Every new year, I seem to pick a handful of resolutions and, by February, I’ve already forgotten them!
Here’s a resolution that can pay off more than just choosing not to eat the french fries at lunch (I broke that one already): Companies around the world are using the cloud to save and share data, in order to grow their business and ease the burdens of everyday tasks, such as bookkeeping and taxes.
Here are my five reasons why you need to do bookkeeping in the cloud starting this year:
1. Accessibility
Cloud-based bookkeeping allows you around-the-clock access to all of your financial information, from anywhere in the world. If you’re a business owner who travels to different store locations or alternates between working from home and the office, you won’t have to worry about which hard drive you stored that important file on. Instead, you can simply log into your account, retrieve the necessary information and be on your way. You can also use any device you want, without downloading any of your personal information to it.
2. Real-Time Backups
Imagine your computer crashes right as you finally finish reconciling six months worth of bank transactions. Although you did click “Save” somewhere along the line, all of the data is corrupted and you have to start all over. Did we mention that the tax return is due tomorrow? If this really did happen, you would be in a pretty sticky situation, especially if your schedule is booked with administrative tasks and sales opportunities. However, if you were bookkeeping in the cloud, none of your entries would be lost because cloud storage backs up all of your information in real time.
3. No More Downloading Patch Updates, Buying the Latest Version or Version Conflicts
By utilizing cloud bookkeeping software, you can better ensure that your information is always up to date and accurate. Not only does the cloud back up every entry in real time, but cloud bookkeeping software also stays current through automatic updates. For example, if QuickBooks ® technicians have figured out how to make your program run better, you’ll automatically have access to the latest and greatest updates, without having to download, install and restart on every computer you own.
4. Add-ons
As a working professional, you understand that time is money. Think about how much time you spend right now doing bookkeeping the standard way. Cloud technology allows for integration with other apps that can drastically reduce the amount of time and effort required to produce excellent financials. How many more customers could you serve if you cut 50% of your bookkeeping time by switching over to the cloud?
5. Security
When it comes to business financials, security is of the utmost importance. As a financial professional, I care deeply about serving our clients with real-time support, incredible reporting and world-class customer service, but I also recognize that information security isn’t our expertise. As soon as we store data on our local PC, or in an office server, we are responsible for any loss or theft of that information. I’d rather let the pros take responsibility. The reality is that a company like Intuit ® has more at stake, more resources and more talent to protect our data than we do.
As a small business bookkeeping company, we use QuickBooks Online (QBO) because we believe our partners deserve the best. QBO helps us help you run your business better by making it easy to give tax advice and other financial recommendations safely and efficiently, without the need of hiring Sherlock to find out who has backup of QuickBooks!
Not sure how switching from QuickBooks to QBO will affect your business? Read What Switching to QuickBooks Online Can Do for You to find out how everyday business owners feel after making the change.
