Managing access to your business’s financial records and accounts is crucial for both protecting sensitive information and making informed business decisions. You want to ensure that the right people have access, while limiting or preventing access for others.
Here are some tips to help you appropriately manage financial access for your business:
1. Evaluate Which Roles May Need Access. In the small business world, it's perfectly normal for someone like your spouse or family member to need access to the business financials if they help manage the business. Other stakeholders who might need access to financials include your:
- Bookkeeper
- Accountant
- HR employees and/or payroll company
- IT staff
- Auditors
- Consultants
- Accounting software provider
- Lenders
2. Separate Your Personal Finances. Before you start granting access to your business finances, be sure that your business and personal finances are separate. There are several reasons why you shouldn’t mix personal and business funds and expenses, and you certainly don’t want your employees or vendors to have access to your personal bank accounts.
3. Determine What You Should Grant Access To. It’s important to note that everyone in your business doesn’t need access to the same financials. Some key individuals may need to be added as an authorized signer on your business bank accounts, some may need to be issued a business credit card, and others may only need access to financial systems or reports. Take some time to think through which roles need access to what financial information.
4. Establish User Access Levels. Once you’ve determined which people need access to which financials, you should give thought to just how much access they should have. Many financial systems allow you to set user permissions so you can grant complete access to some, while limiting access for others. A good rule of thumb might be to start with limited access and adjust as necessary if key employees don’t have access to what they need.
5. Set Up Security Alerts and Internal Controls. When you grant access to important financial accounts and systems, it’s a good idea to set up alerts to track activity and changes made by all users. While you never expect fraud from a trusted employee, you should be vigilant to ensure nothing nefarious is going on. You should take financial access and monitoring seriously. Put some basic controls in place such as training, established workflows, documentation, authorization and auditing.
Ultimately, you want to be selective and strategic when it comes to granting access to business financials. You want the fewest number of people to have access, while still allowing your team to do their jobs effectively. There are many tools and techniques out there to help you balance business access needs and financial security. If you’re a business owner in MA or RI, contact us today to learn more about cash management solutions that can help you effectively manage your company’s finances.