6 Key Features to look for in an Oil and Gas Accounting Software

The oil and gas sector has unique operational, financial, and regulatory complexities. These intricacies demand specialized accounting software designed to address the industry’s specific needs, particularly for companies engaged in upstream and midstream activities. An effective oil and gas accounting software solution should offer a comprehensive suite of features that facilitate accurate financial reporting, compliance with industry standards, and efficient management of day-to-day accounting tasks. Here are six essential features to look for in  accounting software.

1. Comprehensive Financial Reporting

Oil and gas accounting software should provide robust financial reporting capabilities that enable users to generate accurate and detailed financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. Given the industry’s volatility, the software should also support the generation of reports that offer insights into operational performance, project costs, and profitability. W Energy’s upstream accounting software includes built-in end-to-end controls, integration with other modules, configurable workflow approvals, advanced reporting, and ability to leverage third-party services. You can tailor your reports, adjust financial statements effortlessly as business changes, and handle everything in-house. With W Energy’s CalcTrace™ functionality, you can quickly gain insight into your complex revenue and tax calculations, including clicking through to the formula or variable used to understand what happened. Our midstream accounting software provides in-depth visibility and analysis via several modules. For instance, our Valuation Results grid shows you the Settlement Results for Products and Fees by meter and contract, including CalcTrace capabilities, giving your business unparalleled efficiency. 

2. Joint Venture and Production Sharing Accounting

Many oil and gas projects are undertaken as joint ventures or under production sharing agreements (PSAs). Your accounting software should include features for managing these complex arrangements, such as tracking contributions, allocating costs and revenues, and managing partner billing. It should also facilitate compliance with contractual obligations and reporting requirements. W Energy’s Joint Interest Billing module offers many automated “set it and forget it features.” Our midstream accounting solutions allow you to easily duplicate contracts for multiple customers with a simple copy feature. It also has an intuitive fee management feature that allows you to dynamically group fees with unique identifiers for a comprehensive yet detailed financial overview.

3. Revenue and Expense Tracking

The software should offer detailed tracking of revenues and expenses, including the ability to handle revenue from sales of oil, gas, and byproducts, as well as operating expenses, exploration costs, and transportation fees. It should support various pricing models, tax calculations, and royalty payment tracking. With W Energy, you’ll be able to get a clear view of your financial health and whip through complex accounting tasks in minutes. For instance, overhead is automatically calculated based on production input from the field and escalated based on the COPAS rates set annually. With fast, accurate, automated calculations, midstream companies can accelerate closings. Our accounting software allows you to slash month-end processing time, and complete any necessary reruns in hours, or even minutes to minimize Prior Period Adjustments (PPA’s) in following months.

4. Regulatory Compliance and Reporting

Given the stringent regulatory environment in which oil and gas companies operate, accounting software should include features that ensure compliance with local, state, and national regulations. W Energy’s accounting software ensures every financial transaction is accounted for and reported accurately, preventing errors in the general ledger (GL) for timely, precise results without after-the-fact fixes. With one global chart of accounts, you won’t have to deal with duplicate setup hassles.

5. Integration Capabilities

Oil and gas accounting software should provide your business with several ways to integrate essential accounting processes. W Energy’s upstream accounting solution gives you one integrated platform to manage your accounting needs with unparalleled efficiency and accuracy, such as revenue accounting, accounts payable, joint venture accounting, division orders, and more. Our midstream accounting software integrates gathering, division order and disbursements, accruals, forecasting/budgeting, and contract management.

5. User-friendly Interface and Customization

The software should have a user-friendly interface that is accessible to users with varying levels of technical expertise. Configuration options are also essential, allowing companies to tailor the software to their specific operational and reporting needs. Our intuitive platform makes navigating each module easy for your team members. You can also tailor complex contract terms with user-defined formulas, eliminating external processing.

Discover W Energy Oil and Gas Accounting Software

W Energy is the leading provider of accounting software solutions for upstream and midstream companies in the oil and gas industry. With fast, accurate automated calculations, our accounting solutions offer unmatched insights into your financial standing, improving your organization’s decision-making capabilities. Our upstream accounting software provides a global setup of master data, such as business associates, wells, and your chart of accounts, to help you easily manage everything from one place. With our midstream accounting software, we implement unique algorithms to offer your business the most effective and efficient solutions. If you want to learn more about how our innovative software can propel your upstream or midstream company, contact us for a demo today!