Essential Feature
Purple Accounts
For some, the concept of cloud accounting
seems to have been around for quite some
time, however it is still a rapidly growing
market. Business owners who previously
looked at adopting online software to
manage their accounts may have been put
off by the lack of functionality, time taken to
transfer data or had concerns about security.
Some business owners have been put off by
their accountant even. This l feel is more
down to the accountant not wanting to
embrace this completely new way of doing
things - everything is much faster and far
more transparent than it has ever been. Can
you believe that some accountants still write
up accounts using handwritten ledgers……
this is how far we have come in a single
lifetime. Online or cloud accounting to use
a more popular buzzword is here to stay.
More and more people are experiencing the
benefits that having meaningful financial
information at your fingertips can bring to
your business.
In brief, what is cloud accounting?
Cloud accounting is a solution which
connects you, your staff and your advisors to
your business finances 24/7 from anywhere
with an internet connection.
How will it benefit me?
There are many ways in which cloud
accounting can revolutionise the way in
which you manage your finances. Here are
just a few;
1. You can access from anywhere adding
flexibility to your working day.
2. There are no heavy downloads or
installations to your PC. No longer are you
restricted to a designated PC which has the
software installed.
3. No expensive annual maintenance fees,
just one low monthly fee for the software.
4. You can take comfort that your data is
backed up and secure. No risk to your data if
your computer or server crashes.
5. Your Accountant is able to access your
data from a different location. If you need
to discuss something you can view the same
4
data from separate locations.
6. The system can connect directly with
your bank account, speeding up the bank
reconciliation process.
7. Your data is real time, if managed
proactively with your Accountant onside, you
will have regular and accurate management
reporting to make decisions about your
business.
What else can it do?
Cloud accounting has come on leaps
and bounds in recent years, not only the
software itself but there are now many
partners offering add on solutions which
vastly enhance the user experience. Just a few
examples being;
1. Upload receipts using your iphone
straight into the system which will convert
to accounting data
2. Time management solutions linking
seamlessly to accounts data
3. Multiple companies…not a problem.
Consolidation software will provide
bring everything together into one place.
Performance reporting can be tailored to
your needs.
4. CRM (Customer Relation Management)
software linking seamlessly with your
accounts data.
5. Payment solutions….the list goes on and
on
So you’re asking ‘this seems far too much for
me, l don’t see t