Benefits & Challenges of Adopting a Cloud Based Accounting Software

Cloud-based, web and online accounting is rapidly taking the place of traditional and offline accounting software for small businesses.

And even large enterprises have also started shifting their enterprise software to the cloud.

Today most businesses have started taking a keen interest in online accounting software to solve the needs of the businesses within an enterprise and groups of enterprises with the idea of work from anywhere.

Because Post-Covid, the business scenario has changed a lot and it is not the same again as it used to be before because things have completely changed by now after the lockdown.

This pandemic is uncertain, and we don't know for how long it is going to stay on the planet.

But it has immensely impacted jobs and businesses all over the world and completely changed our entire way of living.

Therefore online accounting software is the need of the hour for businesses of all sizes.

And its benefits are simply rewarding.

 

Benefits of Adopting a Cloud Based Accounting Software

There are immense benefits of adopting cloud-based accounting software for your business.

The right accounting software will ensure maximum speed, efficiency, scalability, and minimum cost of running an online accounting software.

But failing to adopt a scalable accounting system may disrupt your business and finance.

Therefore choosing an appropriate accounting system on a cloud platform is vital for your organization.

When it comes to small businesses accounting software on the cloud, a few accounting software such as RealBooks, QuickBooks, Zoho, Xero, etc. comes into the picture.

Thus selecting the right accounting software for your business should be an easy process.

And it completely depends on your requirements, your enterprise structure, and what features you are looking for.

Adopting cloud accounting software has huge benefits and they are:

 

Ease of Access

Cloud accounting software is hosted online so you don't need to install your software.

It is directly available for access via a web browser at all times and at any place.

Traditional accounting software needs to install the software so cloud accounting is much easier to access.

Cloud-based software is accessed via the internet so you won’t be tethered to your office.

By using cloud-based accounting software, you can check your company’s financial information from the office, your home, or even via your mobile device.

 

Scalability

Cloud-based accounting software such as RealBooks is a scalable accounting software online.

It is built for small and medium businesses and even large enterprises find it suitable to run RealBooks concurrently on 100's of PCs simultaneously.

Your business grows and RealBooks can scale with your business.

When you are adopting cloud accounting software is is important to know that you choose a business software that is scalable for your business.

Because you never know when your business suddenly grows.

And once you adopt an accounting software it is hard to replace your accounting system from one platform to another.

Replacement is possible but it is a wastage of your time, energy, money, and efforts.

Because the data that you hold for years in the system has to put off aside and start all together in a new manner.

And that will lead to discontinuation of ledgers when you would compare your sales or purchase analysis with years of services to your customers and vendors.

However, a few accounting software online do provide transactional data upload features.

 

Centralized Data

I have witnessed the micro small and medium enterprises very closely as to how they work.

Their desktop even doesn't work properly and it is kept in such a bad condition that there is a high chance of having a hard disk and system failure.

Therefore adopting online accounting software can have the biggest advantage of securing accounting data in one place and keeping it centralized.

Anyone can access cloud accounting software from anywhere because data is kept on the cloud.

Cloud is the future of online accounting and that is where managing accounting software anywhere anytime and anyplace has never been so easier.

 

Third-party integration

There are a lot of third-party applications that work well with accounting software online.

Cloud accounting software provides various third-party integration with other applications.

For example, most accounting software provides API to integrate your bank with your accounting software.

And some provide an automatic e-filing option to upload your tax returns on the Govt. portal.

In order to boost compliance features such as e-invoicing can also be integrated with the IRN portal.

 

Automation

Automation lets your software seamlessly take actions that are most vital for your business.

One simple example is the email notification that allows dues analysis report to sent to your customers.

And most cloud accounting solutions come with the ability to build automatic workflows that saves you time.

For example, you can set up a workflow for your vendors into the system that will automatically pay your vendors per month on the due date or as defined.

You can also send recurring invoices to your customers automatically once their information is entered into the system.

 

Real-Time Visibility

Cloud-based accounting software connects to your business bank accounts which is a great way to keep updated with your bank.

Online accounting software also helps you to keep track of inventory, sales, and expenses.

So as long as you keep everything up-to-date on a regular basis, you know that your system is going to show you the real-time data.

A sales made or a purchase made will immediately reflect the profit and loss, expense and income, and stock position of your business.

Therefore you don't need to rely on your accountant to get the reports you need anytime and at any moment.

 

Better Control

If you don’t like compiling financial reports for your accountant, using online accounting software is a good option for you.

Because the software and all of your financial information are hosted in the cloud.

It can be accessed from anywhere and you can provide access to your employees on a role basis without letting them have access to your bank accounts or other information.

And log into the software as needed.

You can also control the amount of access and lock access to the system restricted by static IP.

For instance, if you want your employees to access the software only in the office, then you can restrict access to your accounting system outside of the office.

 

Challenges in the Adoption of Cloud Accounting Software

Most Small Businesses are afraid of the word online when it comes to financial accounting.

Because online is often looked down as an untrusted platform for keeping business and financial data on the internet.

Another challenge with cloud-based accounting software is that you constantly require an internet connection.

And talking to most businesses I have seen enterprises feel internet connection as a non-reliable source to power their accounting platform.

Because if there is no internet, activities such as billing and accounting may collapse and come to a halt and that can directly impact a business.

But I feel businesses should not worry about internet connection, because the internet revolution has surpassed human expectations in recent years with the launch of the 5G and Fiber Network.

And satellite internet connection by SpaceX is expected to come with a broadband internet connection at low latency to meet the needs of internet consumers across the globe.

Thus internet and the cloud revolution will go hand in hand to support each other needs.

The cloud is recognized as a new innovation for small businesses that can potentially transform how businesses use IT to conduct their operations.

But there is a considerable disconnection between enthusiasm and action.

Because IT professionals do not perceive the cloud products to be stable and mature enough for adoption.

But there is still a positive attitude among small businesses and enterprises because cloud accounting is booming at a rapid speed.

 

Conclusion:

Time change, technology changes so businesses also need to change and upgrade themselves.

Managing finance and accounting is an integral part of any business. Therefore accounting should be handy at all times as it is a vital component of the business.

I think a lot of organizations are adopting the work from home or remote location work policy due to the pandemic.

The adoption of online accounting software started booming among entrepreneurs, enterprises, and businesses and it is expected to rise at bottleneck speed.

Small businesses and enterprises are also trying to understand today how accounting software can be beneficial for them if they move to the cloud.

Investing in cloud-based accounting software such as RealBooks, QuickBooks, ZohoBooks, Xero, etc. can bring in a high level of efficiency, flexibility, and good collaboration between employees and employers.

Therefore today is the perfect time to experience the best of cloud technology for your business.