Does your accounting organization currently have the close process accounting software, BlackLine, implemented? Have you ever wondered if there are any benefits you are missing out on or whether there is help available for continual utilization of the system? Comments from current BlackLine users have shown that the system is not always utilized as originally intended and some organizations are looking to expand their usage but aren’t sure where to start. There are many ways to review your current usage of the system and its continued maintenance. Keep reading for six things you can do to make sure your organization has continued success with BlackLine.
1– Keep BlackLine up-to-date and in use
Ensure that your team is using and continues to use your BlackLine instance as it was originally designed and intended. The main goal is to avoid falling back into former, manual and inefficient habits that BlackLine has been implemented to transform. As a system admin or executive, take the time to review your monthly close process progress of all modules making sure the system is in use while also pinpointing where improvements can be made.
Ask a few questions:
- Are certain users not completing items assigned to them?
- Are due dates not being adhered to as they had been in the past?
- Are templates not being efficiently utilized?
There are many questions that can be answered with a high-level monthly or quarterly review of the system. From the review, what improvements can be made and how should these improvements be accomplished? The answer to this could include additional training for end users and/or system administrators, step-by-step user training guides (if your organization does not currently have them), a review of dashboards for all roles, etc.
2– Employ system administrators
Most of us have experienced situations in which certain people within an organization get promoted or take other opportunities. Sometimes, this person has been the subject matter expert in charge of running certain applications for the organization, including BlackLine. This is just one example of where a company might need system administrator help – there are many others. You want to make sure that you have the proper number of fully trained system administrators for the size of your organization. Even small accounting teams should have two administrators. Having two or more fully trained administrators will allow for individuals to take vacation, leave, sick time, etc. as necessary without there being a gap in BlackLine admin coverage. By having numerous admins, you could assign certain tasks to each which could allow more time for those individuals to focus on other value-added assignments for your organization. As a result, the full weight of maintaining BlackLine would not fall on one individual.
3– Support end users
Make sure your end users feel supported by getting them answers to any specific questions regarding their reconciliations, journals, variances, or any of your other modules. If your end user is attempting to set up a tricky reconciliation, for example, there may be questions concerning best practices for those reconciliations. What is the best reconciliation template to use? What is the proper import template to use? How should this reconciliation be documented in the system?
Another example would be if your end user is interested in setting up a recurring journal but has never done it before. Help them by getting answers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Answers can be obtained from the BlackLine Community by entering support tickets, via implementation partners, etc. As a system administrator or executive, your end users will look to you for help – there are many options at your fingertips to dig out answers.
4– Develop reports
Is your management team looking for better information regarding the status of month-end close given the remote environment we are now all working in? Good month-end close status reporting is a necessity, even in standard working environments. Take the time to review your current reports being used and decide if you need to design/build fresh reports to highlight timeliness, workload, or any other information that would help the comfort level of the management team. With the BlackLine application, good data in means good data out. Make sure your team prioritizes good data going into the system, then you can utilize additional reports that include items such as the amounts of required adjustments, aging of reconciling items, and even what team member is responsible for these items. Reporting is sometimes an underused module within BlackLine – focus on customization and usefulness for your team and leaders.
5– Review settings and configuration
As a system administrator, take the time to review your current system settings and monitor your configuration to ensure you are getting the most out of your BlackLine instance. There is a lot of information available to you through the BlackLine Community regarding settings and how they operate within your system. If a significant amount of time has passed since implementation, there may even be new settings available that your team has not considered using. There are many settings you can change on your own – those changes are immediate within the application. There are a handful of settings that you are not able to change as a system administrator and would require a support ticket to be logged with BlackLine.
6– Explore new modules
Has it been a while since your BlackLine instance was implemented and you are now curious about the other modules in the system that you are not yet using? The BlackLine Community and even Google searches and YouTube can provide you with information on modules within BlackLine. Once you are comfortable with the module(s) that you originally implemented, it is worthwhile to research what else the system can do for you and your accounting team. While you are researching, keep in mind that some modules take considerably longer to implement than others. They also can be implemented one at a time.
Whether your team implemented BlackLine last year or five years ago, it is always the right time to review your system and make sure you are getting the most out of it. Don’t let the uncertainty of our current unusual circumstances and virtual working situations allow your team to fall back to old manual practices. Make sure your BlackLine usage is as engaging as ever – for your team, your executives, and all of those who depend on us as accountants!
