Spenda integrations: Future-proof your accounting and make work easier

Seamless data flow is critical for efficient financial operations, regardless of the size of your business or industry. For businesses that use manual or disjointed systems that aren’t integrated, data entry errors, inefficiencies, and unreliable data can cause slower payments and create more work for accounting and finance teams. Automated accounting software that integrates with digital payment systems allows businesses to address the inefficiencies and cash flow challenges stemming from siloed accounting and poor payment data.

What happens when a business doesn’t use integrations with its accounting software?

From multiple spreadsheets to sending invoices via post or email, operating your accounting and finance functions without integration results in errors and inefficiencies. For example, if you use data from one system to create an invoice and send it to a customer manually, there’s a risk that incorrect information, whether it’s payment directions or the customer’s details, can cause payment delays. Similarly, with reconciliation and reporting, a lack of integration forces accounting professionals to dedicate countless hours to manually cross-checking information across multiple spreadsheets or from physically issued customer invoices. And without a single source of truth for data flowing across the business, when an error is found, it’s difficult to determine which data point needs to be fixed to ensure reporting is correct.

Over the long term, the inefficiencies in disjointed systems compound into accounting and financial professionals being bogged down with manual administrative work and too busy to focus on high-value strategic tasks, which doesn’t drive improvement or a competitive edge. However, when a company’s accounting system is directly integrated with a third-party digital invoicing and payment system, like Spenda, businesses reap strategic, operational and financial benefits.

Let’s look at an example

Your business only uses MYOB or Xero to manage invoices and payments

When invoicing customers, your accounts receivable team retrieves sales order details, item numbers, and other necessary information from your ERP system or through direct communication with relevant departments. This information is then manually entered into the invoice, and through human error the customer number is incorrect by one digit, and the invoice is mistakenly emailed to the wrong customer. The recipient doesn’t see the emailed PDF invoice until five days later, alerts your business to the error, and the invoice is only then corrected and sent to the correct customer. The correct customer receives the invoice but notices that they have been overcharged, so your team then needs to amend the invoice and send it a third time.

After receiving the correct invoice, it’s now weeks after the sale date, and past the original payment due date. To make payment the customer must either log into their bank account to pay via direct debit or call to pay by credit card. However, if the EFTPOS terminal is in use by another sales representative when they call, the customer may be unable to complete the transaction and may need to call back later, and payment is delayed even further.

Your business now uses MYOB or Xero and Spenda

By adding Spenda into the equation, your accounting and finance teams gain real-time visibility into cash flow, allowing them to conveniently monitor invoices nearing their due dates or already overdue. When it comes time to send an invoice, your team uses one intuitive dashboard to manage all customer and supplier invoices. Invoices can be conveniently sent using Spenda’s Pay by Link functionality, which allows your team to not only expedite invoice delivery but provide a more secure payment channel with a range of convenient payment options, including card payments, bank transfers and access to third-party funding. Offering more payment options means your business increases the likelihood of getting paid faster, which improves its cash flow. In the long run, this helps you better prepare for investments in expanding the business.

What’s more, in case of any inconsistencies regarding pricing, quantities received, or services rendered, you can promptly handle claims or disputes with customers from the same platform – in real-time through a conversation feature like social media chats. This eliminates delays associated with re-issuing and re-sending invoices, thereby reducing payment delays.

When it comes to reconciling your accounts, data and transaction matching between your accounting system and Spenda means users have access to real-time data and can automatically mark invoices as paid. This eliminates the need to manually match every invoice, with only those requiring manual intervention taking up your team’s time. By managing payments and invoicing, workflows for your accounting and finance teams are streamlined, saving time and money.

What are the benefits of direct financial integration with Spenda?

Spenda is an excellent companion to your existing accounting, financial or ERP system. Our integration capabilities enable businesses to eliminate redundant data entry and automate information exchange, saving your people time and driving efficiencies and insights through reliable data. Spenda will typically integrate:

Customer and supplier information
Products, real-time stock on hand, and pricing
Sales, purchase and payment transaction details
Accounts receivable data
Accounts payable data

By having the information above flow from a single source in your business, your team becomes more efficient, fewer data errors occur, and you can rely on accurate and up-to-date insights into the financial position of your business. These insights can strengthen commercial decision-making and proactively address cash flow challenges.

Drive efficiencies and seamless data flow with Spenda

Using integration to drive efficiencies in your accounting and finance teams is possible with a solution that allows your people to manage invoicing and payments from one intuitive platform. Not only does this save time, eliminate data entry errors and boost cash flow, but it also ensures your invoicing and payment data comes from a single source of truth. This means that when a transaction does require manual intervention, it’s easier to determine what should be corrected.

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Spenda is an integrated business platform that enables businesses across the supply chain to sell better and get paid faster. We serve as both a software solutions provider and a payment processor and deliver the essential infrastructure to streamline business processes before, during and after the payment event. Our connected platform displaces multiple disparate systems in favour of one collaborative solution that improves transactional efficiency between businesses.

This article is for general information purposes only. Consult a qualified financial advisor regarding any changes to or decisions about your business’s finances.

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By signing up, you are entitled to a complimentary 30-day trial of Spenda’s Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable software. This trial covers only software usage fees and excludes invoice payment processing fees. Following the trial period, you will be given the choice to upgrade to a paid account or to delete your account. Monthly software fees start at $250 per month. Enterprise fees are available on request.