The price of digitization - written by Frederik Sandgrav on 28/1-2022
1. Choose wisely
Digitisation comes at a price that few are willing to pay.
When you choose to digitise your bookkeeping, it's not just a case of installing some software and all is well. On the contrary. This is the final part of digitisation. First of all, you need to figure out WHY you are going to digitise and what you want to get out of it.
This actually means that you have to think about where it might make the most sense to intervene. And especially why it should be here. There are an incredible number of areas that you can digitise. So unless you really have the surplus and overview..... then start with 1 thing.
Where most people start is typically around invoice payments - the invoices that you have to type into your online bank. But it doesn't have to be here. It could also be receipts or customer payments or wages or something completely different.
But the price you have to pay - is preparation and care. You simply have to sit down and think carefully about where you are going to start your journey. Because it's a journey. It's not one good shot on the golf course and then it's over. As with golf, there are many holes to overcome before you are completely done. So you'd better think of digitisation as an infinitely long golf course with an infinite number of holes. For a digitization geek like me, that's just perfect. That the journey never ends. Because it doesn't. Your world is changing - the solutions are changing and your business needs are changing too. So your requirements for your solutions are always changing too.
2. Nothing is perfect
Whatever solution you choose, nothing is perfect. That can put most bookkeepers off getting started. Fortunately, bookkeepers don't call all the shots. That's why you should just go for it. Take the beating you get and know that on the other side, victory is close. And what a victory. Once you reap the rewards of proper digitisation you'll be embarrassed not to have started something sooner.
It may seem silly to start something that doesn't work 100%. But since nothing ever works 100%, it will ultimately mean that you never got started. The important thing here is to know where the bugs - or the holes in the cheese - are. Once you know what the drawbacks of certain solutions are, it's easier to work around them and find alternatives in those situations. For example, November First cannot pay DKK abroad. Farpay.io cannot help with foreign payments.... The list is long and it always will be. The important thing is to know where the gaps are so you can choose a solution without fundamental gaps in the areas where you need it to work 100%.
You may want to read more here about a larger comparison of e.g. scanning systems if this is where you think you need help
3. Right and scrap if necessary.
Finally, you have chosen a solution that seems to work. You are starting to save a lot of time and that was perhaps the main reason for your choice. It's really important that you get to grips with the solution you've chosen and also keep an eye on their newsletters so that you're continually tweaking your application. Only in that way it makes optimal use of the solution. A good example is Kontolink which has just launched a unique email address for their users so that it can send emails with attachments to kontolink. E-conomic has recently come up with a solution that can easily match documents from the scan with the entries in the draft.
The products you use change all the time. And you can't be sure you're getting the best value unless you keep up to date.
In some situations, you may have misjudged your needs or the solution you have chosen. In that case, there's only one thing to do..... throw down what you've got and run. Run away from that solution and choose another that fits better. Few solutions cost a lot of money. In fact, I think most solutions are almost too cheap for the savings you get, but that's a whole other discussion. In this case, it is therefore a really good idea to go through your needs and requirements for your solution again as soon as possible so that you can choose the solution that suits you.
