're all paid on time, every time.
4. Chase down clients for collections
One of the worst parts of running a business is making sure people pay you on time, if at all. Botkeeper handles collecting payments from clients, including following up on delinquent payments. You won't need to worry anymore about chasing clients down for payment.
5. Collate your data into custom charts of accounts
As a growing business, you have transactions to account for from numerous areas, and it's hard to keep track of everything as it happens. Botkeeper creates a custom chart of accounts for you, and it keeps the chart updated so even the most complex organization—from small business to large corporation — can make sense of the numbers. Talk about customized financial reporting!
6. Handle revenue recognition based on your preferred method
Like your business, each industry is unique, and that means your bookkeeping method might require some special treatment. Whether you use a sales basis, completed contract, percentage of completion, or any other revenue recognition method, Botkeeper will handle it with nearly 100% accuracy.
7. Manage inventory
Automated bookkeeping or automated accounting with Botkeeper is so much more than just that—your human-assisted Botkeeper will also book inventory adjustments in QBO based on your cost of goods sold (COGS) and ending inventory balances, reporting on the product your business supplies. And you guessed it — you'll be able to see updates in your Botkeeper Dashboard.
8. Administer payroll
Similar to how Botkeeper plugs into your credit card and bank accounts, inventory, and accounting software, you can also rely on Botkeeper to help with payroll administration. Botkeeper runs payroll accurately and on time so you don't have to worry about it every week, two weeks, or month.
9. Track and report on Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable
This is bookkeeping 101, but a lot of companies — including those in the small business category — overlook making sure their Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable are updated on a regular basis. This makes reporting difficult, which makes any big financial decision even more difficult to make. Botkeeper keeps track of all the bills and/or invoices due to your business. Easy-peasy.
10. Report on multi-entity accounting for your parent company or subsidiaries
Here's where having a single system to manage all your data gets really cool: it's equipped to scale and work with even the largest or most complex organizations. You're a franchise? Botkeeper's got you. You're a parent company and have subsidiaries? You can add them—no problem. Does your affiliate network have critical business data to include in your Dashboard? Bring 'em on!
11. Reconcile your accounts
Account reconciliation is one of those critical, tedious bookkeeping tasks that we honestly hate. That's one of the reasons Botkeeper was created—to handle all the stuff we don't want to do. Botkeeper will review all transactions and make sure they match with what's on your credit card and bank account statements. Moreover, because automated bookkeeping by Botkeeper is human-assisted, you can rest easy knowing that someone will help resolve any discrepancies that arise. You're not alone in any of this!
12. Manage fixed asset accounting
If you own or use any long-term tangible pieces of property in your business operations to generate income, Botkeeper will help you handle those. Our team of senior accountants has the experience you need to create an accounting solution for even the most complex scenario.
That's a pretty comprehensive list, but it's not all that's included in a customized automated accounting package from Botkeeper.
You'll also get 24/7 support, and the Botkeeper team is right there with you through all your business milestones. And our Botkeeper Product/Development team is always at work making things better and easier for you. Just recently, they launched the second version of the Botkeeper Dashboard, which is more powerful and gives you, the user, more control.
One more thing — after onboarding, all these services get taken care of behind the scenes. But that doesn't mean you'll be in the dark on any of it. We call this automated bookkeeping, but really it should be called human-assisted bookkeeping since you'll have expert accounting support starting from day one, as mentioned before.
If you're a clever business owner reading this and you noticed that the title is 13 possibilities with automated bookkeeping but we only listed 12, kudos! Here's the 13th:
13. Botkeeper makes your life as a business owner easier
That's not just a line, either. Most Botkeeper clients save around 50% on their bookkeeping costs when they start Botkeeping℠, and the peace of mind they get knowing they can trust the data they review is invaluable. You don't have to take our word for it, though — check out the Botkeeper testimonials page, and for an even deeper level of reviews, here's what people are saying about Botkeeper on Capterra.
Automated accounting software has come a long way since the '80s when Intuit released its v1. In 2019, it's time to take advantage of all tools at your disposal to help your business succeed.
And if you're worried about whether or not Botkeeper integrates or connects to your existing accounting software — forget about it. Our senior accountants are pros at QuickBooks Online and all the rest, so you're good to go!
Click here to learn more about how you can start Botkeeping℠ today.