Cloud Accounting The Right Way

With the growth of cloud technology in recent years, businesses are increasingly opting for cloud-based solutions as a way of managing their finances.

Cloud accounting can offer a number of benefits to many SMEs, including greater flexibility and control as well as access to up-to-date financial information from any device with an internet connection.

However, there are many factors to consider when assessing whether to adopt a cloud-based system for your business and in choosing which provider to use. Before researching the options, we recommend discussing your needs with accountants or other financial experts, to ensure you get the best advice for your business.

Key points to consider include:

• Will an off-the-shelf solution work for your business? Standard packages may suit SMEs with general purpose software requirements but may not be right for businesses with more bespoke needs, such as law and construction firms and businesses with complex financial management arrangements.
• Decide which features are important, such as automatic invoicing, automatic credit control reminders and add-ons such as time recording and CRM integration.
• View pricing in conjunction with any current software costs and ensure time saving benefits outweigh any additional ongoing commitment. Cloud solutions usually include software updates in their monthly fee, so you won’t have to pay for new versions.
• Decide who should access the information. For example, do you want employees to be able to submit expenses, record time or request holidays? Most systems allow for differing levels of access for staff depending on their role.
• Be mindful of security and check providers’ standards. Most offer a very high level of protection and all information is backed up automatically, which can make it more secure than standard desktop systems

Working in partnership

One of the best ways to ensure you make the right decision and get a solution that meets your needs is to work with financial experts who have a more detailed understanding of the leading cloud solutions.

As well as setting up the system to include features, add-ons and reporting tools that work for your business, proactive accountants should embrace the opportunity to work with business owners to provide a more flexible, open and responsive service. In our experience, clients often feel more comfortable making the transition to a new system if we take on the transfer of data for them. As with many things, setting a system up properly from the outset pays dividends over time.

We’ve also seen some real benefits in being able to provide ongoing ‘on the spot’ troubleshooting advice and insight to businesses, knowing that our client is able to see the same information we can see in real time.

A cloud-based system may not be right for your business now, but with providers continually developing their software to incorporate more features, it’s worth keeping an eye on new developments.

For more information about how we can help your business, please feel free to contact us.

Previous news article

Next news article