In recent years, cloud technology and apps have revolutionised our lives. As a result, it is important to find out how they can work for your business. If you find yourself labouring over your business’ financial information until late into the night, cloud accounting might help you get a better handle on your finances.
Cloud-based accounting software now offers the functionality and reliability of your current accounting system, but with additional benefits only online technology can provide. Today we are going to discuss the benefits of cloud accounting as a more effective way to manage financial affairs.
Boost Productivity
Even with desktop accounting, productivity is a challenge. You need to input financial information manually, which is time-consuming and fraught with human error. With cloud accounting, however, you can automate repetitive bookkeeping processes and tasks, and help avoid errors that occur due to duplicate entries.
Cloud accounting makes managing a business, easier. It allows you to send payment reminders, create invoices and expense claims, as well as monitor business projects against budgets in real-time!
Access Your Information at Anytime
All businesses should have access to their accounting information on the go. This allows them to make reliable and informed business decisions whenever needed. Programs like Xero are perfect as they allow you to access and update your financial information whenever and wherever you need it.
Cloud programs ensure your bank account records are synced automatically with your accounting software, so you can track your cash flow in real-time. This flexibility helps make communicating between your accountant and bookkeeper, easier. Everyone is working from the same data.
Even desktop-based systems tie you to your office when it comes to your financial information. It is difficult to exchange information with your accountant and ensure it is always up to date, and that you are working from the same data.
Reduce Costs and Time
Cloud accounting software ensures you always have everything you need at your fingertips, which saves time and money. These apps don’t require a server or hardware, which means you don’t need to purchase hosting or buy new hardware. Updates are automatic and included in your subscription.
Further, working online reduces your IT costs and saves time thanks to your constant connection to the business. Desktop software, however, requires an investment in IT hardware, as well as the maintenance of the hardware.
Cloud accounting is occurs entirely online, with no infrastructure to maintain, which means you can access it at any time. You don’t need to wait until you’re back in the office to approve payments or send out invoices.
Security and Backups
Cloud accounting software automatically backs up and stores your data, so you are certain that once it is in the cloud, it will be safe and secure. There is little risk of it being misplaced, lost or damaged, even if your computer goes missing. Cloud software, like Xero, uses advanced security technology to encrypt your data with every transaction, to ensure your financial information is safe.
Desktop accounting requires you to make your own backups, as well as be in charge of your own security and updates. This makes it incredibly inconvenient for you and raises the risk of security breaches if you aren’t diligent enough.
Easy to Implement
Cloud software is easy to install and keep up to date. Desktop accounting on the other hand is slow, tedious, and requires you to update each location. You also need to ensure each location is equipped with the same software and that it is also up to date. This means everyone may be working from different versions of your data, and if the security is not up to date in each location, you run the risk of a security breach.
Cloud software, however, can be quickly and easily accessed in each location, ensuring everyone is working with the same data. There is also far less risk of security breaches.
More Sustainable
Cloud accounting also helps us toward the dream of a paperless office. Traditional accounting meant dealing with paperwork, data entry, and financial administration, which starts to eat into your business time. Desktop accounting software means that you need to print and deal with everything in hard copy. This is, of course, slow, inefficient, and bad for the environment.
Cloud accounting allows you to significantly reduce your reliance on paperwork. You can utilise it to send emails and invoices directly to clients, removing the need to print and pay for postage. It also speeds up the payment process. Further, incoming bills and receipts can be scanned and saved directly. Since all documents are digitised and stored in the cloud, there is no need to keep paper originals, which also saves space and storage costs.
Looking to implement cloud accounting software to make tax time easier? Contact the team at Siragusa today. As Xero partners, we can help you efficiently digitise your source documents to make tax time easier.