REKA© your REcord Keeping Application solution.
At what point in time should an entrepreneur invest in a record keeping system? Do some businesses need it more than others? Well, from our past interactions with SMEs in Kenya, it is evident that most business owners lack a quality solution for their record keeping needs. One that is simple to use, does not require prior knowledge in accounting and is capable of not only generating statements but also carrying out a financial and scenario analysis on the financial statements; it simply goes beyond the normal accounting software. At what point in time can one deliberate on investing in such a software for the business?
Here are a few reasons most of our entrepreneurs give when seeking such a solution
Increased complexity — running a business gets difficult by the day. Entrepreneurs tend to have dynamic lifestyles in that; one day you were the salesperson, the next you are in HR, a few weeks down the line you are in production and before you know it, marketing, strategy & finance come calling. New technologies in the market emerge, competitors strengthen and with time, all that was your responsibility goes unattended.
You are no longer able to critically analyze your business because; it’s difficult to understand how you are actually performing. You therefore definitely need a solution or an alternative that overtakes certain tasks and frees you from such responsibilities.
What do you really have in stock? — Most entrepreneurs we have worked with have ended up realizing some of their inventory is siphoned out of the business by their employees. This is somewhat easy especially if there isn’t a proper record keeping system in place.
It’s not easy figuring out what came in and what went out. Your employees know this too and if you have rogue ones around, they will end up either taking some for themselves or selling others without reporting the sales. Eventually, it gets out of hand; you believe you are in business yet part of it is being used to finance your employee’s ventures that you had no idea about. Theft of inventory is quite common amongst entrepreneurs and as soon as the entrepreneur learns of his employee’s misdeeds, he decides; “you know what, I need to incorporate technology into my business.”
Investors & other stakeholders calling — at some point in time, you need to start formalizing the business. This entails incorporating in place systems and processes that will significantly improve efficiency in the running of day to day activities. You want a scenario where you have ready financial statements when you need to approach a bank or an investor to fund your business.
Both banks and investors will want to see your past performance. This informs their decision on whether to put in money or not and if so, how much do you actually need. Without which, it is impossible for them to evaluate your business with regards to pumping in money. You therefore ought to ready your ship even before they come calling. It ensures that the process is smooth and without unwarranted delays. Without proper financial statements, you will be running around trying to consolidate different reports in different books, eventually compiling substandard financial statements that will discourage a bank or an investor considering your business as a worthwhile investment.
You need an in-depth 360-degree evaluation of your business — what is your true performance? Is good A selling more than good B? are you taking up too much credit? How long do your customers take to pay you back on average? What is your breakeven point? Are you overstocking?
All these questions cannot be simply answered without a proper system in place. A good manager is able to look at important financial performance indicators. Without a 360-degree evaluation, it would be near impossible to make informed & appropriate decisions with regards to your business without critically looking into it under a microscope.
The papers are just too many — most business owners start up without recording their performance. They are contented to see money coming in and going out, customers buying and suppliers bringing in goods. With time however, they adopt a manual way of recording these transactions, be it a sales book, a debtor’s book etc.
The downfall to this is that it becomes difficult when the books start multiplying. The more the sales, the more entries recorded, the more the books. This is inefficient! Part of the store ends up being filled with books. Referring to previous transactions and records becomes a tedious and exhausting exercise.
ISBI set out to develop a solution that fits the Kenyan SME. Reka© (Record Keeping Application) offers entrepreneurs a way out. It is intuitive and easy to use. It provides analytics based on your financial performance on the click of a button. Unlike most solutions in the market, Reka© was developed by a team of experts in IT, accounting and financial analysis. This ensures that relevant information is captured and communicated to the user. It works on mobile and PC hence you can monitor the business performance from anywhere.
Additionally, coupled together with the application, the ISBI Institute also offers training on understanding financial statements and using this information to make proper strategic decisions on improving your financial performance and growing your business. The users also get a mentor who ensures they properly grasp the usage of the application.
Visit our website to learn more about Reka and how you can get it up and running.
