Regardless of business size or sector, the efficiency of the finance department (or finance manager, in the case of smaller businesses) can have a significant impact on the company as a whole. A fluid, optimised finance team is positioned to facilitate any other department needs, often having a direct effect on ROI and turnover.
Enter Salesforce. This tremendously powerful tool is designed to streamline processes, store and display a wealth of data, and build department collaboration through a shared, user-friendly interface.
What is Salesforce?
Salesforce was launched as a CRM (customer relationship management) platform – and while it has gone on to become the most popular CRM tool in the world, used by over 150 000 companies globally, the versatility and flexibility it provides expands its capabilities beyond that of a standard CRM tool.
Acting as an overarching integrated enterprise cloud platform, Salesforce gives all business departments (such as finance and accounting) a detailed and holistic view of the customer.
Here are five key ways that Salesforce can benefit finance in business:
Salesforce Allows You to Save Costs
If Salesforce has already been implemented in other areas of the business, expanding this to include your finance or accounting department will, purely from a cost point of view, require very little.
Conversely, if Salesforce has not yet been implemented but has been identified as a necessary requirement, the cross-department functionality it provides will ensure it sees widespread adoption beyond just the finance team.
Salesforce Data is Collated and Shareable
By giving teams a consolidated view of available business data, Salesforce acts as a definitive, company-wide data source. On a more granular level, Salesforce is able to give finance access to real-time, accurate data, including any business expenses.
This shared source of data enables finance and sales teams to align naturally. By always working off the same, highly precise customer data, the sales team has a better view of the financial implications of the decisions, and finance is better positioned to analyse trends and offer insights.
Salesforce is Remote-Work Friendly
The now largely accepted hybrid work model means the need for real-time information has never been greater. Simple systems that would normally work in-office, such as sharing information across multiple spreadsheets, can be ineffective and tedious when working remotely, leading to mistakes and wasted time.
By eliminating siloed systems and working from a single business platform, finance are able to maximise their use of time and output.
Salesforce is Completely Customisable
The immense flexibility offered by Salesforce means it can scale and adapt according to your business needs. Further, Salesforce can be optimised by making use of prebuilt apps on the Salesforce AppExchange. Many of these apps cater specifically to finance departments, with features such as detailed data reports and the automation of routine tasks.
Salesforce Gives Finance a Better Customer Overview
Unlike other accounting programs or tools, Salesforce provides finance with a data-based overview of the customer. In this way, finance has a much better understanding of how financial changes affect and are received by the customer, and can use this information to inform decision-making.
Setting Up Salesforce In Your Business
If you’d like to implement Salesforce for your finance department but have questions, concerns or hesitations, please reach out to us at Purus. We would love to help you and your finance team get the most out of Salesforce.
Our Salesforce consulting services include:
Find out more about what Salesforce can do for you. Speak to a Purus Salesforce consultant today. Get in Touch.