Category: Business Process Automation

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Why Small Businesses Need Proactive Accounting

It has been demonstrated time and again that businesses working with experienced accounting professionals can benefit from the strategic financial guidance and compliance support they may provide. Yet these factors alone are often not enough to make the business owner happy. For most small business owners and growing enterprise stakeholders, the lack of proactive advice compounded by slow responses to business requests are the primary reasons for leaving their CPA.

Even if they don’t know how to ask for it, small businesses want proactive attention from their accounting professionals. Small businesses want and need to get information when it matters, and they need help deciphering what the information really means.

It is common for professional accounting firms to simply wait for their clients to provide after-the-fact information from which reports are prepared and delivered long after their relevance has passed. These firms often see no sense of urgency in helping clients address the business issues facing them in real-time.

Business owners attempting to grow a small enterprise from their budding small business especially need the benefit of experienced insight into operational metrics, cash flows and overall business performance. Without this meaningful data and advice delivered in real-time, stakeholders don’t really know what is going on or if they’re on the right path.

Advice on business planning and financial strategies should come to business owners from their accounting professionals, but it often does not. It is interesting that so many firms list business planning and strategy among the services promoted on their websites, yet they just sit back and wait for clients to ask for help.

Regulatory and reporting requirements for businesses are ever-increasing, so it makes some sense that many professional practices continue to focus on taxes and compliance work. Firms may find it challenging enough to keep up with changes to these core services provided. Yet this is why practitioners should take notice and accept that their ability to meet changing market and customer demands is wrapped in their ability to leverage technology to do what people and process can’t do alone.

Information technology is needed to speed up the bookkeeping, accounting and reporting processes, and it takes even more technology to help turn data into relevant and useful information. This is where Mendelson Consulting and Noobeh cloud services can help.
Working with businesses of all sizes and encouraging participation by the accounting professional, Mendelson and Noobeh help businesses implement the technology that facilitates faster collection of information throughout the business and then applying solutions that reflect those numbers in ways that helps users visualize the meaning of the data.

Mendelson and Noobeh help CPAs and accounting professionals remove threats of competition and irrelevance by helping them work closer with and deliver greater value to their small business clients. Applying proven, innovative technologies with improved processing methods and controls leads to better information provided in a timelier manner, which returns to the client as a better result offering greater insight. This is what small businesses want from their CPA, and Mendelson Consulting and Noobeh Cloud Services helps professionals deliver it.

jm bunny feetMake sense?

J

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A Hurricane and the Port Workers Strike Force Conversation About Business Resilience and Continuity

Hurricane Helene is one of the biggest storms to have hit the Gulf Coast in years. An analysis done by a scientist at Colorado State University, Helene was larger than almost every storm that has hit the gulf since 1988. Only Opal and Irma were bigger than Helene. The toll in life and property is not small, nor is the disruption of services. There are troubles enough getting help and supplies to impacted areas, so the focus on doing everyday business just isn’t a thing.

To make matters worse, there is a strike going on right now. A big strike that is already impacting supply chains nationwide, and things will only get more strained the longer it lasts.

“The 2024 United States port strike is a labor strike involving over 45,000 port workers who are part of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), impacting 36 ports across the United States primarily along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast.” (Wikipedia)

While there are many people currently facing larger life issues, the entire nation is forced to consider what happens now, and if they weren’t directly impacted by these events, what would they do if they were? It is a bit of a wake-up call for many business owners, because business interruptions can come from all angles, and it is always best to have made at least some attempt at a set of plans for when things happen.

One critical type of plan is about making the business more resilient and better able to recover or adapt. It’s a broad strategic plan that focuses on overcoming unexpected disruptions and adapting to changing conditions or circumstances. This includes addressing business continuity, which is about how operations may be maintained during a crisis. Business continuity planning is part of what makes a business resilient.

