UNITED STATES—If you are an accountant you might have some of these tools already, but if you don’t it’s time to invest. You can make your life as easy as possible by integrating some planning tools into your daily schedule to boost organization and efficiency. Accountants generally have a heavy workload and will benefit from planning tools, like most professionals. Here are the top 5 planning tools you should have as an accountant.
1. A decent computer
A decent computer or laptop is a must in most jobs, but particularly for an accountant. There is no time to wait around for slow screens to load or problems with usability to get in your way. As an accountant, you will be using your computer day-in-day-out, therefore it will need to be durable and reliable. The workload as an accountant is heavy and cleaning up your desktop and computer, in general, should be regularly done. If you need to invest in a new computer and you have been spending too much money recently, you can go for a same day loan if you know you will be able to pay it back.
When you are using your computer, make sure you don’t download documents that will slow processes down and keep everything neat in folders to avoid confusion and save time. If you are sharing lots of documents with other employees, make sure you use cloud storage, to keep things efficient. Accountants can often be on the move so it might be worth using a desktop screen and also investing in a laptop for when you’re out and about meeting clients.
2. Anti-virus or decent protection for their laptop or computer
It’s an absolute must to have anti-virus on your computer as you will have so much private client information saved. If you have cloud storage this will often be protected and much more secure than saving things on your desktop. For those who don’t have cloud storage, you can work with companies to migrate over to the cloud in a secure and fast way.
3. Project management software
The day-to-day running of projects will run smoothly if you have a management system in place, there are many free software out there or you can go for a paid one, this will be down to your own preference. If you can use a cloud base system this will save you time emailing or calling other employees as you will be able to see their status updates on the management system.
4. An up to date tax software
Tax software helps to save time and minimize mistakes, exactly what you need when you’re working at a fast pace and sometimes in a rush. In the past, everything connected to tax was by hand but now we are lucky to have modern technology that helps avoid errors and keeps data in one system. As an accountant you should have a reliable up to date tax software.
5. A paper-free management system
Accountants will be dealing with lots of papers and important information so it’s crucial to keep everything in one place, for example, cloud storage. Now everything is online it’s simple to go paper free so make sure you do this if you’re an accountant. Documents can now be scanned online, emails are easier than meeting in person and the phone is always there to keep in touch with clients. There is no need for paper to be lurking around in your office and if there are a few odd bits you can keep them neatly in a folder.
Now you know some of the best tools you can use as an accountant, it’s time to make sure you have a few of them or all of them in place. Making your life faster and more efficient will always be a positive way to manage your workload.
