Few sectors are as financially complex as the entertainment industry. Multiple projects, numerous production expenses, and complicated distribution models all add to the pressure financial professionals face. To successfully meet these challenges, entertainment businesses need to find a QuickBooks alternative—a highly functional financial management system that transforms film accounting from a burdensome must-do into a blockbuster of insights and efficiencies.
Seeking alternatives to QuickBooks and leaving behind the familiarity is difficult, but sticking with old accounting and financial management practices may be downright more painful in the long run. As you add new projects and thus establish new entities, or as you invest in new opportunities, you need a system that can help you manage that growth.
Alternatives to QuickBooks: Multi-entity entertainment companies need a multi-functional system
Here are four features to look for:
- Provide quick, accurate consolidations and closes. Whether you have 20 or 200 projects on the books, closing them should be an automated process that doesn’t eat up valuable time. The right financial management system will allow one-click consolidations that speed closing with greater accuracy. You should be able to view interim summary figures at any time until the month-end consolidation reports are available.
- Manage multiple currencies. If you have projects that cross borders, or are in other countries altogether, this is a must. Your system should automatically manage multiple currencies using up-to-date exchange rates for conversions and revaluations. This ensures accuracy from the transaction level to global reporting. Instant visibility into currency gains and losses will give you greater insight, as will the ability to produce reports in your headquarters’ currency or the project’s local currency.
- Provide simple setup for new projects. It is common for a different registered corporation to be set up for each movie produced, adding complexity to your existing organization. The right financial management system will allow you to quickly establish these new entities in a way that fits with your multi-entity structure. This may mean setting up unique policies, procedures, workflows, and reporting for that entity, or you may prefer “centralizing” these for a standard, organization-wide configuration. The choice should be yours.
- Deliver real-time business insights. No matter how small or large, simple or complex your business, you need a clear view of your business from all angles. Accurate financial reports should be easily available in real time, both from a local level (single currency) and a consolidated view (multiple currencies). Consolidated accounting will let you compare performance across projects. In addition, you need the flexibility to choose your reporting currency and language, as well as the ability to tailor local account titles to fit local regulations.
Find alternatives to QuickBooks that can help you manage growth.
To more efficiently manage your growing production company, partner with the entertainment experts at RKL. You’ll discover how Intacct, the #1-rated financial management system, can speed closings and consolidations, manage multiple currencies and entities, and provide star-quality insights needed to drive your business forward.
