How to choose the right “review and close” tool for your year-end close needs

The year has flown by quickly, and it feels like we have gone from January to the end of the year in the blink of an eye. This is the time we accountants refer to as the most “chaotic time” of the year. No objection to this because, usually, we are burdened with a bunch of accounting tasks and deadlines during the year-end close.

For years, we have been following the traditional approach for closing the books; however, deep inside, we know we need a “review and close” tool to speed up the year-end close processes. Stay with us up to the end of this blog until we figure out the most valuable tool for accountants to make the review and close processes a piece of cake.

Why do you need a review and close tool for the year-end close?

Before we delve into choosing the right review and close tool, it is crucial to understand the need for the tool. Why is a review and close tool necessary for year-end closing? Even for the most seasoned account team, the year-end close may be a daunting task.

Nothing can be more chaotic during the end of the year if the books have not been closed regularly at the end of each month. The accounting staff could feel overburdened by the deluge of tasks and deadlines. The time is limited, and accountants are obliged to manage numerous tasks while maintaining a high level of accuracy. This can result in shoddy work. The shoddy work could ultimately lead to losing your company's clients.

This is where you need a good review and close tool. It can be a savior for you because it can help you fix errors; moreover, the tool helps you close faster with high accuracy. The review and close tool assists you in automating most of the manual tasks in the year-end close process, including account reconciliation, error detection and correction, and financial statement preparation. Your team can concentrate on more strategic responsibilities, such as evaluating financial data and offering management insights.

Also read: 15 Best Productivity Tools For Accountants‍

What to Look for while choosing the review and close tool

Now, when it comes to choosing the right review and close tool for the year-end close, you need to be meticulous about it. The tool must justify your time and investment. To assess the review and close software, you can consider the following factors.

1. Features:

Before making your decision, consider the features you need and also those offered by the “tool.” For instance, if you have trouble detecting errors in your books, you might require software that can do so with ease. Everyone has various needs. Some account teams might need tools that automate the major accounting tasks, while others could need tools that enable them to close more quickly.

2. Integration:

A tool becomes practically useless if it precisely fulfills your feature needs but is incompatible with your accounting system. Even though a situation like this is quite uncommon, it's important to take it into account to avoid future regrets. For instance, the review and close tool you choose should be able to work with accounting software like Xero or QuickBooks Online without any issues.

3. Usability:‍

Ensure that the tool you select is easy to use. Consider your accounting team and determine if the software offers a seamless and trouble-free working experience or not. If the software fails to serve the need for a good user experience, the account team may feel vexed.

4. Price:

What is the price of the tool? Is it within your price range? Some software has high prices, but the value of the service they offer may not justify that. Conduct thorough research to get the best tool for your needs within the price range. Additionally, several tools provide no-cost staff training sessions. You can take advantage of it.

5. Customer support

It is crucial to comprehend the caliber of customer service provided by a software company. It can happen that you need help with unforeseen issues; in those situations, having dependable customer support is vital. In general, users give better overall ratings to software that has excellent customer support.

Also read: The Role Of Technology In Streamlining Year-End Close Procedures‍

The Best Review and Close Tool for the Year-end Close

Once the assessment is done, it is time to choose the tool. We conducted thorough research on the close management tool, and we found many. However, there were only a few tools built, keeping the financial close in mind. Also, we found some tools to be complex and less user-friendly for the accountants.

Xenett is the perfect review and close solution that is built by accountants for the accountants. It autodetects errors in your books and helps you close faster than ever. Some customers found that the implementation of Xenett in their accounting tasks helped them reduce the review time by 50 hours a month. While others claimed that Xenett helped them close their books by 80% faster.

Additionally, the XenettGO extension works smoothly with both Xero and QuickBooks accounts, facilitating the management of almost all accounting tasks inside a single platform.

The bottom line:

For accounting teams of all sizes, a review and close solution like Xenett can be a game-changer. As discussed earlier, Xenett not only helps you save time by automating manual operations and streamlining the year-end close procedure, but it also vastly increases the accuracy of the books.

For accounting teams looking to get more done in less time during the busy year-end rush, it is a vital asset. So, Xenett is unquestionably a top pick if you're looking for a solution that can help you review and close your books faster. And if you are still reading this blog, let’s schedule a personalized demo call before it gets too late.