A complete guide to finance software

Financial software development has skyrocketed during the past few years and for good reason. As users depend on digital wallets and mobile banking, the market for fintech has expanded to now include more applications than ever before. Software development in Sri Lanka has also witnessed a rise in fintech applications, for both local and international clientele.

Being front and center of all things related to software development, EFutures has continued to notice a rise in fintech that spans the development of entire applications, as well as a few finance-related capabilities that are integrated with existing applications. Thanks to AWS services in Sri Lanka, scaling fintech applications to reflect consumer demands and business growth is now easier than ever before, as cloud-based infrastructure can be provisioned and de-provisioned on an as-needed basis.

As the industry of software outsourcing in Sri Lanka continues to build high-performance fintech applications for clientele, the stakes grow higher by the day. Consumers are spoilt for choice with options, especially in social media as digital ads bombard their news feeds on daily. As a result, businesses need to ensure that they stand out, or else risk losing out to competitors.

However, standing out alone isn’t going to suffice; targeting the right audiences is just as important. With endless segments of customers available online, fintech businesses need to understand precisely what specific customer segments want and need, so the same can be facilitated as a valuable service. Retaining existing customers is another challenge, as the availability of multiple options can motivate users to abandon their current product of choice, in lieu of something that is better.

Although being part of a fiercely competitive business landscape, fintech software can be a game-changer for user transactions as well as for business revenue. While complex, building a suitable fintech application can be done successfully, with some general rules of thumb. So here is a detailed guide on what you need to understand before you get started.

What is finance software?

Finance software features a set of capabilities that can record, store, retrieve and analyze financial information pertaining to a business. Fundamental capabilities include accounting, invoice management, payroll, and tax calculations. However, the best accounting applications today also integrate capabilities such as expense management, time tracking, and business intelligence, so business teams need not depend on multiple applications to process financial data.

Finance software also works closely with cash flow management, especially in businesses that are larger and better established. This includes (but isn’t limited to) extensive capabilities that enable teams to plan and manage budgets, revenue, credits, liquidity, assets, and even the entire treasury. In turn, cash flow management can be integrated with the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) module of the business, so that logs and audits are always up-to-date, and business transactions are being conducted in adherence to applicable regulations.

Finance software modulesAccounting

Accounting software is the foundation for any finance application, as it offers all the essential capabilities to process financial inflows and outflows. General ledgers, reconciliation, receivables/payables, and invoicing are some of the many basic features, which enable any business to monitor its finances in an organized and efficient manner.

However, many leading cloud accounting systems offer continuous accounting to conduct reconciliations on a real-time basis, by tallying general ledger transactions with bank transactions as soon as they are cleared. In turn, this enables businesses to always stay up-to-date with their financial statements, by identifying any discrepancies as soon as they occur.

Payroll

Payroll software goes hand-in-hand with accounting software to calculate wages of employees and contractors, and pay them in a timely manner. Additionally, payroll integrates with tax management software to ensure relevant dues are not missed. Employee time tracking is another common integration with payroll software, so that salaries can be calculated and dispensed accurately.

Tax management

Tax management software can automatically detect tax zones and file taxes on behalf of your business. Cloud tax management software is also capable of monitoring tax laws as they change, so tax filings are always executed based on the latest updates. Depending on the size of your organisation, office locations as well as the industry you operate in, your tax management module needs to be on par with all necessary regulations, so no errors are made during tax filing season.

Cash flow management

Cash flow management is a finance software module that ensures your company’s budgets, assets, commodities and revenue are always well managed, with accurate projections made to protect precious financial resources. While cash flow management systems integrate with accounting, payroll and tax management systems to track inflows and outflows on a daily basis, it can also serve as an integral component for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) systems. In turn, GRC systems can monitor the financial health of your organisation with cash flow data, while making sure all processes are carried out in compliance with regulatory policies.

Business Intelligence (BI)

Business Intelligence software can enable any organisation to analyse raw data and reveal insights for smarter decision making. Analysing financial big data to reveal trends pertaining to cash flow, customer behaviour and revenue can offer business leaders the understanding they need to improve relevant business processes, which in turn can contribute to the overall financial wellbeing of the business.

Additionally, integrating AI with BI and other reporting tools can further bolster the accuracy and frequency of derived results, since intelligent recommendations can also be made with forecasting reports.

How to build the best finance software for your business assess your business

Before you embark on any kind of software development, it is always recommended to conduct a thorough assessment of your business. Gather relevant members of your team to understand the problems and bottlenecks being faced by your business, along with any customer behaviour patterns that may have been noticed. Collate your findings into a brief, so that all teams, including your developer, have a document that serves as a primary point of reference.

Once the brief has been prepared, conduct a detailed verbal explanation for your development team as well. Apart from offering a better understanding, it will also open the stage for deeper discussions and questioning around which features are best incorporated, why and how. Throughout the software development process, make sure your software development team doesn’t deviate off track from what needs to be implemented, as it can be very easy to veer off course with features that aren’t necessary for a preliminary software version.

Start with a Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

A Minimum Viable Product is an early version of an application that consists of only the most basic of capabilities. Product owners and development teams only focus on what is essential to meet key objectives. As users get familiar with the application and offer suggestions on how to improve, development teams can expand feature sets to now include more capabilities.

An MVP is often a sensible and convenient means of releasing brand new applications, as it offers numerous advantages. With less features to begin with, an MVP is easier on the budget and can be introduced to the market faster. It also reduces the learning curve associated with getting accustomed to a new application, so users can engage with minimal effort and time. On top of that, the feedback and error reports generated by users will only induce the development of features that are absolutely useful, so your application doesn’t accumulate any clutter from unwanted features.

Iterate based on feedback

Once the MVP is released, user-driven feedback shall serve as the primary source for improvements. This will ensure only necessary capabilities make it into the application, with bite-sized goals that are faster and easier to implement. Other sources of feedback can include regulatory bodies and cybersecurity monitoring applications; while the former may induce iterations depending on policy changes, the latter will induce changes depending on any security gaps found within networks.

In conclusion…

Fintech software development may be an intricate process, but it isn’t impossible provided the right protocols are followed, after building an adequate understanding of what it can realistically accomplish for your business. While basic modules such as accounting and invoicing are part of every finance application, integrating advanced capabilities such as cash flow management are necessary to map customer trends better, and to punctually improve offerings in the interest of winning new customers, and retaining existing ones.

By building a comprehensive business assessment, both you and your software development team can obtain the insights they need into the current problems plaguing the business, and how they can possibly be solved. Guiding your software development team to then start small with an MVP can not only reduce the time to market your application, but will also reduce the learning curve involved in getting accustomed to your application. Based on real customer feedback, improvements can then be made to upgrade the MVP, which ensures only features that are necessary and valuable will make it into successive iterations.