Better Together: Exploring FloQast's Integration With Microsoft Teams

If you're a Microsoft user like I am, FloQast and Microsoft Teams is the integration you didn’t know you needed. Or...did you?

Whether you’re using an on-premise ERP or online accounting software for your business, FloQast lets you become a month-end master. You can streamline and automate common accounting processes. Automate the balance sheet tie-outs. And when used with Microsoft Teams, your team can complete the close anywhere.

Microsoft describes Teams as:

“The teamwork hub in Office 365. All your team conversations, files, meetings, and apps live together in a single shared workspace and are accessible on your favorite mobile device.”

When used with FloQast, accounting teams can close faster, increase accuracy, lower audit risk, and ensure consistency.

Why use FloQast with Microsoft Teams?

It’s simple. It’ll make your life easier. And you can close from anywhere.

FloQast is the only accounting workflow automation solution that integrates directly with Microsoft Teams. You can respond to review notes and sign off on tasks – all directly from Teams. 

You’ll never be out of the loop because FloQast allows you to enable push notifications to Outlook or Teams to provide real-time alerts when other team members ask you questions, when due dates are approaching, and when workpapers have changed after the manager signs off.

FloQast captures all your accounting conversations from Teams as part of your critical audit trail documentation. Anything that happens in Teams is automatically recorded in FloQast – keeping your audit trail centralized and secure.

FloQast’s full integration with Teams means your team no longer needs to be in the office. We help accountants meet where they work to get the close done on time, every time. This work-from-anywhere functionality is unmatched by other accounting solutions. 

What does Microsoft Teams integrate with?

With more than 270 million active monthly users, Microsoft Teams is used by companies with large and small budgets. 

United Airlines uses bots within Teams to create tighter connections between operations and flight crews. And Marks & Spencer uses Power Apps and Teams to streamline internal help desk requests.

Teams has an app (an API) for a heap of productivity, project management, HR, bookkeeping, and marketing and CRM programs. Including names like:

• Zoom
• Slack
• Trello
• Monday
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Xero
• Zapier
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Azure

If you’re using Quickbooks Online, unfortunately, it and Microsoft Teams can’t talk with each other. There is no native integration for the two. You’d have to use a workflow automation tool like Zapier to make it happen.

But if you’re working with a version of Microsoft’s Dynamics, you’re in luck. Teams and FloQast both fully integrate with all of Microsoft’s ERPs.    

What are the advantages of using Microsoft Teams for accounting?

We all know that accounting departments function as a team. No single person is the master of reconciliations, the king of cash flow, or the wizard of financial reporting. It takes a village, as the old saying goes.

Using Microsoft Teams in your finance department can improve task management, communication, and collaboration – making closing the books smoother.

• Task management - create, assign, and track the progress of team members’ assignments. Create customizable jobs to give your staff the details they need to succeed.
• Streamline communication - chat, call, and host live events with anyone. Get answers to your questions quickly through chat — no need for long email threads where important information gets buried.
• Collaboration - access, share, and edit Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files in real time. Share screens during calls to ensure everyone is looking at the latest version of a project. Additionally, users can add requests via Teams in order to receive status updates. Understand what’s due today, this week, or even trigger a dashboard update, all from Teams.    

Consider these areas where Teams is an excellent resource for accounting departments:

• Budgeting 
• Earnings call/release preparation
• Monthly close (FloQast offers the only fully integrated cloud-based accounting software)
• Payables
• Inventory management
• Purchasing

You may find numerous ways to optimize your accounting processes using MS Teams. 

Interested in learning more FloQast's Microsoft integration? October 10-13, FloQast will be at Microsoft Community Summit in Orlando, FL! Stop by booth #1620 to see FloQast in action, grab some fun swag, and see a hands-on demo of our accounting operations platform that directly integrates with all of your Microsoft solutions, including your Microsoft ERP, Excel, Teams, OneDrive, and more. I will also be presenting "FloQast’s Raison D'etre – Empowering Accountants Using Microsoft Solutions in the Financial Close Process," on Wednesday, October 12 - 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM. Stop by and say hi!