The Importance of Business Resiliency

Business resiliency has become a critical factor for success. In today’s rapidly changing world, the ability to stand up to or quickly recover from disruptions is no longer a luxury but an imperative. Resilience means being able to adapt to changes and challenges swiftly, maintaining continuity and minimizing losses. Customers want reliability, so a business that can continue to deliver products and services despite disruptions will build trust and loyalty, leading to long-term relationships and a strong reputation.

A resilient business will have contingency plans for finances, creating buffers to mitigate the impacts of short-term shocks so investments in long-term growth continue. Also, where competitors may struggle to cope, resilient companies may not simply continue to operate but even capitalize on new opportunities that arise from the changing landscape. When a business is prepared for disruptions, it can focus on growth and innovation rather than mere survival.

Technology plays a big role in developing resilience. Cloud solutions can ensure data is backed up and accessible from anywhere, cybersecurity solutions help protect businesses from cyber threats, and automation technologies streamline operations while reducing dependency on manual processes.

Prioritizing resiliency is crucial for small businesses to navigate uncertainties and thrive.

Mendelson Consulting and Noobeh cloud services help businesses of all sizes improve their agility, streamline operations and implement the technologies and services necessary to shore up business and operational continuity and improve overall resilience.

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J

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Enhancing Business Insight: Noobeh Cloud Services and Azure-Based Solutions

Technology is evolving and so are our ways of using it. While the rules of accounting haven’t changed for years, the solutions we use to do the work have changed a lot. Yet there remain many businesses that haven’t yet embraced the idea of fully digital workflows, integrating and automating how data moves through the “system” to provide a comprehensive view of the business and how it is performing.

This is where accountants and bookkeepers can best serve their clients, by helping them implement the platforms and solutions which transform operations and provide greater insight into these areas.

Over 20 years ago, a technology model was developed which allowed businesses and the accounting professionals who serve them to work directly and collaboratively in the clients’ accounting system. By hosting QuickBooks and Sage desktop products on host servers, small business users and their accountants could both access the software and the data in real time.

This new approach was a boon for accountants, bookkeepers and others working with small business clients as it not only enabled closer work, but also provided those advisors an opportunity to do more – and more complex – work with the client. Yet many platforms and working models created barriers to broadening the scope of service or access to client systems, limiting to just basic accounting products like QuickBooks, and not effectively addressing the rest of the business need.

As technology has evolved, so have these transformations.

More accounting professionals understand the benefits as well as the necessity of moving from analog to digital workflows, removing manual entry and improving efficiency and accuracy of data. Yet this improvement doesn’t require changing accounting software and undoing years of learning and business knowledge. Rather, the platforms and connections must be the primary focus, replacing the manual with automation and smoothing out the bumps where data isn’t flowing at all. If the system isn’t in place to handle the complete flow of the data, there is a break. Like a pipe leaking water, this break results in data loss – which is also loss of business intelligence.

A key to all of this is the consideration of where the data ultimately resides. When business data exists in closed silos – whether web-based software or closed hosting platform – it takes a comprehensive approach to collection, storage and analysis. This is among the benefits to be derived from the modern cloud and Noobeh’s Azure-based hosting approach.

Noobeh’s hosting is not just about the desktop or the applications.

The cloud platform, and Azure in particular, also provides resources for data analysis and business intelligence, workflow and data flow automations, improved security and identity management, IoT and computing on the network edge.

For professionals looking to evolve their practices by helping clients go beyond basic recordkeeping and reporting, it’s time to delve into the operational details, data flows and development of real business intelligence and insight. Noobeh Cloud Services and Mendelson Consulting have the platforms and the supporting services to help bring it all together, improving profitability and performance of their clients through the intelligent application of technology.

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J

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Data Gets Lonely When It’s Isolated

EDI Helps Manufacturers Increase Efficiency and Improve Profitability

More efficient processes yield more revenue, it’s that simple. Imagine being able to seamlessly integrate data across the entire supply chain and then imagine how that integration could increase the efficiency and deliver more revenue to each link in the chain.

Every manufacturing CEO wants to increase operational efficiency and lower costs, helping to boost revenues and improve profitability. Yet there is an area which has often been overlooked by businesses, and this is the area of B2B integration. While some methods have delivered degrees of success, broad-based solutions remain elusive to many.

