If you have a business and you’ve been looking for an efficient way to manage your books and records, you’ve probably heard about cloud accounting. QuickBooks Online and Xero are two of the most popular online accounting programs. If you haven’t heard the term cloud accounting then it’s likely you’ve heard of either one of these programs.
Something that’s often not discussed in relation to cloud accounting is what it means to have your accounting in the cloud. And what are the benefits of doing this?
Before we get into the benefits, let’s talk about what it means. The Cloud is another way of saying the Internet. So, if your accounting is in The Cloud, it means you access your books and records online.
Is cloud accounting safe?
Most definitely!
There’s no need to worry about having your financial information in The Cloud. Cloud accounting is managed in much the same way that online banking is. This means that your financial information is also subject to the same strict rules and security that banks follow.
Information that is stored in an online accounting program is more secure than information that is stored on your local computer hard drive. If your computer isn’t password protected and someone wanted to access your financial information, the simplest way to do this would be to steal your computer.
However, if someone stole your own computer and you were using a cloud-based program, they wouldn’t be able to access your information unless they knew your username and password.
Why should you make the leap to The Cloud?
Besides the security they offer, accounting programs that operate in The Cloud provide additional benefits to the business owner. Programs that operate in the cloud can be accessed from anywhere. Not only can you easily access your business records from home, you can also access them from your smartphone.
Because apps are available on your smartphone, they offer conveniences like being able to invoice customers using your phone before you leave their premises.
Accounting apps in The Cloud provide access to real-time accounting. This means you can access your books and records from anywhere at any time—even while on vacation, if that’s what you need. Wherever you can access the Internet, you can access your accounting records.
If you have linked your bank accounts to your accounting app via a bank feed, you can also view your current bank balance. Bank feeds provide you with up-to-date information on your bank account. This way, you don’t need to login to your bank account separately or wait for your statement to arrive in the mail before updating your records.
How we use The Cloud at Virtual Heights Accounting
At Virtual Heights Accounting, we are a Xero Certified Partner. This means, we use Xero for all our clients’ account needs. Xero offers us the ability to communicate with our clients directly in the accounting app. This makes it easy for us to ask questions and clarify information.
To learn more about how we use Xero to meet our clients accounting needs, or if you have questions regarding cloud-based accounting, contact us using this form.
