Your Guide to Making the Move to Cloud Accounting

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has set forth a new trend for corporates and enterprises – working from home. With lockdown and social distancing rules being practiced everywhere, adopting cloud accounting solutions for your business is the wisest move you can make now.

What is Cloud Accounting?

In simple English, cloud accounting is the practice of hosting your files or applications on the internet instead of a local PC, and these files can be accessed from any of your devices connected to the internet. This idea of remote access enables you to work properly regardless of your location or device.

Now is the Time to Make the Move

Owing to the current pandemic, making a move to cloud accounting has become a necessity. With people at risk of infection, with the discovery of vaccination seemingly distant goal, the ‘work from home’ culture is gaining prominence. Without the ability of a remote workforce outside of the office as well as efficient cloud accounting solutions, businesses may succumb to operational vulnerabilities.

Cloud accounting has numerous benefits, and making the move now is an intelligent decision.  With a cloud accounting tool, you can –

• Access your accounts anywhere: Remote access sets you independent of a central office-based PC. You have 24X7 access to your application, irrespective of your location or the device. This minimizes business disruption in times of crisis and uncertainty
• Get live feeds: Unlike traditional accounting systems, you get access to the real-time reports of your business data that are instant and up to date. You no longer have to check with your data history when making plans for the future. This helps in evolving better strategies as well as making prompt decisions
• Simplify tax compliance: Cloud accounting simplifies tax by bringing you accurate information on your taxes
• Share data securely: Sharing files on a cloud account with your client is safe and secured by encryption. There is no need to send constant emails back and forth. Information is shared in real-time. This helps in providing better technical support for your client and helps in building better client relationships
• Better team collaboration: When the important tasks are centralized, and a team works on a file simultaneously, better communication amongst the workers is bound to follow. This eventually leads to better collaboration as it brings the entire team together.

How to Make the Move to Cloud Accounting?

Things your Accounting Practice Should Consider when Moving to Cloud and to understand how to make the choice for a cloud accounting software that suits your business needs, you first need to understand key aspects of your business like:

• How big is your business?
• How many transactions do you do per month?
• Who approves payments in your organization?
• Who will have access to the software?

When you understand these important aspects of your business, you should go ahead and make a move to an efficient cloud accounting tool. When choosing accounting software, always consider:

• Security: This is foremost and paramount. Your provider’s reputation, history and clients are very important details you should look for. One cannot compromise on quality here
• Budget: Cloud accounting software comes with functionalities that get smart while getting expensive. You got to consider your requirements as well as range
• Flexibility: Every business grows over time. Your software must be flexible enough to be able to scale with your growing business
• Customer Support: In an emergency, how responsive your service provider’s customer support staff is, directly reflects the quality and reliability of your provider

Conclusion

Embracing cloud accounting is more than just adopting a new software; it’s about ushering in a transformative approach to how businesses manage and interpret their financial data. As we’ve navigated through the intricacies of making the move, it’s evident that preparation, understanding the unique needs of one’s business, and ensuring robust security measures are paramount. With the right strategy and tools in place, transitioning to cloud accounting can lead to streamlined operations, real-time insights, and enhanced collaboration. As the business world continues its digital evolution, making the move to cloud accounting is not just a trend but a strategic decision, positioning businesses for resilience, adaptability, and growth in an increasingly interconnected world.