Does the cloud have a silver lining?

So you’re thinking of entering the world of cloud computing with your business accounting software?   Imagine having the ability to prepare your business accounts online from any computer in the world. Pay bills, payroll, all the functions of your current bookkeeping software package available online. As accountants, these possibilities are truly exciting!

The solutions on offer are broad enough to cater for almost all businesses to find the right solution for them. The benefits of working on a cloud platform are too strong to ignore – one file, anywhere access, multiple users, real time data, back up, value add reporting tools and the big one, endless mobility.

I have trialled and tested several of the products on offer which include MYOB, Quickbooks, Xero and Sassu, with my preferred option being MYOB Live Accounts.  Not only is this very easy to use (while also being a sophisticated accounting package), but is also the most cost effective way to enter into the space of cloud accounting.   MYOB Live Accounts has only recently been revamped and made into a viable option to using MYOB accounting software such as Account Right.  

Many of the offerings above were announced a while back and have been gradually rolled out and refined over time. We have seen some clients dive in as first time adopters and unfortunately struggle to get the true return on invested money and time. This experience has resulted in a lot of resistance from other clients.  We’ve also discovered another prohibit factor to adopting this technology is the barrier of cost.

In the last twelve months the pace of development of these tools/software has increased dramatically. Whilst the cloud offering is not for every business, the reality now is the decision for most clients is not if, but when.

I believe cloud accounting software will be the mainstream going forward. You do not want to be the last to make the jump. Before upgrading the license on your accounting software package consider the jump to the cloud and the benefits it provides. 

Say goodbye to old school accounting software and prepare to embrace the future – cloud accounting.

Kim Jay CA – Director