You're in business to sell a product or provide a service, not to chase paper around your office. Anytime you can leverage technology to automate and streamline routine processes it gives you the opportunity to spend more time focusing on what really makes your business successful. There has never been a better time than now to take advantage of technology to help you manage and grow your business. One of the best examples is the SourceLink 4.1 ME (Management Edition) document management system from Personable, Inc. Add SourceLink to your shopping list of innovative technology tools that will help you get things done better and faster.
SourceLink ME is a powerful tool for businesses that are using QuickBooks. It is directly integrated with QuickBooks to give you the tools you need to control your finances better. The standard edition of SourceLink provides you with a practical document management system that allows you to scan and attach documents (invoices, checks, receipts, etc.) directly to QB transactions. No more scurrying to the file cabinet every time you need to reference a document, only to have to go through the tedious task of creating a cover sheet and faxing it to the requestor. With SourceLink you simply scan and attach the electronic document image to the related transaction. From that point forward you can simply click on the transaction in QB and retrieve a copy of the document electronically to view it, print it, or e-mail it. Electronic document management is the next "killer app" for business and it is available today with SourceLink.
The real story is ME, the Management Edition of SourceLink. This is the next generation of paperless office solutions. ME is a workflow automation solution that provides you with the functionality to help you keep better tabs on the cash flow of your business. With ME you have the ability to define specific internal control procedures for typical financial transactions such as customer invoicing, accounts payable invoice processing, check writing, etc.
An example of the type of control that you can define for your financial transactions is to require that a vendor invoice be approved (electronically) by a supervisor, owner, or whatever "role" you choose to designate, before it can be processed for payment. This approval can be requested automatically via e-mail notification prior to processing the invoice for payment. The person designated to authorize the transaction can choose to "approve" or "deny" the transaction. This functionality provides your business with one of the most fundamental internal control procedures necessary to help you prevent the most common fraudulent activity that which is perpetrated inside your business, by the people you least suspect.
Additional functionality that helps you monitor the internal control features of SourceLink ME includes automatic notification of the acceptance or denial of the requested action, as well as an electronic notification to alert you to the current status of an approval request.
There are many additional examples that can be offered as to how SourceLink ME can help you implement basic internal financial controls, but the primary message to convey here is that you now have access to a very affordable tool to help you protect the financial assets of your business. SourceLink ME fills a key gap in the QB software design that is necessary to apply basic controls over your financial transactions. The cost of ME is like an inexpensive insurance policy. It doesn't guarantee you won't have fraudulent activity in your business, but without it you can be sure that you are missing some of the most basic checks and balances required of any good financial system.
Don't forget that the control features provided by the ME edition of SourceLink
are add-on features to the powerful document management system that lets you
manage all of your business documents electronically and link them to the appropriate
QB transactions. This is a "must have" application for anyone who
wants to gain better efficiency and control of your information flow and optimize
the potential of QuickBooks. "SourceLink has really simplified my life
and I have received more than my money's worth for it" notes Marty Jones
of Design Pro in Bemen, Georgia.
Marty's business specializes in serving as a go between for customers who need digital embroidering services. This requires the exchange and transfer of numerous documents in the design and approval process. Marty scans and collects all of the related documents for a project and links them to the appropriate QB transactions. And since this makes Marty's business information "paperless" he has the ability to access his office computer system remotely and work at the office while he is away from the office.
I would like to suggest that you owe it to yourself to take a close look at SourceLink ME from Personable, Inc. Contact them for a web based demonstration of how this powerful application can streamline and protect your business information and financial assets, so that you can focus on what you do best; providing your customers with the products and services that you are best known for.
John H. Higgins, CPA.CITP is a strategic advisor with CPA Crossings, LLC in
Rochester, Michigan. His organization specializes in helping businesses select
and implement software applications to help them manage their business operations
more effectively and efficiently to increase profitability.