One of the most important areas in companies is, without a doubt, accounting. And within it, account management is one of the tools that helps to carry it correctly. But, what is account management?
In this article we want to bring you closer to this activity and give you the specific tools so that you can understand it perfectly. Shall we go with it?
What is account management
As we told you at the beginning, account management is actually one of the accounting activities that is carried out. Its objective is to organize and categorize information related to accounting, or more specifically, to economic aspects. AND everything to help you have a good administration of the patrimony, to improve liquidity as well as sales and avoid imbalances or the appearance of crises.
In other words, account management is responsible for controlling all economic aspects of the company so that appropriate decisions can be made. That is to say, controls what is paid, what is owed and what is charged in all the activities that are carried out. In this way, by having everything registered, the person can "trust" the data and know if the business is indeed going well or not.
The two essential elements
When account management is carried out, two important aspects must be taken into account and that come into play. These are:
- Balance sheet. In it you will find both the assets, that is, the goods that the company has; as the liabilities, which would be the debts, but also the assets of the company.
- income statement. In it you can find elements such as the degree of indebtedness that the company has, collection problems, or even, on the other hand, the benefits it is achieving.
Who performs account management
Although account management is carried out by professionals who are dedicated to accounting, the truth is that there is a figure that would be the one who should be in charge of it. It is called Key Account Manager. He (or she) would be the person in charge of managing, controlling, preventing, planning and even making decisions based on the results that appear in the accounts.
In addition, he is also the one who establishes a relationship with customers. That is why those who are key are usually left to this figure, although sometimes he has to deal with all of them.
Apart from those functions, the Key Account Manager has more:
- Connect with the other departments of the company and improve communication. Thus, he becomes a leader for the rest of the areas forming team management.
- Increase sales and profitability of the company. In this case we talk about working the brand.
- Follow the evolution of the company.
- Know the market in depth. And not only the current one, but also to be aware of the changes that can anticipate a change or turn in the market (to be prepared for it).
How does it apply
Do you want to have good account management? So here are some tips that you should apply to achieve this goal:
Have specialized professionals
Account management, as you have seen, is the function of the Key Account Manager since this person is the one who has studied the subject and would know what their functions are and how to perform them.
Therefore, Our first advice is to have specialized professionals who have knowledge about the subject, as well as skills in customer relations, accounting and business administration, etc.
Get to know your company
It may seem silly, but it is not. Sometimes, when we have so many things to think about the company, we forget about everything we have, and it's not until we list all the assets and liabilities that we have that we realize the reality.
Now, That you know your company thoroughly is not going to help you if you are not going to deal with account management. In this case, it will have to be the professional in charge who also has that information, who knows if it is true or not and can organize and classify it to get the best possible return.
Select key accounts
In this case we are referring to customers. And it is that not all are equally valuable. Someone who only buys a material from time to time cannot be compared to someone who goes shopping every day and makes quite large purchases.
These accounts (and those clients) must be taken care of very much since part of the income that enters the account is owed to them and therefore the communication with these people, as well as the treatment, will be much more select than others that barely they contribute to the company.
In fact, those accounts are the ones that the Key Account Manager should keep.
Create a system to record and track all transactions that are made
Both sales and income, payments, etc.
This is the way so you don't miss anything. However, it is not only a matter of accounting, but also of the other departments of the company. For example, the sales department will have to record all the transactions that are carried out. And as they do, they will reach the accounts administration (since what it is about is that everyone uses the same program. The account administrations have to be in charge of verifying the data and balancing everything. Or, in case Otherwise, look for what could have happened and correct the error.
Look for improvements
Even if you think that you have everything tied up and well tied up, improvements can always be made. And this can be achieved through account management. So keeping that possibility open can help you improve or even expand your business.
As you can see, account management is one of the most important parts of accounting. Did you know her?