Farmers work in one of the most important parts of the economy and the world will always depend on them. They carry the timeless responsibility of providing food for human and animal consumption. Yet it’s one of the slowest sectors when it comes to leveraging technology to maximize productivity.
If you are to run your farm as a business, you need to put technology at the forefront of your farm operations. Not only adopting systems that help to improve your harvest and the lifespan of livestock but also organization financial transactions. In this article, we’ll look at why you should get started on cloud accounting for your farm.
What is Farm Accounting Software?
Farm accounting software provides financial management and reporting for stakeholders in the agribusiness sector, including large-scale agricultural operators, small-scale farmers, ranchers, farmers’ markets, and abattoirs. It helps them to manage inventories and orders, plan expected harvest quantities, turn a profit, and be tax compliant.
Farm accounting software handles the specific needs of farmers and agricultural businesses. They are developed with farmers in mind and provide industry-specific features, functionalities, reports, and benefits.
Key Features of Farm Accounting Software
Accounting for farmers is very different from accounting for other sectors such as retail or construction. It is a niche of its own in the tech world.
Apart from the common modules of any accounting software such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll, farm accounting software should include key features such as:
- Crop/Livestock Inventory Management
- Warehouse Management
- Agricultural Ratio Analysis
- Breeding & Growing Calendars
Benefits of Using Farm Accounting Software
Some of the benefits of using farm accounting software include:
1. Better understanding of the profitability of your farm
Farm accounting software will give you better metrics on the financial performance of your farm. This will enable you to make data-driven decisions on how to improve your profitability while minimizing working costs.
2. Make decisions based on comparable product costs
The agricultural sector is a very volatile industry. As a result, farmers usually don’t have the luxury of enjoying constant prices on farm products. It’s also difficult to price your output because of the market volatility.
A good farm accounting software will let you see all the direct and indirect costs you put in production so you can price your output accordingly for better margins. It can also help you to find better deals on various production expenses.
3. Protect the future of your farm operations
Good farm accounting software will also help you prepare your taxes, keep accurate records of your production levels in compliance with insurance, and monitor the movement of assets in and out of the farm. These are very crucial to future-proofing your farm and ensuring long-term profitability.
4. Simplicity
Most farmers are not bookkeepers or accountants. They, therefore, find most accounting tasks quite challenging. Cloud accounting software solutions are easy to install, learn, and use. They make it easy for farmers to accurately track their financials by providing prompts for the type of data that should be entered in each section.
You’ll only need to update information as it comes in once you’ve established your accounting system with bank accounts, debts and vendors.
5. Ability to collaborate
Lastly, farm accounting software will enable you to easily collaborate with the other departments on your farm. You can integrate the software with your other systems such as the warehousing or procurement systems to reconcile accounts and import information for review by advisors.
Manage Your Farm Like a Business
The financial side of farming is complex. There are factors such as regulations, subsidies, and unpredictable weather that can affect your profitability. Farm accounting software gives you 24/7 access to crucial financial information for informed decision-making to avoid being negatively impacted by these factors.
Coffey & Co. offers a unique accounting solution with expert advice so farmers can focus on growing their business. Our farm accounting services will give you complete peace of mind. It’s time to start managing your farm like a business.