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Why You Should Take Your Accounts Online

8th Mar 2013

People can sometimes be wary of changing how they do something, especially if they’ve been using the same method for a long time. Accounting, for many years, was safely in the realms of the accountant’s office and their filing cabinets. It was something many people were willing to take on themselves either because of time or difficulty, or both. Accounting in general is shrouded in complicated sounding tax laws and incomprehensible tables, but with the advent of online accounting software, the shroud has been cleared and many people are taking it all into their own hands. Here’s why you should take your accounts back and go online.

First of all, going with traditional accountants means trips down there to give them information, get updates and to discuss your accounts in general. Not only does this involve taking the time to get there, but there are also travel costs to consider as well. You also have to book in advance and so your accounting ends up taking valuable time away from your actual work. While before there was no other option, it now seems illogical to do all that when there is a perfectly viable alternative.

With cloud accounting software you can check and update your accounts whenever you feel like it. There’s no worrying about finding a convenient time for both you and your accountant, you just go online and everything is there for you. This means if you need to find out one piece of information or add some details you can do it just before you go to bed, or on your lunch break. There’s no more interruptions to your usual workday. There are even mobile accounting apps that allow you to upload receipts and the like instantly. It saves you plenty of time and, in turn, saves you money as well.

Along with the old time = money savings, the whole thing is just cheaper in general. Your traditional accountants can cause you to rack up some pretty hefty bills as they charge you for specific processes along with the basic charge. When you’re a small business, this can put quite a dent in your cash flow, especially if you’re not willing to take the risk of doing your accounts yourself. This is probably why many businesses tend to outsource their bookkeeping to experts such as Early Growth (you can check out their home page here) to avoid discrepancies and also to get professional service when it comes to their businesses. That said, some companies, however, are using technological advancements such as cloud software to do their accounting.

With cloud software, you usually pay a fixed monthly fee which covers nearly all of the things you need to do over a financial year. While this does vary from provider to provider, picking out the right one will save you a lot of money. You also don’t have to worry about all the intricate tax details as advisors will be on hand to help you get everything right, while reminders will be sent out to ensure you don’t miss any important deadlines. With the help of account reconciliation applications similar to OneStream Software, you can easily compare transactions and activities while also analysing financial risks you may face in your business. Additionally, by evaluating finances with accounts, you may get insight on how to manage the risks and generate an action plan to avoid major monetary losses. Software like CPM and EPM could improve the internal control over the company accounts to leverage the data mapping, account hierarchies, workflows, and security.

Generally, taking control over your accounts may seem like an idea that will lend itself to disaster, but it will, in fact, make you much better off. Not only will you have a better idea of your accounts (and therefore your business), but you’ll save plenty of time and money. The exact things a business needs to do whenever it can.

Joshua Danton Boyd is a copywriter for the online accounting firm Crunch. He also regularly contributes to Freelance Advisor who offer advice and invoice templates for freelancers..

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