The thing about cloud accounting is that you just don’t know how good it is until you try it. If you are still working with spreadsheets and accounts books then be prepared to save time, stress, and money when you enter the world of online accounting.
If you have resisted temptation to trial one of these products so far, maybe you are a techno phobe or believe in the “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” mantra, then there’s an even bigger motivation to change looming in the form of Making Tax Digital. Get up and running with cloud accounting now and you’ll be half way home by the time the government forces us all into doing everything digitally.
Where should you start? Well, there are a number of similar software packages on the market, similar but not the same and so it’s a good idea to talk to your professional adviser before you choose.
Here at DonnellyBentley we offer, Xero, Sage and Kashflow. They have subtle differences in their levels of user-friendliness so it depends on what you are looking for and looking to do.
Here’s how it all works. Once you have created your account and logged into the cloud, you can connect up with your bank account. This provides a feed of all the transactions from your business account and all you have to do is decide where to post them. The software is so clever and intuitive that it will make useful suggestions to help you get it right.
You can then see on a daily, weekly, monthly basis exactly where you are up to, including the amount of VAT you might owe, (or be owed, if you are lucky) cash flow and profit and loss analysis. It’s a huge help at year end too.
There’s plenty of assistance available, from the software providers themselves in the form of community support and videos plus we can provided one to one training. You can also give your accountant direct access to your cloud account so they can cast their professional eye over your business finances, or quick support should you need it.
The software is packed full of tools to make your life easier. You can create invoices and send them straight from the software. And, as they all have mobile apps now, you can be keeping on top of your accounts at anytime from anywhere that has internet access.
To get started you simply migrate your existing data, and we can help you to do this. So for a life of fewer mistakes, less stress and more time, it really is time to get your head in the clouds.
For more information call Alex Howarth, DonnellyBentley Cloud Accounting team on 01204 388675 or email alex@donnellybentley.co.uk
