Page 56 - May-June-guide BI

MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION OF CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS | MAY – JUNE 2017
The End of the Jurassic Era
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By David Valade, VP of Operations and Solutions Architect
Years ago, back when dinosaurs ruled the earth and all business software was on-premises, you needed your accounting software to do everything. This made perfect sense because getting different pieces of software to “talk” to each other was all but impossible.
The unintended consequence? Unfortunately, all too many software vendors tried to check every box by trotting out the bare minimum functionality to be miles wide but barely an inch deep. Our firm would often be called in to implement the software. We would hear excited customers ask, “Does this software have a requisitioning system? How about a Human Resources module?”
And we would sigh and say, “Well, yes, technically...” NO MORE TECHNICALITIES
Good business software has evolved. Now we have the API-economy where more and more solutions live in the cloud and can talk to each other. Software vendors aren’t motivated to have just enough functionality to say they can do almost everything; no, modern business software companies can be the absolute best at what they do and make sure they have a robust API that allows them to communicate with other solutions.
The result? Now you subscribe to only the services you want and can pick the very best mix of features and value for your company.
At Alta Vista Technology, LLC, we recommend Intacct for a cloud accounting solution. In addition to being the AICPA’s first and only preferred provider of financial applications, Intacct operates with a “best-in-class” approach to providing functionality.
Want your accounting solution to integrate with a CRM system like SalesForce? No problem. Just paste in a secure token to connect the dots and off you go – and the integration is profound, right down to exposing SalesForce Chatter within Intacct. Wish you had a way to automate your accounts payable processes? You can pick between American Express or Bill.com to name just a few providers to help. Those services allow your vendors to email their invoices to be aggregated so one of your managers can approve them with a few clicks. They will even print and mail the checks for you. And the best part? The accounting entries are automatic. Ditto for payroll integrations and virtually every other bit of functionality you can imagine.
Now, when we’re asked whether it’s possible to enable something, it’s a much happier story. And the days of using software with functionality only an inch deep are almost extinct.
David Valade
VP of Operations and Solutions Architect
Alta Vista Technology, LLC | 24700 Northwestern Highway #601 | Southfield, MI 48075 | P: 248.733.4504 | www.altavistatech.com 56 855.594.4273 | MICPA.org