Bringing the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence to accounting: Silverfin

In the highly competitive world we live in, businesses cannot function without a sound accounting platform as it gives insights into the overall financial performance of a business. It forms the backbone of a business and can vary widely in scope, with some programs designed for little more than simple bookkeeping and some designed to manage the entire financial comings and goings of large businesses. Using accounting software helps companies to use the resources in their accounting departments efficiently, and can reduce costly bookkeeping mistakes.

Globally, there are numerous accounting platforms that provide excellent services, among them, Silverfin stand out. Silverfin was founded by an accountant frustrated by how he had to work and a software architect looking for a tough problem the cloud could crack. So they turned their thinking to how data, and the cloud, could make life easier for accountants, make their businesses better, and at the same time unlock new opportunities for revenue streams from value-added client advisory services. Silverfin gives accountants the technology and tools they need to be more successful. It improves the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of compliance and reporting services, and power the development and delivery of new advisory services.

Solutions offered by Silverfin

Data consolidation

All your clients’ data is there when you need it in a single secure location wherever it comes from originally. It doesn’t matter to Silverfin how your client’s data was originally formatted or where it came from, it brings it together in one standard, uniform chart of accounts. Silverfin integrates with all leading financial and management data systems. So if your client’s data changes in any of their preferred applications, their Silverfin file will update automatically. Critical financial information will always be fresh and accurate, with no chance of anything slipping through the cracks. By providing a panoramic view of your entire client’s data from bookkeeping and other sources, Silverfin lets you identify trends, extract vital insights, and benchmark their performance against their competitors. Financial data is the lifeblood of a company and must be protected at all costs. Silverfin’s cloud platform is secure, cost-effective, and accessible from any device, anytime, anywhere.

Real-time collaboration

All client and team communication, files and data is shared on the same financial platform. With the same shared file in Silverfin you work hand-in-hand with your clients to resolve issues quickly and efficiently. All client and team collaboration is shared in a single client file on the Silverfin platform. If there’s a question it’s made in the file, which means it’s asked in the right context and is received straightaway. If additional information is needed to answer a question the client can see your request and upload what you need right in their file in Silverfin. You get the answer fast and its detail that is kept with the client file for future reference. All client and team communication, files and data are held on a single platform, so it’s easy to go back and identify issues or answer questions about how a decision was made. By drilling down into your client’s complete financial dataset, you can extract key trends from the company’s history and provide advice that will make them more successful and help them optimize their financial performance.

Client portals

Each client can access all their financial information, whenever they need it. Any time your client wants to see key information about their financial performance, they can log into their own dedicated area on Silverfin and find the information at a glance. They don’t even need to go through you. In their portal, your clients won’t just find their core financial data. They’ll find all the communication they’ve had with you, so new team members can pick up where their predecessors left off with no need for lengthy onboarding. Some of your clients may be financial experts, but others won’t be. Silverfin’s simple user interface, incorporating self-explanatory graphs and charts, means every single client will understand the data they find whatever their accounting proficiency. Silverfin is designed to maintain an open communication channel between you and your client, so you can ask questions of one another within the platform and resolve any issues with the minimum of fuss.

Data standardization

Stop endless importing and exporting of files, and creating manual workarounds, just so you can work with client data from different sources. Your clients will no doubt use a range of bookkeeping software - even paper files you have to digitize. Silverfin consolidates that data and stores it in one central, cloud-based location, which means your clients can keep working the same way they always have and you can get to work immediately too. No matter where your data comes from and how it’s presented in the original source, Silverfin stores everything in a standard and uniform chart of accounts.

Client monitoring

Instead of finding out about problems after they’ve happened or opportunities when they’ve been missed help your client see them coming and take action. With all your client’s files stored in one single location, in a standard format, you can compare different companies against one another and build up a picture of their industries. These insights will help you spot emerging trends, opportunities or challenges on the horizon. You can create relevant alerts for each client, either to monitor their specific risks or prepare for key regulatory events. If the alerts are triggered, you will be notified automatically. Silverfin allows you to view all your client files in one place, and prioritise them according to key search criteria such as financial performance and workflow status. If you’re preparing for year-end closing, for example, you can see each company’s preparation status instantly. Your client is constantly updating their financial data via various software platforms and Silverfin is wired into all of them. Any time your client adds or amends their financial data, on any platform, the data will be fed straight to their Silverfin file. An integrated communications feature ensures no stakeholder is ever left out of the loop. Both you and your client can communicate directly through their file to verify status updates and gain crucial information to settle any queries.

Meet the leader behind the success of Silverfin

Joris Van Der Gucht, Co-Founder. Former accountant frustrated with number crunching who now a happy technologist is building the leading compliance and advisory platform for the profession.

“We improve the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of compliance and reporting services, and power the development and delivery of new advisory services”