By the LookTech Team
November and December are the numbers season: invoicing what was delivered before December 31, preparing the accountant's package, closing the year, and building the 2027 budget. In many SMBs, all of this still runs through Excel files copied from one year to the next and manual re-entry. Here is how to see what can be automated, and what to change for 2027.
Why think about it before January
- The close. For many SMBs, the fiscal year ends on December 31. A forgotten or late invoice makes the accountant's job harder.
- February filings. RL-1 slips, the employer's summary and, if applicable, the contribution to Quebec's Workforce Skills Development and Recognition Fund (FDRCMO) are due no later than the last day of February.
- The 2027 budget. What is not in the budget this fall often waits another year.
Automating invoicing
A deal closed in the CRM, a completed work order, or approved hours already contain almost everything needed to invoice. An integration can create the invoice directly in your accounting software (for example, QuickBooks Online), with the right customer, the right product codes, and taxes calculated by the software. For Sage, Acomba, or other software, we check what it allows during the diagnostic.
Payment reminders can also go out automatically, on the schedule you choose. Unusual invoices, credit notes, and special discounts still require approval: the goal is to reduce re-entry, not judgment.
Year-end reports fed by your systems
Sales by customer, overdue receivables, margin by project, inventory at December 31: these reports can be fed directly by your systems instead of copy-paste. Your accountant asks for roughly the same documents every year; once the list is set, the extraction can be prepared in advance. AI can help summarize variances or suggest a category for an expense, but a person always validates, and it does not replace your accountant.
Connecting CRM, ERP, and accounting: where to start
First, map the path of an order: the request or quote, the order and delivery, then the invoice and payment. Every place where someone retypes information is an integration opportunity. Then choose the simplest option that fits: a native connector if one exists and is reliable, a no-code automation tool for simple flows, or a custom API integration when business rules are complex. Also decide which system is the source of truth for each piece of data; otherwise, integrations create duplicates.
Moving off Excel for 2027, without throwing it all away
Excel remains an excellent analysis tool. The trouble starts when it becomes the central system: several versions, macros only one person understands, no record of changes. The idea is not to ban Excel but to separate data entry from analysis: data goes into a reliable tool (CRM, ERP, database, or a small web application), and Excel is used to read it. The start of a fiscal year is a natural time to switch over.
Grants and tax credits
Some programs can fund part of a digital project. For example, component 1B of Investissement Québec's ESSOR program (in French) is for businesses with 250 employees or fewer and annual revenue of at least $2.5M, for a digital diagnostic and plan that follow its requirements. Applications can be approved until March 31, 2027. Quebec's C3i tax credit (in French) covers some management software. The business itself files the application, before incurring any expenses, and the organization decides on eligibility and the amount. Filing an application does not guarantee funding. Always confirm the conditions with the organization and your accountant. LookTech does not administer any of these programs and cannot guarantee that an application will be accepted.
The LookTech diagnostic
The automation diagnostic helps you decide which project to tackle first. We look at your manual tasks, your critical Excel files, and the back-and-forth between CRM, ERP, and accounting, and we check what your software allows. You receive a summary of the current situation, a prioritization of projects, a preliminary estimate, and a roadmap: automate, integrate, build, or wait.
The diagnostic starts at $1,500. The scope is refined after a first conversation, and nothing requires you to have the next steps delivered by LookTech.
Tell us about your year-end process or call us at +1 438 800 7272.