Six Innovative Practices for Implementing Finance Software

To help transportation and logistics companies navigate a competitive and continually changing business environment, UNIT4 Business Software, the North American subsidiary of UNIT4, today shared its UNIT4 checklist on innovative practices for implementing finance accounting software to help transportation and shipping firms grow and increase their profitability.

According to Shelley Zapp, CEO of UNIT4 Business Software, "Trucking and shipping companies need real-time financial information and the ability to identify profitability, issues and cost-saving opportunities to be successful in an industry that is continually faced with rapid changes and tight margins."

Based on decades of industry experience with leading enterprises, UNIT4 Business Software has identified the following six innovative practices for trucking and shipping firms to implement finance accounting software.

Use a single-ledger approach to gain one version of the truth. To keep up with the fast pace of business, transportation and shipping firms need real-time visibility into a single set of accurate financial data. By combining general ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivable in one balanced ledger, companies can gain this visibility and benefit from efficiencies and faster closes.

Embrace global functionality. To effectively conduct business across borders, select a financial system with multi-language and multi-currency capabilities. The system should be able to handle different taxes and regulations and allow you to easily view profitability and other measures across your business, regardless of currency.

Enable seamless integration between your systems. Make sure your finance system can pull the data you need and easily integrate with operational systems and your ERP, so you can easily assess information on route profitability, intermodal strategies and other business issues.

Make each report work for the organization. Provide targeted reports that accommodate the varying needs of different departments to improve decision making. Finance accounting software should allow your users to drill down into a granular level of data in multiple ways -- such as viewing profitability by route, mode of transportation and more -- to identify root causes, challenges and opportunities.

Consider financial netting. Financial netting -- or merging receivables and payables due between companies in one bill -- is an innovative practice that saves considerable time, effort and the expense of bank fees and currency conversion costs. It's an ideal solution for trucking and shipping firms buying and selling freight, trade routes and cargo.

Prepare for change. Change is constant and inevitable, and you need an agile financial management system that can quickly adapt to any changes in your business or industry. Look for a system that offers built-in flexibility to grow and evolve with your changing needs.