The need to adopt modern financial management technology and eliminate antiquated processes

Similar to how the iPhone disrupted and redefined what a smartphone can be (do you still have a Blackberry, Palm, or Nokia?), the introduction of modern technology has changed Introduction healthcare finance’s ability to achieve visibility, control, and efficiency.

We are seeing another massive change in how healthcare organisations operate—employees are working remotely, and healthcare organisations have been asked to do more with less. These changes have forced organisations to think about new ways of doing business. No one was planning on this level of remote work, but most have found a way to make it work. If your organisation has inefficient or manual processes, such as high dependence on paper or spreadsheets, now is the time to rethink that workflow. Perhaps technology has a new role where it didn’t before.  

A new way of doing business

Benefits of automating workflows

We often fall into the trap of sticking to what worked in the past. As the pandemic taught us, we must always be ready for change and adopt new ways of business. Change is hard, but eliminating outdated workflows has real benefits that will push your organisation forward. Even if what you’re currently doing is working, there’s almost always a better way. The secret to regaining visibility, control, and efficiency in your healthcare finance department is by adopting modern technology that eliminates paper-based systems and puts all your essential documents within reach anytime, anywhere.

Whether it’s in Accounts Payable or Purchasing, Bank Reconciliation, or Spend Management, a modern financial management system can help you eliminate paper-based or antiquated processes and experience benefits across your organisation. These are just some of the areas that healthcare organisations can improve by automating financial workflows:

Visibility

• Audit trail
• Spend Management

Control

• Accounts Payable
• Purchasing
• Time and Expense

Efficiency

• Transactions
• Bank
• Reconciliation Reports

Better visibility

Role-based dashboards provide information at your fingertips

Moving data to an online financial management system provides an instant snapshot of the information you need without daily analysis or calculations.

One of the most impactful ways to stop reliance on paper is to utilise a dashboard in a modern financial management system. In this example, a healthcare CFO uses a Sage Intacct dashboard to see the metrics important to them at-a-glance. If your current process involves digging in a filing cabinet, calling someone, or sending an email to gather pertinent business information, a dashboard will allow you to answer your own questions and start your analysis.

You can easily drill into metrics to look at the data behind it, like in this P&L report. This will allow you to gain insight into how the business is tracking.

Tools for team collaboration get you the answers you need

By making communication and collaboration easy, modern financial management software delivers on-demand accessibility and higher visibility. You’ll get the answers you need without having to get up and walk to someone’s desk or even send them an email.

Sage Intacct Collaborate gives you a layer of connectivity right in your financial management system. If you have a question about an AP bill, you can post it to that specific transaction. Your team can then drill into the details of the transaction and respond directly. You can also attach any relevant documents or message a group of people.

Greater control

Advanced audit trail provides HIPAA-compliant financials

Security and control are especially important in healthcare where organisations must comply with strict regulatory requirements. Be sure you have technology in place to safeguard protected health information—even in your financials.

Sage Intacct Advanced Audit Trail tracks access to contacts, customers, and vendors stored in your financial management system. No matter how the records are accessed—that access is logged and is available for reporting to support internal or external audits. Sage Intacct will enter into a Business Associate Agreement with qualified healthcare organisations.

Say goodbye to manual spreadsheets and hello to automated processing

Achieve greater control by implementing an approval workflow at the bill or payment level. The approval process with paper can be time-consuming and error-prone. In a modern financial management system, it’s easy to set a detailed approval process with multiple approvals, approval based on dollar amount, or approvals based on quantity. The best part? The process is routed automatically to the next person for approval without you having to reach out.

The Sage Intacct spend insight window allows you to track potential spend to budget. You set budgets based on your criteria—in this example, it’s a travel budget by a specific department at a specific facility. It then pulls in your actual spend to date and can warn or stop the user from completing spend if necessary.

“It’s been a win-win to shift purchasing out to the departments and give them Sage Intacct logins so they can check their budgets, get vendor quotes, make purchase decisions, and enter transactions. We no longer need paper backups or a full- time A/P clerk to manage vendor invoices, and our budget owners enjoy having more control over their spending.”

~Amanda Goebel, Senior Accountant, Halstatt

 

Find out more by downloading the whitepaper below.

Future-proof your business with Akuna Solutions

As an accredited and awarded Sage Intacct reseller, we view our clients’ success as our own and are dedicated to helping them find their way forward. Offering ongoing support, training, and resources ensures that our clients maximise the benefits of Sage Intacct and stay abreast of the ever-evolving business landscape.

Having implemented Sage Intacct for many businesses in ANZ across diverse industries, our experience spans areas such as Software and SaaS, Family Offices, Non-profit Organisations, Financial Services, NDIS and Human Services and many other industries.

Email us at Akuna Solutions for a free consultation and explore with a Sage Intacct implementation specialist how to leverage modern technology available today to future-proof your business operations.