Financial Reporting for Higher Education
Specialized solution for business offices in higher education.
Financial Reporting Software Designed for Higher Education
Higher education institutions face unique challenges when it comes to their financial reporting and compliance processes. The US Department of Education requires colleges and universities to submit complex financial data, but the process can be arduous and time-consuming. Therefore, they need a solution that will help them simplify their financial reporting process and provide flexibility to meet the needs of their unique institution.
Synoptix offers a highly specialized solution for Business Offices in higher education. Unique in its laser focus, Synoptix is the only company that can satisfy the needs of the Business Office with unparalleled expertise. While there are many analytics products that address other departments within the institution, Synoptix alone brings the right tool for accountants and the appropriate knowledge to solve the specific problems that Business Offices face.
Our reporting software is designed to help you easily prepare your audited financial statements, balance sheets, and other reports you need for your institution’s accreditation or state agency. With clear visibility into each department and its spending, you don’t have to dig through spreadsheets or other data sources for critical information about your operation.
We can dramatically cut your reporting costs and free your people up to better serve students and guarantee their success.
For more information or to schedule a demo, please contact us today!
What’s the Problem!
The vast amount of accounting offices, in fact about 80%, use complex spreadsheets to create and maintain financial reports. Data indicates that back offices spend up to two weeks compiling financials every month, with labor costs spiraling upwards of $5,000 per month or more. And that’s just for core reports such as Income Statements and Balance Sheets, and doesn’t include other important reports such as Departmental Budget to Actual or any other non-general ledger report.
Synoptix Software’s higher education financial reporting eliminates the need for manual data entry, spreadsheet nightmares, or costly consultants. Instead, you can quickly create your reports from our intuitive user interface and make any necessary changes with just a few clicks of your mouse or keyboard; no coding knowledge required!
TYPICAL FINANCIAL REPORTING PROCESS
An important barrier for Business Offices is that they’re often dependent on the already over-taxed resources of IT. Extracting the right data out of the ERP system can be IT intensive, and even when systems are in place to reduce the complexities, modifying which account numbers or ledgers they pull from can be difficult. The problem is that Business Offices aren’t in full control, and they need to be to do their job. Aside from IT constraints, a whopping 80% of institutions are doing financials in spreadsheets. Just to get the data they need, either IT is downloading the general ledger information or accounting personnel are manually keying information into spreadsheets. Once there, reports multiply in complexity as they spawn countless formulas and supporting sheets, needing only the slightest touch to corrupt balances. This is why Business Offices usually have many people checking for errors before financials are published. But research shows that even after all this, significant errors are found in 90% of financial reports.
Our robust financial reporting software churns out complex financial data in minutes & tracks your finances from end to end!
We understand that the higher education industry is highly regulated and complex. Financial reporting is one of the most challenging parts of running a college or university. The current process requires manual data entry and formatting, which can take weeks to complete. We deliver a comprehensive financial management system with a user-friendly interface that helps your institution manage all of its financial data and transactions in real-time.
Success Stories
Spreadsheet Nightmares
Spreadsheets create a host of problems. First, manually keying in balances is fraught with perils because it’s only human to enter incorrect numbers – and in fact, this is a major source of errors found. Though electronic, this really isn’t much better than ancient scribes copying an older manuscript to a new one. The mistakes are almost identical. Second, although spreadsheet formulas are no doubt popular, they’re a constant source of trouble. Writing formulas is a form of programming and because of that, they’re commonly written poorly. This is another major source of errors found in audited financials. Third, financials tend done in spreadsheets are almost always complex because they contain multiple sheets linked together with formulas. It’s extremely common that a balance will change from one cell to another or that an account number is added, which then breaks the formulas that were so painstakingly written.
Our software helps you streamline your financials and eliminate manual data entry, making it easy for you to report on all aspects of your organization: accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting. In addition to simplifying your processes, you can reduce costly errors and mistakes by 90% and provide accurate and up-to-date information to key stakeholders. At Synoptix Software, we’re committed to helping our clients reduce their workload and increase efficiency. Our platform is easy to use and integrates with existing systems so you can focus on what matters most—growing your institution.
Think Spreadsheets Are Modern?
Consider this. The exact errors we find in financial spreadsheets are found in ancient manuscripts that were physically copied by scribes using the crudest technology. We’ve come a long way only to find ourselves back where we began.
See Our Solution
Synoptix has a unique advantage over spreadsheets and other analytics tools because it has a laser focus on the three things accountants do: account numbers, the ledgers they come from, and specific time periods. Our team obsesses over these to make it easy for you to report on even the most complex and haphazard chart of accounts. Synoptix allows you to easily create reports with complete control over every element within your financial statements, regardless of whether you have a clean chart or not. With its direct connection to your accounting system and calendars, Synoptix eliminates spreadsheet errors and puts an end to the hassles of monthly maintenance. Once reports are written in Synoptix – and our team does that for you – all you have to do is log in to your web browser and Synoptix automatically shows your current financials, along with complete drill-downs into the detailed transactions. That’s it. No more help from IT required.
A CENTRALIZED CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL DATA, TRANSACTIONS & REPORTING PROCESSES
The inability to generate reports and reconciliation schedules as needed can result in delays that cause compliance problems and risk exposure. Our software is designed to address these challenges by providing a single solution that gives you centralized control over your data and streamlines your entire financial reporting process. Our solution helps you reduce costs and avoid the headaches that come with managing multiple systems. That means you can set up a single system for managing your finances no matter what department or school you’re in. And since it’s all in one place, it’s easier to track spending across the entire university — not just within individual departments or schools.
IMMEDIATE RETURN ON INVESTMENTS
Synoptix delivers on value. Not only will it take your reporting process from weeks to just minutes saving thousands of dollars per month, but it will allow users to simply double click on balances for detailed information rather than having to ask the Business Office. Bottom line is that Synoptix will arm the Business Office with dramatic time savings and on-demand information that otherwise isn’t possible, which allows you to make timely and better quality decisions. In this hyper-competitive environment, this can make all the difference.
