Every successful business has its finger on the pulse.
You need to know the key numbers. Not the numbers in last year’s accounts; they’re out of date. Redundant.
You need today’s numbers.
And that’s where your cloud accounting system comes in. If you don’t have a cloud accounting system this blog will explain the benefits and how to get started.
There are essentially just 4 types of accounting system:
Type 1: The Manual System
A manual system is cheap; you only have to buy a book. But that’s a false economy. Manual systems simply take too long. And your time is too valuable. It also takes the accountant more time to produce accounts so you end up with bigger accountancy fees. Manual systems also do not provide that all-important management information for making great business decisions.
Type 2: The Spreadsheet
Excel and other spreadsheet-based systems are also cheap. And whilst you can automate some processes (e.g. adding up columns), they take time to set up, you need advanced Excel skills to produce management reports and you can waste hours changing the spreadsheet as your business grows and evolves.
Type 3: The Desktop system
Then there is the old-fashioned desktop system. Whilst these are far better than manual and spreadsheet-based accounting systems they come with a host of hidden costs. Yes, the software can be relatively cheap. But there is a huge hidden cost of customisation, implementation, maintaining your hardware to meet the demands of changing software, dealing with (often costly and compulsory) software upgrades, security, scheduling back up routines and restoring data when things go wrong.
Type 4: The Cloud Accounting System
In contrast a modern cloud accounting system gives you the following benefits:
- It saves you a very significant amount of time,
- Gives you 24/7 access to up-to-date financial information and reports (you can use cloud-based software from any device with an internet connection),
- You can sleep at night knowing your sensitive financial data is always secure and backed-up automatically,
- No system downtime because all software upgrades are automatically installed. This worry-free maintenance saves you time and hassle,
- It reduces your accountancy fees because it makes it easier for your accountant to produce end of year accounts, and
- Since your accountant can access your data 24/7 you get more value from an accountant – they will help you run and grow your business rather than just adding up the numbers.
In short, a cloud accounting system will make your life so much easier and give you the critical numbers for your business in real time.
Now the bad news
Your first problem is deciding which cloud accounting system to adopt for your business. There are a myriad of different systems. They are all different. Some are better than others. Some suit different types of business. And getting the wrong solutions will cause you a big headache. Assessing all of the options is time-consuming.
Then, once you’ve settled on the best system for you and your business you have to set it up.
Unless you’re familiar with setting up accounting systems this typically takes a full day or more. Not only do you have to enter all the key details of your business (accounting year end date, VAT registration number and so on) you also need to set up you chart of accounts (that’s the specific types of sales, income, expenses, assets and liabilities unique to your business). And once that’s done you need to transfer any opening balances.
Whilst you can do that yourself, your time is precious and valuable. So we recommend you talk to your accountant. Every good accountant will be able to set up your cloud accounting software.
We specialise in cloud accounting, so if your accountant doesn’t offer this service we can help. And you don’t even need to be in the same part of the Ireland… we can set it up online for you.