The problem is in the number and types of data sources a manufacturer deals with on a regular basis. With a network of partners and suppliers, each using their own data formats and transfer methods, the volume and variety of information flowing can be overwhelming. The result is siloed data, increased pressure on information technology and management resources, disconnected workflows and slower processes.

IDC’s Manufacturing Insights’ webcast IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing Predictions once suggested that nearly 30% of manufacturers would make significant investments toward increasing visibility and analysis of information exchange and business processes, within the company and with partners. That was in 2015. Today, data integration and process improvements continue at a fevered pace as technology is helping businesses gain new data that brings new insight and sparks change.

The integration of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a fundamental first step in improving how a business works with trading partners as well as internally. EDI has been around for many years and refers to the transfer of structured data between two organizations or “trading partners” using a set of standards that define common information formats to facilitate the exchange. By adhering to the same standards, two different organizations can electronically exchange documents (POs, invoices, shipping notices etc), seamlessly and regardless of geographic location.

Simplifying business processes, reducing operating costs, increasing end-to-end visibility, reducing errors, and speeding up operations and responsiveness… these are the many benefits to be experienced when EDI and non-EDI information streams are processed in the same manner when it comes visibility, exception-handling, notifications, role-based access etc.

Unfortunately, not all trading partners use EDI (or implement it in the same manner). To get their documents into a usable format, manufacturers find themselves using manual processes or writing custom scripts. Either way, it means that documents are flowing through entirely different processes for EDI and non-EDI business partners, which significantly complicates matters and adds unexpected costs and complications. Addressing this is one of the reasons why modern manufacturers are finding an increased need for connecting with organizations like Mendelson Consulting who can help identify and address situations that out-of-the-box EDI does not.

The pressure is mounting for manufacturers to produce more with less resources. Mendelson Consulting understands what makes EDI complicated and has the experience and expertise to help growing enterprises overcome challenges in design and implementation, making broader integration possible and greater improvement achievable.

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J

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Preparing Your Business for Exploding Growth

Preparing for exploding growth in a business requires careful planning and strategic decision-making. To develop the information necessary to support these activities, businesses must implement their processes and systems to properly collect the data required. Unfortunately, many organizations fail to develop the systems which will support increased activity and business growth, only recognizing after the fact that the process support and the data they need isn’t there. To prevent being caught off guard with more business demand and not enough organization to support it, follow these recommendations to set the business up for success over the long run.

Set clear goals and adjust as required. You need to know what the business purpose is… the objective you hope to achieve with all this activity. Establish SMART goals – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. With a set of smart goals and a well-defined objective, the business has a clear direction and a guide to assist in decision-making.

Build infrastructure that is scalable. If the business infrastructure can’t handle increased demand, the business can’t grow effectively. Scalable information technology and software systems, robust production capabilities with adequate human resource availability, and increased efficiency in supply chains will help the business meet increasing demand, while improved reporting and business intelligence helps to anticipate potential bottlenecks, allowing for plans to be developed to address them.

Make sure finance and accounting are set for growth. Strengthen overall financial management and review your financial processes to ensure they can accommodate growth. Implementing the right systems and software is necessary to not just optimize production and operations, but to provide a foundation for establishing sound accounting and financial practices which will help the business secure funding and manage cash flow effectively. A good way to evaluate your preparedness for growth is to prepare financial forecasts and stress tests to gauge your business’s financial resilience under various growth scenarios.

Streamline operations and automate where it makes sense. Evaluation of businesses processes is an ongoing task if your business is to continuously work to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Where opportunities for optimization and improvement exist, consider using automation and technology solutions to help streamline operations and reduce manual effort while remaining focused on enhancing customer experience and satisfaction through streamlined processes and improved service delivery.

Plan for Risk and Contingencies. You should try to identify potential risks and challenges associated with rapid growth, such as increased competition, supply chain disruptions, or changes in customer preferences. Develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks and ensure continuity of the business and operation. It may even make sense to consider diversifying your revenue streams to reduce dependency on a single market or product.

