Lease accounting is a massive, cross-functional effort. It involves various stakeholders and systems that impact (and are impacted by) leases. It is not just an accounting problem – and goes further beyond producing a disclosure report.
The dynamic nature of leases prompts constant adaptation, and organizations need an easy way to manage those changes. The bigger the portfolio, the more complicated it becomes, which is why it is important to determine how you will handle accurate lease information and financials.
There needs to be a reliable way to manage leases throughout the year, given lease changes can result in hundreds, potentially thousands of calculations and permutations. While the market offers a wide selection of solutions, not every tool is one-size fits all. Each lease accounting solution offers its own experience – from implementation to daily usage and beyond.
In this blog, we’ll break down the top differentiating areas and questions you should consider (beyond producing accurate calculations and reports) when evaluating lease accounting software.
Configurability vs. customization
Every business is unique with their own processes and leases that contain specific information. Your lease accounting solution should be flexible to match the way you run your business. Weighing the differences between a custom and configurable solution can save you significant time and money.
- Does the solution require customization for unique business requirements? If so, what are the costs and what is the maintenance associated with customization?
- Does the solution support configurable data fields, groupings and financial categories to match your industry and organization?
- Can the solution generate ad-hoc reports on the fly?
Customer experience
At the end of the day, your lease accounting solution relies on the people using it. Make sure you are properly set up and running with thorough, dedicated customer support from implementation and beyond.
- Does the vendor provide in-house, dedicated implementation support?
- Does the vendor offer ongoing customer support at no additional cost? What are their estimated response time SLAs?
- Does the vendor provide ongoing trainings and helpful tools dedicated to various users?
- Is the vendor committed to continuous product enhancements based on customer needs?
Integrations
Your lease accounting software should be able to handle even the most complex lease administration and accounting scenarios, including data imports and exports to various third-party solutions for a true return on investment.
- Does the software integrate with your existing technology infrastructure, such as your ERP and financial systems?
- Does the software offer flexible options to schedule, monitor, manage and automate data imports and exports between third-party applications?
Ease of use
Lease accounting is complex and requires constant adaptation from a variety of stakeholders. You need an easy way to view, track and manage all updates for full auditability.
- Is the user interface intuitive and easy to use?
- Does the solution support the ability to view changes made by various users?
Security
There is a lot of money – and risk – in most lease portfolios. Make sure you feel confident in your solution’s ability to keep your information safe and generate accurate calculations.
- Are there tools for administering individual and group users for system access, roles and permissions?
- Is the solution and calculations backed by a SOC I Type II audit?
Selecting the right lease accounting solution for your business is critical to your success. Evaluating various tools is a necessary part of the process to ensure you are equipped with what is needed to meet ASC 842, GASB 87 or IFRS 16 compliance.
If you’re in search of an all-encompassing lease accounting management software that ensures you’re achieving and maintaining compliance, Visual Lease is the solution you’ve been looking for. Schedule a demo with our team to see if we’re a match.
