Cloud Accounting

If you want your business to work smarter and faster, cloud accounting software is the way forward. Here’s why we use it and what the key benefits are of moving to the cloud

talk to us about cloud accounting Book a Xero get up and go session

We LOVE cloud accounting software

We are not just saying that to get your attention – we genuinely LOVE it and use it every day to run our own business and show clients how they can easily take control of their own business finances so that they feel more confident and happier in the knowledge that they have it covered!

When we became one of the first Xero accountancy partners in the North East in 2010, we quickly spotted that the developing cloud technology meant that small businesses were able to benefit from features and functionality in software to help run their businesses that had previously only been available to the bigger businesses.

More importantly, cloud accounting has brought about a huge change in the relationship that businesses have with their accountants as it helps create an ongoing working partnership.

“As a small business I love spending my time updating my accounts instead of working on my exciting business.”
…NO BUSINESS OWNER EVER!

(The reality is that keeping the records up to date is boring and falls to the bottom of the list for most business owners.)

Does this sound familiar?

When your accountant asks for the information to do the year end accounts and tax returns, it becomes more urgent, so you block a day in your diary to gather all the important bits of information, collect all the receipts from the back of wallets and car doors, hunt down the paper versions of bank statements, (that you’ve definitely filed somewhere safe) and settle down to ‘write up your accounts’ on a spreadsheet.

If you don’t enjoy this part, it is going to take twice as long than it needs to, and because you are trying to remember things from ages ago, it’s even more time consuming. It becomes a beast of a task and as you send it over to the accountant, you promise yourself that you’ll do it much earlier next year. Full of relief, you treat yourself to a takeaway coffee, and shove the receipt into the back of your wallet or car door. There has to be a better way you think to yourself…

How about this instead?

You get up in the morning, take a leisurely breakfast (assuming you don’t have small children), plan your most productive day ever and head off to the office (or coffee shop) to execute the plan. You find yourself with 30 minutes spare in between meetings so you decide to check on your accounts to see if that invoice you sent out last month has been paid. When you log in, you see that the last day’s bank transactions have updated overnight, the invoice has indeed been paid (happy dance time) and there are just a few payments that have left the bank account that need to be categorised. Happy in the knowledge that you are all up to date, you can get on with the important job of making some money for the rest of the day!

You treat yourself to takeaway coffee, and while you’re there, you quickly snap a picture of the receipt on your phone to update your accounts, happy in the knowledge that you’ve found the better way.

The bonus is that if you plan to move over now, you will be getting ahead of the Making Tax Digital (MTD) requirements that will affect sole traders, landlords and companies from 2024 onwards. Find out more about what this means for you and how we can with help you make a plan to meet your MTD requirement.

Whether you need advice on which system is best for your business, help setting up your cloud accounting, migrating your old systems over, or you need training on how to get the most out of your software, we can help you. We are passionate about our clients benefiting from the advantages that cloud accounting brings to keeping control over their business finances and we can help make sure that get the value that you should from cloud accounting, straight away – what are you waiting for?

Why is cloud accounting so good for your small business?

Accessibility

You can access your business financial records anytime, anywhere, and from any device so you don’t need to stay chained to your desk to ‘do the accounts’ once a month. Having your records up to date all the time will give you one less thing to worry at night!

Collaboration

Multi-user access allows you, your book-keeper, and your accountant to look at the same information online in real-time. No need to find the right time to get together in the same place to resolve a simple query, and if you thought you’d never have the space to employ some help, you’ll be able to find someone to work with virtually.

Financial knowledge

Being able to run reports at any time and having your figures ready to review means you can make solid and timely business decisions. Cloud software and tools allow you to have a complete overview of your core financial processes, from beginning to end.

Sustainability

It’s not just about the accounts – using the same cloud technology in other areas, small businesses can reduce costs, increase their efficiency and therefore become more sustainable. Business owners can create virtual teams to support them and yet still remain at the heart of the business.

Security

Only people with the login can view your encrypted data and now with many using 2FA (2 Factor Authentication) you can have added peace of mind that your

Peace of Mind

No more time-consuming backups or updates. All your data is backed up automatically and the software will always update to the latest version. If you’re looking at making sure you have the right software for Making Tax Digital, the software will be updated and ready when you need it.

Ready to find out more about cloud accounting?

Contact us if you want to save your business time and money, and to focus only on the elements of your business that you love!

talk to us about cloud accounting

Xero setup-and-go session

Already convinced about moving to the cloud and decided to go with Xero?

Book a Xero Set up and Go Session with us now so you can make the changes now and start working smarter straight away

You might even get excited about doing your accounts (or is that a step too far?)

BOOK XERO SETUP-AND-GO