Posted by Robert Verri
As the world of I.T. continues to evolve there is no doubt that the progress of the development of accounting software and hardware is unprecedented.
I recently attended the ATSA2011 (Accountants Technology Showcase Australia), where I learned the latest developments in I.T. for the Accounting industry and it’s clients.
After a couple of hours of hearing how cloud accounting was revolutionaising our industry, I began to get the impression that even the software providers didn’t know exactly where the I.T. world was headed. It seems that as soon as someone has announced a new exciting way for accountants to improve how they operate their businesses, another software developer has already super seeded that technology!
So what does this all mean? Well, there are definitely lots of options out there but, most importantly it’s the way that accountants interact with their clients that is exciting. The days of burning disc’s, handing over memory sticks and emailing or uploading files to secure websites are seemingly a thing of the past.
The stand out advantages of cloud accounting for business owners
- Cloud accounting applications enable users worldwide to access their company financial data from anywhere, at any time without having to download and install anything on their desktop. All you need is an Internet connection!
- Cloud accounting is a very cost effective solution for all enterprises regardless of their size. It eliminates the need to purchase hardware or accounting software. And unlike the conventional accounting software, it requires absolutely no updates. Overhead costs, version upgrades, maintenance, system administration costs and server failures are now no longer issues – all those things are managed by a cloud accounting service provider.
- Bank feeds mean that statements can be uploaded directly into the software; making bank reconciliations a piece of cake, and quotes or invoices can be created whilst ‘on the road’ via a smartphone, iPad, laptop etc
- Cloud gives a small business the scope to respond to changing business conditions and helps their accountant to generate real-time financial reports and dashboards while allowing a shift of focus to more strategic initiatives
Business owners are as focused as ever on knowing how their business is tracking and with this sort of technology at hand, gaining access to such information is becoming easier and easier. It seems that the days of waiting lengthy periods of time for updates to financial information are over.
Remember…measure what you manage, manage what you measure!! Are you following the cloud?
