If you use a traditional accountant, you might have been hesitant to change anything about it. It’s worked for you so far, so why alter anything? You’ve not really had any issues before, so despite all this new technology, is there really any reason to change course? Well, just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. Here are a few reason why you should consider dropping your accountant altogether and moving to cloud accounting.
If you can save your business time, then you’re saving your business money as well. The old adage of time = money will probably never stop ringing true and this is one of the big reasons for moving to online accounting. Traditional accountants take up a lot of your time. You need to book appointments which are convenient for both you and your accountant which can often be tricky, then you have to spend time getting down there and going through whatever issues have arisen. All those hours spent meeting with your accountant and gathering paperwork add up, which is why many industries are looking for ways to streamline processes. For example, plastic surgery practices have adopted electronic medical record (EMR) solutions cut down on administrative tasks. Similarly, you can save time on accounting by making the switch to cloud-based systems.
Just like how plastic surgery emr software solutions can save time on paperwork, you can save time with cloud accounting. With cloud accounting you can check your accounts whenever you like and wherever you like (as long as there is an internet connection available). This means you don’t have to take time out of your work day to deal with them like you would with a traditional accountant. Instead you can just do it when you have the spare time. It’s also easy too. The software is clear and simple to follow so you can get the information you’re after very quickly. You can also update your accounts instantly. You can even get mobile accounting apps that allow you to scan receipts and add them to your account instantly.
Cloud accounting brings another important benefit: it reduces the need for paper. While it’s important to keep all paperwork for taxes, you don’t have to keep physical copies on hand anymore. You can simply file them away and access them whenever needed through your cloud account. This reduces the risk of losing important documents in the future. To make the transition to the cloud and protect your data, you can get help from local IT experts in Peterborough or wherever your business is based.
There’s also the matter of price too. Online accounting firms generally find it cheaper to switch than traditional ones. You’ll usually just pay a flat fee for everything while the traditionals will charge you per service. For a small business, any money saved is incredibly important.
You also don’t have to worry about losing out on any of the expertise. Online firms still give you dedicated accountants and have excellent customer service departments to ensure that they can help you out with any problems. Moving away from traditional accountants does not mean you’re completely left to fend for yourselves, there is still plenty of support to make sure everything is done right and done on time.
Joshua Danton Boyd is a Brighton based copywriter who writes for Crunch Accounting and Freelance Advisor.