With social distancing and working from home becoming the norm in 2020, it was a year when the accounting world saw a major shift towards technology and automation. Cloud accounting technology was embraced by many businesses who benefitted from immediate real-time access to their financial information, even when employees were working at home for months. Not surprisingly, the global cloud accounting market share is projected to increase by up to $4.25 billion by 20231. For businesses looking to adopt the latest cloud accounting solutions like Xero, Sage, Receipt Bank, BCMTrac, Draftworx and GreatSoft, they will discover the functionality of their trusted desktop systems combined with a range of benefits that only cloud technology can offer:
Real-time access anywhere
During 2020, real-time access became a business necessity rather than a nice-to-have. Cloud accounting technology allows you to access your accounts and financial data anytime, from anywhere. Unlike the old-fashioned desk-top based systems that effectively tied you to the office, with cloud-based accounting, all your data and records are safely encrypted and stored on a cloud server. All your employees need to do is log in and work from their web browser wherever they have an internet connection. Rather than waiting until they are in the office, your finance team can approve payments and invoice customers whether they are travelling or working remotely.
Reduced IT costs
Desktop systems requires an investment in IT hardware and regular maintenance and upgrades. Online accounting software has no costly IT infrastructure that your business needs to maintain. In addition, you won’t have to worry about purchasing expensive software upgrades but will always be using the latest version of your cloud-based software with automatic updates in the cloud. What’s more, all your information is saved automatically, saving time and money on tedious back-up procedures.
Improved quality control
Today’s businesses cannot afford the problems that inconsistent reporting or data errors cause. With cloud-based accounting all data is stored in one place allowing your business to maintain consistency in data with a clear record of any revisions or updates.
Enhanced security
Reputable cloud accounting solutions like Xero, Sage, Receipt Bank, BCMTrac, Draftworx and GreatSoft all use data encryption and multiple layers of security, replicating it in several online locations. Servers and data centres all have robust physical security controls as well as 24/7 monitoring and surveillance as well as undertaking regular data security audits and they constantly monitor systems to identify and manage threats.
Loss prevention
Desktop-based accounting software is vulnerable to multiple threats including theft, age-related hardware deterioration, fire and viruses, all of which can result in massive data loss. In contrast the cloud-bases services provide quick data recovery for all kinds of emergency, from power outages to natural disasters.
Increased insight and collaboration
In the digital age, knowledge is power and data is money. Leading cloud-based accounting solutions allow you to easily build customised reports to analyse your information across your business. From these insights you can construct a clearer picture of every aspect of your business’s finances, increase efficiencies and create action plans to meet your business goals. These insights are aided and enhanced by the improved collaboration that takes place with all employees using a single source of information rather than managing information in silos.
Take your business to the next level
The EA Group specialises in the very latest cloud-accounting solutions and our established reputation for service excellence ensures we are able to offer our clients a tailor-made cloud-accounting solution that meets their business objectives. For more information, contact us today.