Get All Access for $5/mo

Here are 5 Ways Technology is Transforming Accounting in the Modern Age Digitizing bookkeeping opens up avenues for access to financial marketplaces and services, opening up various levers to grow businesses

By Harsh Pokharna

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

pixabay.com

It was the fourth customer in a month to raise concern over the credit book of Manoj, who operates a retail store in Hargobind Enclave of Chattarpur, New Delhi. Of late, Manoj had been experiencing a series of challenges ranging from personal problems to financial complications. Perhaps, making Manoj stressed and worn out.

It was then that one of his customers introduced him to a digital accounting application. It has now been over a month and not a single customer has confronted Manoj since then.

With the rise of smartphones in India, a higher influx of digital technologies can be witnessed in people's day-to-day lifestyles. This also stands true for business processes ranging from those of corporates to the ones managed by smaller merchants. So, let us discuss five ways in which digital technologies are transforming merchants' lives with a strong focus on accounting.

1. Saves Time - Calculations takes place in real-time; This negates manual calculations which could have errors. Recalculation is also a time consuming activity. Instead time can be spent on growing the business rather than just managing books and transactions.

2. Convenience: One transaction - two entries between buyer and seller. When connected via the internet, automatic reconciliation of all records/transactions takes place, thereby making it more convenient.

3. Security: Keeping records is key to any business to be efficient. Physical bills are always at a risk of getting lost by both the merchant or/as well as the customer. Retrieval of lost bills and other transactions is as good as losing money. Tech enables all data to be shared on cloud, so it can be easily recovered on any mobile device.

4. Trust is of utmost importance: Earlier, customers and merchants relied on standalone accounting and there was risk of the relationship getting strained due to miscommunication. Today, with technology accounting is accompanied by a layer of communication which increases transparency and builds a long-lasting relationship, which in-turn betters the opportunity for more growth in the business.

5. Financial inclusivity - Digitizing bookkeeping opens up avenues for access to financial marketplaces and services. This access will open up various levers to grow businesses.

India is rapidly changing today. And as the nation has been changing, so are the outmoded conventions –transitioning into their evolved avatar and driving us towards our tech-enabled and ultramodern future.

Harsh Pokharna

CEO & Co- Founder, OkCredit


A young and dynamic serial entrepreneur, Harsh Pokharna is the Co-founder and CEO of OkCredit, a leading credit-based bookkeeping application for Indian MSMEs. Under his role, he spearheads end-to-end business operations with a strong focus on growth, fundraising, and hiring.

Harsh is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur. An inherent leader, Harsh served as the Cultural Secretary of HALL 5 in college and solicited Rs. 1.8 lakh after taking charge, a direct 50% growth in funds. He also helped in minimizing the electricity and food wastage in college and won IIT Kanpur's Energy Championship Award. Simultaneously, he started the IIT-Kanpur Chapter of 'Students in Free Enterprise' and became its President. 

Harsh built a team of 30 students from the scratch, drove positive initiativesin-house and outdoors, and collaborated with prominent players including KPMG and ShikshaSopan (led by Prof. H. C. Verma).

Following his graduation, Harsh was associated with a number of eminent companies including Intel Corporation, Flipkart, and Reliance Payment Solutions Limited (JioMoney). In 2015, he started his entrepreneurial journeywith his college friends Gaurav Kumar and Aditya Prasad by launching ClanOut, a social discovery platform. He also co-organized blockchain-centric meetups in Bangalore to develop a strong ecosystem locally. This was followed by a series of blockchain development and consultancy projects and, ultimately, took shape as Psi Phi, a platform that analyzed blockchain applications and developed prototype. 

In April 2017, he conceptualized OkCredit with Gaurav and Aditya and launched the application in November 2017. Within XXmonths/years, the platform gained XX active users through word of mouth publicity and received backing of prominent global industry players including Y Combinator and Tiger Global.
Through OkCredit, Harsh envisions driving digital enablement towards the Indian MSMEs while also improving their cash flow through tech-driven services. 


 

News and Trends

Easing the stress with new-age health solutions

With rapid scaling and idea-making seen in the Indian eco-system, it is only speculated that the now-easily accessible healthcare systems will try to reach further depths of the country.

Side Hustle

This Former Starbucks Employee Started a Side Hustle That's Making More Than $70,000 a Month — and He's Not Done Yet

When Tom Saar moved to New York City, he spotted a lucrative business opportunity.

Business News

Is One Company to Blame for Soaring Rental Prices in the U.S.?

The FBI recently raided a major corporate landlord while investigating a rent price-fixing scheme. Here's what we know.

Leadership

ITC's Marketing Wizard: Shuvadip Banerjee, Chief Digital Marketing Officer

The FMCG giant's successful campaign #MyFantasyAdWithSRK broke the Internet and in just a few weeks of launch had 10 lakh participants

Business News

Microsoft Reportedly Lays Off Over 1,500 Employees in Cloud Sector as Partnership with OpenAI Strengthens

Alphabet also reportedly laid off employees from several teams in Google's cloud unit last week.

News and Trends

Empowering MSMEs: Unlocking India's Trillion-Dollar Manufacturing Potential

By empowering MSMEs, India can realize its vision of a robust trillion-dollar manufacturing sector, fueling economic prosperity and sustainable development