As another year winds to a close, many businesses are already engaged in the end-of-year planning process. Whether that’s tallying up the previous year’s successes, or looking for ways to improve the running of their business in the new year, it’s a valuable period of strategizing that shouldn’t be missed.
Winter is here, and that means changes in the air, weather, and more. For people, there are holidays and gatherings to look forward to — and for businesses, it means gearing up for end-of-year planning. When the weather starts to turn, it’s a great time to sit down, think through the last year of business, and evaluate what’s working, and what could be working better. Is agricultural accounting software right for you and your farm?
The benefits of agricultural accounting software
There are major benefits to switching to accounting software designed specifically for agriculture. Anyone who has run a farm or ranch knows that, while they’re similar to other businesses, there’s plenty of difference between the two, especially when it comes to accounting and reporting.
The right agricultural accounting software, like CenterPoint® Accounting for Agriculture, allows for multiple quantity inventory tracking, providing a real-time understanding for all of your crops and livestock. And it’s not just about basic inventory — agricultural accounting software also tracks important details like acreage, product weights, and more, and will even keep this information centralized so that it’s easy to access whenever you need it.
Turning things around
When it comes to your organization’s finances, some years are great, and some years are less than great. That’s normal, of course, but it’s still important during end-of-year planning to get a clear picture of how your organization is performing, so that in the coming year you can start to turn things around and address the challenges you’re facing.
For agricultural businesses, CenterPoint offers just the tools you need to pinpoint your organization’s challenges and begin work to address them through a suite of standard and special reports. Our ratios module includes a wide variety of farm industry standard ratios to help you better analyze your organization’s performance.
Keeping taxes in mind
With the end of the year approaching, taxes are naturally on all of our minds — and you might even feel a little stressed about the prospect of filing. While that might seem normal, the right payroll software can actually streamline your recordkeeping and make filing your business’s payroll taxes easier than ever before.
Red Wing’s CenterPoint Payroll software offers a deep bench of tax-related functionalities that can seamlessly convert your payroll records into pre-filled tax forms at the click of a button. Our payroll software offers easy transfer to a wide variety of state and federal forms, including the annual 943 form, the quarterly 941 form, W-2 forms, 1099 forms, and more.
And when it comes time to start thinking about taxes, agricultural business owners know they’re dealing with special standards. When using accounting software designed for agriculture, the reports the software produces will be in automatic compliance with the Farm Financial Standards. In other words, you’ll be better prepared to meet the reporting requirements of external
agencies and relevant government organizations.Unparalleled Support Based in the U.S.
Transferring to a new accounting system can feel like a major shift, and you might understandably be nervous about it. What if it takes time to get used to the new system, and what if that makes running your organization more challenging in the meantime? After all, even with the most intuitive software, it can sometimes feel like a big learning curve.
Finding an agricultural accounting software provider who understands these concerns is important. At Red Wing Software, we’re here to help you every step of the way. We offer Customer Care Memberships with time-tested, exemplary service. Not only that, but we also offer a wide variety of in-person and web-based training classes and programs, to make sure you know exactly how to get the most out of your accounting software.
And because Red Wing Software has a long history of developing accounting software and financial management software products for the agriculture industry, we’re well-versed in the specific needs and challenges farms and other agricultural ventures might face.
Making the final decision
Switching accounting software can be a serious decision, and one that requires careful thinking. We’re here to help you make the decision that is best for your business. For a free and detailed guide about switching from general to agricultural software, click here. Our guide will walk you through the decision-making process, providing helpful checklists, comparisons, and important factors to consider when making your choice.