What You Will Discover:
The reality of modern accounting practices reveals a significant challenge: UK accounting firms spend an average of 2.5 hours daily on payment processing tasks. This translates to 650 hours annually spent on processes that modern open banking APIs can handle in minutes. As technology budgets tighten and talent costs increase, forward-thinking accounting firms are discovering solutions that transform payment processing from a daily burden into a streamlined operation.
Understanding the Daily Reality of Accounting Payment Processing
For small and medium-sized accounting practices, the traditional approach to payment processing has become increasingly unsustainable. Consider your typical morning: senior accountants arrive early, ready to tackle strategic client work, only to spend their most productive hours managing payment processes.
A standard day begins with gathering various payment requests from clients. Each transaction requires careful attention—validating account details, cross-referencing invoice information, and ensuring compliance with client and regulatory requirements. This initial process alone typically consumes 45 minutes of valuable morning time, which could be spent on advisory services or client relationship building.
As the day progresses, your team faces additional payment processing challenges. Approval workflows require constant attention, with accountants spending time chasing authorisations through email chains and phone calls. The reconciliation process demands another significant time investment, with professionals manually matching transactions and investigating discrepancies.
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The Broader Impact on Accounting Practices
This inefficient payment processing creates ripple effects throughout your practice. Client meetings get delayed, advisory work takes a back seat, and strategic projects remain untouched while your skilled professionals handle administrative payment tasks. For small and medium practices, this often means choosing between growth opportunities and maintaining accurate payment processes.
The financial implications extend beyond the obvious time investment. Every hour spent on manual payment processing represents missed opportunities for revenue-generating activities. Your qualified accountants, who could be providing valuable advisory services, instead find themselves managing payment workflows that technology could handle automatically.
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The Open Banking Solution for Modern Accounting
The emergence of open banking presents a practical solution for accounting firms looking to modernise their payment processing. This isn’t about implementing complex technology – it’s about streamlining essential processes to free up time for value-added services.
Open banking technology creates seamless connections between accounting systems and banking infrastructure through providers like Finexer. This integration enables automatic payment processing, real-time transaction tracking, and automated reconciliation, transforming work hours into automated processing minutes.
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Understanding Finexer’s Approach to Accounting Payment Processing
Finexer’s open banking API has been developed with accounting practices’ specific needs in mind. The system integrates with existing accounting software using popular platforms or specialised solutions. This compatibility ensures that implementing modern payment processing doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your current systems.
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Getting Started
Start by thoroughly evaluating your current payment workflow, including daily volumes, processing times, and existing software systems. This initial assessment will help identify where open banking solutions can impact your accounting practice most. Remember to document pain points and team involvement to create a clear picture of your current process.
Before implementation, review your technology stack and ensure Finexer’s open banking API aligns with your accounting software. Determine key team members to manage the new system and plan your client communication strategy to ensure smooth transitions. This planning phase is crucial for maintaining business continuity during the integration process.
The implementation follows a structured three-week timeline. Week one focuses on foundation setup, including API configuration and basic testing. Week two involves advanced setup with custom workflows and team training. The final week is dedicated to launching the system, starting with controlled transactions and culminating in full implementation with performance optimisation. This phased approach ensures a smooth transition to modern payment processing while minimising disruption to your daily operations.
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Don’t miss out on the opportunity and start saving 650 hours Annually. We are here to help! Book a demo now 🙂