Business Analysis Report: Coffee Shop's Accounting System Upgrade

This report provides a comprehensive business analysis of a coffee shop's accounting system, focusing on its transition from a manual to an automated approach. The "as-is" state describes the current manual processes, including manual receipt writing, revenue and expense calculation, physical storage of accounting information, and handling of cash and VAT. The "to-be" state outlines the intended automated system, which aims to eliminate manual processes, generate automatic receipts, calculate revenues and expenses, store accounting information in the cloud, and facilitate online payments. The report identifies gaps between the current and future states, such as a lack of employee expertise, infrastructure, and resources. It also addresses the risks associated with the transition, including potential customer loss, data loss, and system failure. The analysis concludes with recommendations for achieving a successful transition to an automated accounting system.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS 1
BUSINESS ANALYSIS
Name of student
Name of institution
Name of instructor
Course code
Date

BUSINESS ANALYSIS 2
(Ivory, 2016)
As-is
- Manual writing of receipts
for customer purchases.
-Manual calculation of
revenues and expenses using
calculators.
-Storage of accounting
information in files kept in
the firm's library.
- Physically receiving and
storing cash in the business
cash box.
- Manually calculating VAT
for the customers including
physically delivering cash to
the revenue authority.
Risks
The risks include:
- Lose of customers during
the transition period.
- Lose of data during the
trasition form the manual
system to automatic.
-The current employees
refusing to use the new
system.
- Lack of adequate funds
and resources to develop
and run the automatic
system.
- Failure of the new
system to perform the
expected functions.
- Legal factors that restrict
the use of the system.
Gaps
- Lack of employees with
knowledge necessary to
run an automatic system.
- Lack of necessary
infrastructure such as
internet, computers and
accounting softwares.
- Lack resources to run
and maintain an
automatic system.
- The board of sirectors
failure to supprot the
development of an
automated system.
To-be
The business intends to develop a
computerised system to eliminate
the manual system. The new system
will completely automate the
accounting department and reduce
the risks posed by the physical
handling of cash. The new system
will:
- Automatically generate receipts for
customers after paying for products.
-automatically calculate revenues
and expenses and generate cash
flow statements.
- Automatically store accounting
information and keep a cloud back-
up for use in case of system failure.
-Receive payments from customers
through online payment to reduce
the risks posed by the physical
storage of cash.
- Automatically calculating VAT for
the firm and using online payment
systems to pay the returnns.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS 3
Introduction
The report focusses on the current and future state of the accounting system of a
coffee shop. The current system involves manual procedures such as the use of calculators,
physical receipt and storage of cash. However, the coffee shop intends to upgrade to an
automatic system that will eliminate the use of manual procedures. The report also checks the
risks posed by the shift and the gaps existing between the manual and the automated system.
As-Is state
The current accounting system involves the manual performance of activities such as
using calculators to develop income statements, storing physical files at the firm, physical
receipt of cash from customers and manual calculation and payment of VAT returns (Rouse,
2019). The system poses challenges to the coffee such a theft, errors in calculation and
additional costs of filing records. Therefore, the coffee shop should develop a system that
eliminates challenges.
The Risks
The shift to the new system poses various risks to the coffee shop (Rouse, 2019). The
risks include losing customers during the transition period, the inability of the employees to
operate the new system, lack of resources, failure of the automated system to meet the quality
standards and legal restrictions limiting the use of an automated accounting system.
The gaps
Various gaps exist between the current system and the automated system. The gaps
require filling for the new system to achieve the intended functionality (Ivory, 2016). The
gaps include lack of expertise, inadequate infrastructure to run the system, lack of resources
and lack of top management support towards developing the system.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS 4
To-Be state
The coffee shop will achieve an automatic system that will reduce risks such as theft
of cash and errors in calculations (Ivory, 2016). The automated system will automate
calculation, store, and back-up accounting files and automatically receive payments from the
customers. The coffee shop will also improve the workforce through computer skills training.

BUSINESS ANALYSIS 5
References
Ivory, M. (2016). How to Develop As-Is and To-Be Business Process. Retrieved from Visual
Paradigm: https://www.visual-paradigm.com/tutorials/as-is-to-be-business-process.jsp
Rouse, M. (2019). Gap Analysis. Retrieved from TechTarget:
https://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/gap-analysis