Monitor, adjust and adapt as needed. Key performance indicators (KPIs) should be regularly monitored, as should market trends, to stay informed about your business’s progress and to stay on top of industry developments. Use data analytics and reporting tools to gain insights and make data-driven decisions instead of operating on emotion. The business that plans for growth must remain agile and adaptable, adjusting strategies and operations as needed to accommodate changes in demand as they occur.

Preparation for rapid growth requires a proactive approach and continuous evaluation of your business’s readiness. Regularly reassess your strategies, make necessary adjustments, and stay focused on delivering value to customers as you scale.

Mendelson Consulting and the Noobeh cloud services teams are advisors and consultants with expertise in scaling businesses, and can provide valuable insights, guidance, and support throughout the growth process and beyond.

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J

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Competitive and Profitable Construction: What’s it take to get there and stay there?

The short answer is… update your operations and transform the business. It’s time to modernize and embrace the cloud.

Construction firms need to be more data-driven, analyzing and responding to conditions revealed by the various systems supporting the business operation. Turning a profit on complex projects means applying automation to manual processes and workflows, introducing more collaborative tools, and delivering real-time data to gain greater insight into the operation’s performance and profitability. The foundation for all of this is the cloud platform, extending connectedness beyond traditional boundaries.

Digital transformation and the adoption of agile and connected cloud platforms can result in productivity gains of 14 to 15 percent and reduce costs from 4 to 6 percent. These improvements are the way to address fading profits even as the pace of business increases. https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/decoding-digital-transformation-in-construction

There are several factors that typically weigh down the operation and cause profits to fade. Strained IT resources is a big item for most construction companies, where technical people spend far too much time building and maintaining on-premises servers and networks. Maintaining on-premises servers adds up fast. A single IT manager can easily cost around $150,000 per year, and the “cost of cybersecurity compliance raises the price by an additional $200,000.” (5 Reasons Contractors Need to Modernize Their Operations to Stay Competitive and Profitable by Trimble Viewpoint)

Even when you factor in the costs of hardware, software and IT personnel, those costs don’t include the hidden expenses that come with the use of on-premises servers, like disconnected and siloed data that requires manual processes to use, duplicated data entry requirements (increasing the potential for human error) and more costs for labor. When you figure in all the capital costs and expenditures, on-premises solutions can cost up to four times as much as their original purchase price. On the other hand, NOOBEH cloud servers, deployed on the Microsoft Azure platform, offer reliable, cost-effective solutions to support the variety of important business applications and integrations that high-performance operations require.

NOOBEH cloud services focuses on addressing the pain points businesses have with their IT. We help businesses implement services that promote real collaboration for real use-cases, and we look for ways to connect projects and operational data so it can be analyzed to unlock greater value across the entire enterprise.

Disconnects cause inefficiency, delays, errors, and reduced productivity. Lack of insight on the labor and equipment side leads to uncontrolled resource utilization and a lack of predictability. Jobs get delayed and profits fade. Lost productivity due to duplicate entry of information is leveled at 10%-30% (or more), and these rates are not uncommon. https://www.eckerson.com/articles/hidden-costs-of-duplicate-data.

Clearly, automation, connected workflows, cloud platforms and real-time data are essentials in the transformation and improvement effort. Let in-house IT focus on activities that bring value to the business, finding ways to innovate and improve how things get done. Replace cumbersome, manual processes with software and systems that facilitate greater automation and integration, eliminating redundant data entry and improving the quality of information.

Construction projects are becoming larger and more complex, and project owners want the latest technologies, real-time reporting, and comprehensive approaches to compliance. Today, industry-leading contractors are embracing connected cloud technologies so they can scale and future-proof their businesses.

The modern contractor takes advantage of connected platforms, automation and real-time data that feeds data analysis and business intelligence… innovations only available with the cloud. That’s what NOOBEH delivers.

jm bunny feetMake Sense?

J