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6 Technology Tips to Reduce the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business

Maintaining communication and cash flow are key to keeping your business as healthy as possible during a pandemic. Luckily the technology exists to help streamline many areas of your business for the current situation.

1. Video Communication – Phone calls are great, but video conference programs such as Zoom, Skype for Business, Microsoft Teams, and Google Hangouts are user-friendly and add more personal interaction to meetings. You might have tried some of these options already, but now is the time to make using one of these programs a part of your daily routine.

 

2. Invoicing Customers – Move this process to email vs. paper. Many accounting systems have email invoices built in and there are 3^rd party apps to fill the void if your system doesn’t have this feature. Consider DocuSign or other e-signature applications for customer contracts. With much of the country working from home you don’t want to delay getting paid or landing new business because of delays in the mail.

 

3. Bank Deposits – Talk to your bank about listing ACH deposit information on your invoices to give your customers a way to pay you electronically. Your banker can make sure the account setup is secure before you send out that ACH information. Mobile Deposit and check scanners can help get deposits made if bank branches are closed.

 

4. Bill Pay – Consider bill pay services through your bank or third-party applications that link to your accounting system so you or your staff don’t have to go to the office to print checks or haul check stock and envelopes home. The savings in time, effort, and postage will keep you on a bill pay service long after the pandemic has ended.

 

5. Move your Accounting to the Cloud – Using a cloud based or hosted accounting system will allow you or your accounting team to keep doing their jobs from home and keep information flowing to you. Maintaining good financial reporting during the pandemic will give you the information to make the best decisions possible. If your accountant is still driving to the office to do the books, now is the time to move to the cloud. Options vary depending on your needs and company size, but there are more cloud-based accounting system options than ever before.

 

6. Expenses –Review cash and credit card payments for items that can be put on hold while operations are reduced. Contact lenders, landlords, and other vendors now to adjust payment terms or services level. This communication is a proactive step you can take now to blunt the impact of a prolonged pandemic.

 

If you have questions on any of the items above and how best to implement them in your business, please let me or your usual contact at Copeland Buhl know how we can help.