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In the ever-evolving landscape of financial management, cost reduction remains a top priority for CFOs, Finance Directors and CTO’s. Leveraging technology effectively can result in significant savings, operational efficiencies, and enhanced strategic decision-making.
Below are seven proven strategies to cut costs while optimising your organisation’s performance.
At the bottom of this guide you’ll find out how to implement these strategies to reduce your costs.
Failed or complex software integrations can be a major drain on financial resources, often leading to increased IT and consulting costs, as well as reporting delays due to data not being sent or received.
Choosing a unified platform with seamless integration capabilities can mitigate these risks. A well-integrated system reduces the need for external consultants and minimises downtime, ensuring smoother operations and cost efficiency.
Also, strong integration enables you to have faith in your data for real-time reporting so you can act as soon as opportunities or threats arise.
For the CTO readers: As you know, not all middleware is created equal. UniFi has a easy to use, yet highly configurable data connector builder, that allows you to connect to any system. Not only can you push or pull data from different systems, but you can also use the middleware to convert data into a different format. For example converting XML2 to JSON.
Organisations using UniFi have saved thousands in integration costs and reduced project time thanks to the flexible data connector builder.
For the CFO readers: The UniFi Data Connectors allow you to connect to 3rd party applications via our ‘Application Programming Interface’ (API). This means you can retrieve data for use on a form either to populate an external dropdown (e.g., a list of suppliers, customers etc.) or to put data into an external calculated field (e.g., retrieve a budget or forecast figure). To put it simply, this eliminates the need for your staff to manually re-key data, leading to massive time savings and less data errors. This frees up their time for higher value tasks.
UniFi enables users to build their own integrations without much IT knowledge. There’s no need for expensive external consultants. Your own IT department can set-up and amend integrations with ease.
UniFi comes with a flexible data connector builder that allows you to connect to popular accounting, Enterprise Resource Planning, CRM, HR and other business systems. It can look at a process and automatically create a journal and post it into your accounting system.
UniFi can also automate other processes such as [a non-exhaustive list]: Invoice Processing, Expense Management, Payroll Processing, Accounts Receivable and Payable, Financial Reporting, Tax Compliance, Budgeting and Forecasting, Inventory Management, Audit Trail Creation, Data Entry and Validation, Compliance Monitoring, Intercompany Transactions, Fixed Asset Management, Cash Flow Management, etc…. and breath.
There’s no other platform available that can do this – the time and cost-saving potential is immense and only limited by your imagination.
Automation and AI can revolutionise how your organisation operates by streamlining processes across all departments. By automating routine tasks, you free up staff time for higher-value activities that have a greater impact on the bottom line.
This shift not only enhances productivity but also reduces labour costs associated with manual processes. It’s a win win for everyone. Your staff are happy and fulfilled as they’re not doing mundane manual tasks, and the C-Suite are happy that staff are spending more time adding value, working on tasks that really make a difference.
When considering automation, it’s crucial to evaluate your recruitment process, as automation can significantly reduce staffing costs. By implementing a system that automates various tasks, you can streamline operations and enhance efficiency.
For instance, instead of hiring a department head to manage data entry, you could deploy an intelligent platform to handle and automate it, saving both time and money. Those savings can then be reinvested where you see fit. For example, you might choose to hire for a more strategic role that can focus on higher-value tasks or upskilling existing staff. AI and machine learning open up a new landscape, and these are cutting-edge concepts to get your head around, so you’re likely dubious about its logistics. Speak to us, and we’ll show you how.
UniFi is the only platform available that can automate approvals and post directly to your finance system.
Here’s how organisations have benefitted from UniFi:
One of the simplest yet most effective ways to reduce costs is to consolidate software licences. This strategy offers multiple cost-saving benefits beyond just the licence fees. By standardising on a single platform, you reduce the number of licences required, thereby lowering your overall risk.
Fewer licences mean less complexity, easier management, and reduced exposure to compliance issues. Additionally, consolidation simplifies your IT infrastructure, leading to further savings.
It also mitigates the risk of price hikes across multiple licences. Furthermore, using fewer platforms saves time and money on training and onboarding, as your team only needs to become proficient with one system.
All of the above are issues our clients faced for years, and one of the reasons why we created UniFi.
Invest in software that offers comprehensive functionality without additional modules and paywalls. Such solutions should be scalable across the organisation and adaptable to multiple use cases.
This approach maximises your investment, ensuring you get the most value for your money. A versatile software platform can handle various tasks, reducing the need for multiple specialised tools and thereby cutting down on expenses.
The ethos of UniFi is that we will never paywall anything, the price you pay includes access to everything within the platform, now and into the future. It’s enterprise grade software without the price tag. This means you’re not paying £0000’s for more features or uses cases.
UniFi is also scalable up or down, as your needs will changed year on year. Be careful with some software’s that claim their scalable, but in reality they only scale upwards, which could leave you with increased costs.
Business Intelligence (BI) tools are invaluable for identifying inefficiencies within your organisation. With real-time data analytics, you can pinpoint areas where resources are being wasted and take immediate corrective action. This proactive approach not only saves money but also improves overall operational efficiency.
What’s truly powerful is having a BI that is plugged into every process, department and asset so you’ve got a holistic view of your organisations performance in real time. There’s only one platform on the market that can do this.
UniFi provides real-time data for all business systems in customisable dashboards. Data access can be managed with Big 4 approved roles and permissions. The icing on the cake is that BI is included in the overall price of UniFi. Not like other platforms where it’s an additional cost or a third party software that will cause issues with integration, data conversion and lag.
Find out how to convert data into actionable insights with UniFi.
Audits are a necessary part of financial management, but they can be costly. Implementing a robust platform can simplify the audit process, making it easier and quicker for auditors to complete their work.
A unified system with comprehensive data tracking and reporting capabilities reduces the time and effort required for audits, thereby lowering audit-related expenses.
7. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold
When selecting a vendor, software, or partner, be mindful of the budget they’ve allocated to marketing and advertising, as these costs are ultimately passed on to you. Impressive advertising doesn’t always equate to impressive results.
Conduct thorough due diligence and choose organisations that prioritise investment in research and development, customer service, and added value. This approach ensures you’re getting the most for your money, focusing on quality and long-term benefits rather than flashy marketing campaigns.
Additionally, don’t be fooled by the lack of logos/case studies/testimonials a vendor displays on their website. When a business software is really good, its users don’t want to make it obvious to their competition, so they tend to keep it to themselves. If you enquire though, you might be pleasantly surprised to find out who’s willing to vouch for all the strategies above.
Implementing these cost reduction strategies can significantly enhance your organisation’s financial health, drive efficiency and maximise value.
Implementing these seven cost reduction strategies can significantly enhance your organisation’s financial management, driving savings and improving operational efficiency. By using UniFi you can: consolidate licences, ensure seamless integrations, scale based on needs, and streamline processes and reduce overheads with next-generation automation. All of this coupled with strategic use of UniFi’s business intelligence will ensure that your investments provide maximum value. These approaches not only cut costs but also strengthen your organisation’s agility and resilience, positioning it for sustained success in a competitive environment.
How to implement the above 7 strategies
Want to achieve all the above?
Only 1 platform can enable all of the above 7 strategies – UniFi.
Book a no-obligation free live demo here to find out how.
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Join the thousands of users who’ve saved thousands in costs and hours by implementing UniFi.
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