3 Keys to Successfully Pairing Membership Software & Accounting Automation

At this year’s Aptify Users Conference, I’m excited to be co-presenting with Debbie Hanger of ASAE on a topic that is a bit of an obsession of mine—accounting automation (hey, we all have our quirks). During this session, we will provide real-world examples of how process automation can enable collaboration, reduce delays, and result in higher quality financial data. It will be a challenge to limit our session to just an hour, as Aptify’s robust development platform offers unlimited opportunities to create powerful data processing workflows. 

Both Debbie and I have been working with Aptify for over a decade. In addition to sharing with you some of our favorite accounting automation solutions that we have implemented over the years, we want to convey the key factors that will increase your chances of a successful accounting implementation with membership software. Here are three critical takeaways: 

1. Understand how Aptify works as an accounting system

Aptify serves as your organization’s accounts receivable and cash receipts sub-ledger.  While you don’t need to be a Certified Management Accountant to master Aptify’s accounting feature set (although that certainly won’t hurt), I recommend that at minimum you educate yourself on how transactions are processed, where financial data is stored, and how Aptify integrates with other financial systems such as your general ledger.

2. Listen to your finance team, including their complaints

Accountants are trained to analyze data and are used to working with sophisticated software applications.  They will quickly become frustrated if the processes for general ledger integration, reconciliation, and reporting are inefficient or poorly defined.  Accountants are also keenly aware of internal controls and can identify possible deficiencies that need to be addressed.  Don’t brush off their criticisms as mere kvetching, but rather collaborate with them to design an optimal solution.

3. A sound solution requires more than automation

Some processes are in fact optimal when no automation is involved.  But whether a solution is manual or fully automated, there are some overarching questions that must be answered early in the implementation process.  What roles are involved in the process?  Who owns the process?  What are the various use cases?  What are the expected results of each use case?  What are the possible exceptions and how should they be handled?  How will you know when the process is working (or not)?

I hope you have a chance to join us on Tuesday, October 17, at 4:00 PM for the session entitled “Automating Your Financial Processes.”  And don’t be shy about stopping by the Future Value Consulting booth.  Our team will be delighted to speak to you about any type of Aptify-related challenge that is on the horizon.  And by popular demand, we will be giving out chocolate again this year.

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