4 reconciliation software must-haves to futureproof your operations
Reconciliation is about more than just matching data. It plays a vital role in accurate reporting, understanding your risk exposure, exploring new business opportunities and more. The right reconciliation system can make your operations more agile, efficient and cost-effective.
New tools can empower you to establish a single data truth and focus on your strategic goals. So why are many firms still using technology that is unfit for purpose? Technology so inflexible that mistakes from manual workarounds are the top pain point for operations teams?
Choosing reconciliation software is about more than just fixing your current issues. The right solution will unlock huge value for your business and futureproof your operations. Here are four key features to look for.
Cloud-based
Covid-19 accelerated the pace of digital transformation for financial firms, but many had already explored the potential of the cloud.
The cloud has enabled the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, eliminating the need for expensive hardware and annual upgrades. A cloud-based reconciliation solution can lower the total cost of ownership by half on average compared to an on-premise deployment.
The benefits go far beyond savings. SaaS reconciliation solutions can tap into the computational power of the cloud. This allows for a more intelligent way of treating data, which leads us onto our next must-have: flexible data ingestion.
Data agnostic
The right reconciliation software unlocks greater operational agility. Traditional on-premise solutions often block new opportunities because they lack flexibility. They can only reconcile data if it is loaded into the system in a fixed format. Financial firms often have to invest heavily in tools to extract, transform and load (ETL) data onto their systems.
New tools can ingest and understand data in many formats without the need for heavy pre-transformation. This does more than just deliver a significant cost saving on ETL. It means that new opportunities aren’t blocked because of concerns over managing data.
For example, taking on a new counterparty, broker, or administrator can raise questions over how existing on-premise systems will handle their data. Onboarding a new reconciliation onto a traditional solution can take weeks or even months. Flexible data ingestion removes this blocker.
No-code
The no-code revolution is giving end users control of the applications they use. It allows them to shape their software to fit their needs, without involving their IT department or expensive consultants.
Reconciliations on traditional systems are coded by developers to specifications provided by data experts. Any errors in communication require correction, and this can extend an already sluggish process. This is why onboarding a new complex reconciliation takes financial firms an average of 74 days according to Aite Group.
By comparison, no-code functionality allows non-technical users to build the reconciliations themselves. For example, Duco users can use our proprietary Natural Rule Language (NRL) to build, test and refine controls in plain English. This means a reconciliation can be set up in hours or days, not weeks or months.
Machine learning-powered
Your reconciliation software should empower you to explore whatever opportunities the future may hold. This means handling increasing data volumes as your business scales.
At some point it becomes impossible for even a large team of people to handle all the data they are required to process. A reconciliation system with machine learning at its core is able to automate complex and repetitive tasks. This allows your data experts to focus on the most important part of their role: investigating and resolving true breaks.
Machine learning can learn from your data, as well as previous actions taken by users. This enables it to predict match fields and how exceptions should be handled.
You need lots of data to train your machine learning engine. This is another reason why cloud-based reconciliation software is superior. It can train its machine learning engine on all non-sensitive customer data to deliver better results for everyone.
Equip your business for the next stage of growth
The right reconciliation software can unlock significant agility for your operations.
New technology is changing the way you manage your data. The cloud gives you instant access to tools that are fast, flexible and always up to date. No-code functionality is putting power back in the hands of your users. Machine learning combats complexity and gives you the ability to manage your data at scale.
Find out more on our Reconciliation page or book a demo of the Duco Platform today to see what you could achieve.