Customer experience is at the heart of any successful business. Of course, profit is the bottom line, but if customer experience considerations are not embedded into every business decision — from new products to responding to emails — profit will suffer.
Not surprisingly, how you manage your business finances can positively or negatively affect your customer’s experience with your company. Bookkeeping is an integral part of the financial aspect of a business and plays a pivotal role in making your customers happy. Healthy bookkeeping practices keep the process on track and organized so your customers reap the benefits.
What are Some of the Healthy Bookkeeping Practices that Impact Customer Experience?
1. Organization
Good organizational practices are key to accurate records. If you use paper records, label and categorize them using a consistent system and store them securely. The same goes for electronic records: consider a cloud-based accounting system for continuous access to data regardless of location.
2. Develop an audit trail.
An audit trail is a list of documents such as estimates, invoices, purchase orders, receipts, and bank/credit card statements that support your recorded transactions. This will help ensure accuracy and will serve as proof that the transactions occurred and the reasoning for the transaction.
3. Create a chart of accounts
A chart of accounts is the organization of your business transactions on the general ledger into relevant subcategories such as revenue, money you owe, money customers owe you, payroll, profits, and capital. Charting your accounts will give you an overall view of your business and its financial health, allowing you to plan and budget appropriately.
4. Stay on top of invoices
Always invoice right away and follow up on any late invoices. This will make sure your cash flow, and hence your ability to stay in business, is healthy.
5. Review financial records
Reviewing your financial records every month or quarter will allow you to keep on top of what is happening with your business finances so you can deal with any problems before they become critical. A monthly/quarterly review will help with managing cash flow and developing budgets, even during the hectic holiday season.
How Healthy Bookkeeping Practices Impact Customer Experience
So now you have an overview on how to keep accurate books, but how do these practices translate into a stellar customer experience?
Provides hard data on customer interaction
Since bookkeeping keeps track of the daily financial transactions of a business, including sales, purchases and payments, it is an important source of information on how your business interacts with your customers. For instance, bookkeeping data can be used to understand customer behaviours. Data such as purchasing amounts, service data, or time and costs, can be aggregated to show which areas of your business are popular with customers and when.
The data can uncover short and longer-term buying patterns that can inform decisions on:
- the popular, profitable goods and services that could be expanded,
- which areas need improvement, and
- which areas to scrap.
This data can also be used to develop marketing campaigns that speak to your customer’s needs. Because these decisions will be based on customer experience data, they are likely to be successful with your customers and profitable for you.
On the daily operation side, bookkeeping data can provide information on peak buying times and inventory, which you can use in your efforts to make sure you have items in stock at all times, providing an excellent and reliable experience for the customer.
Provides Financial Security Which Translates to Reliable Service
A company that is solid financially — one that has a realistic budget based on accurate information on when and how it receives or pays out money, will be a business that isn’t prone to dramatic swings in response to internal or external circumstances, such as a labour shortage or supply-chain challenges.
Accurate, detailed bookkeeping is the foundation of developing a good budget. A realistic budget will enable you to see the bigger financial picture of the company. Data on customer interaction can be used to determine the next steps for the business as a whole.
If sales data shows that a certain product type is lagging behind other types, having a realistic budget will allow you to decide if you discontinue the line or improve it.
Bookkeeping is the window into your bigger financial picture and business goals.
Provides Hassle-free Invoicing and Speedy Customer Service
Your customers will enjoy doing business with you if invoicing is easy, hassle-free and even more so if problems are dealt with quickly and with transparency and accuracy. It saves both of you time and money while building trust and loyalty.
Personalizing invoices and providing a clear layout with the details of the sale, will help avoid errors and confusion; thereby making the whole process of buying your product streamlined and enjoyable.
Bookkeeping records that show when goods and services were sold, to who and for how much, allow for quick resolution if any problems do arise. Additionally, when customers know that you are willing and able to quickly respond, they are more likely to become loyal to your brand.
Healthy Bookkeeping is Worth the Effort
Accurate, organized books lead to happy customers. Bookkeeping can be time-consuming but, it pays off in the end. If you don’t have the time, consider engaging our bookkeeping services. We will set up a bookkeeping system that will help you succeed and will provide all the information you need to create stellar experiences for your customers.