Let’s get fiscal: Updating your AMC’s accounting software.

Transparency is key.

Secrecy has been an untold rule in the old days of accounting but now, there is a demand for transparency and full disclosure so you and your client can make the best decisions possible when it comes to ensuring proper allocation of funds.  Now, AMCs are enabled to dig deep into their clients’ financial data and plan accordingly for their future. Transparency can be held responsible for enabling more effective long-term strategies through exposure to spending patterns and areas in need of improvement. In order to succeed, you must have access to resources which allow you to manage accounting procedures with the utmost care. 

Live in the cloud.

By housing data in the cloud, companies and organizations can securely retrieve and input information from any mobile phone, tablet, workstation, or laptop computer – wherever and whenever you need with ease. The cloud leads to more effective time usage by including automatic updates and syncing capabilities. AMCs and their associations who embrace and adopt the new wave of technology focused on connectivity won’t just survive – they stand to experience explosive growth. In addition to reducing IT costs and eliminating the hassles of infrastructure maintenance, the cloud will protect your clients’ data through a power failure or other digital crises.   

More money, more flexibility.

Most AMC clients have traditionally relied on membership dues as their main source of revenue. As technology advances, so does the desire to diversify funding streams. Adapting to an accounting solution that integrates with all your client‘s products allows you to account for their non-dues revenue streams from events, online learning systems, advertisements, career centers, sponsorships, merchandise sales, and fundraising. 

Imagine a hub and spoke concept with the accounting software serving as the hub and different streams of data flowing through as the spokes. This accounting hub should be able to manage membership, banking, and the multiple streams of non-dues revenue.  In addition to supporting several different steams of funding, an ideal accounting software system will include a multilevel budgeting tool, allowing for more checks and balances when it comes to understanding the current status of your client’s association.    

Trust the experts.

Selecting accounting software is similar to choosing a doctor. If you had pain in your wrist, you wouldn’t go to a cardiologist – you would find the right specialist and go to an orthopedic doctor. 
 
 The same goes for selecting an accounting solution. Industry expertise is a critical yet often overlooked and undervalued component of selecting accounting solutions. Researching and sticking with vendors that understand the AMC industry’s unique needs and have programs designed to meet them will ensure the success of your program. Another benefit is that clients who feel their technology, budget and spend are done with purpose are more likely to stay around.  

Bottom line.

The most important feature of your accounting software will ultimately be if it allows you to simplify the complex, succeed faster, grow stronger, and achieve your mission.