Answered: Your Burning Questions About Cloud Accounting

If you want more control over your company’s financial information, cloud accounting is a great choice. Not only does it increase the security of your financial data, it offers the flexibility and convenience that you need when you’re on-the-go. It gives you the freedom to focus on what’s important – running your business – while providing all the information you need to monitor and make important decisions about the financial health of your company.

Before jumping on the bandwagon, take time to learn what cloud accounting is, what the benefits are and why you can rest assured that your financial data is safe and secure.

What is Cloud Accounting?

To understand cloud accounting, you need to know what the cloud is. Much like our system of roads and highways connect cities, “the cloud” is an infrastructure of connected computers all over the world. The network (a.k.a. the Internet) acts as a highway, allowing your computer to run software applications, as well as save and access files, stored on computers in giant data centers across the globe. And your device – whether it’s a laptop, tablet or smartphone – acts as a dummy terminal that connects you to the network that allows you to access cloud-based applications and files.

Just like you may save files on your personal computer or a company network, you can save them in the cloud. And just like you can purchase software for your computer, you can buy programs that run in the cloud. The concept is the same, but since the files are located elsewhere, they don’t bog down your devices. There are plenty of other benefits too.

It’s also important to know that unlike owning software or equipment that you buy in a store, you lease cloud-based applications and storage. So when you pay for cloud-based applications, you are purchasing access, not ownership.

What Are the Benefits of Cloud Accounting?

Accessibility and convenience are the most common benefits associated with cloud accounting. Unlike a traditional setup where the software and data files are maintained on your office server, a cloud accounting solution allows you to access your financial data anytime, anywhere – from your laptop, tablet or smartphone, and whether you have a MAC or a PC.

That means if you’re on a business trip, you can snap a photo of a receipt for your expense report and submit it immediately; you don’t have to drag receipts back to the office and staple them to a report or find a scanner to convert them into a digital file. By allowing you to submit information on the spot, cloud accounting software makes it fast and easy to submit financial documentation, while maintaining the “paper trail.”

If also means if you’re in an important meeting and need to confirm data, you can. And if you wake up in the middle of the night worried about a transaction, you don’t need to get out of bed to check on it.

Leveraging cloud accounting puts less stress on your IT team too. There’s no need to manage software and hardware upgrade; software and equipment in the cloud is updated continuously. And because the workload is spread across a network of powerful computers, cloud-based accounting applications operate more efficiently and are more dependable than individual computers and office networks.

Even better, when you work with a cloud accounting company like Soulsby, you no longer need to recruit, manage or train internal accounting staff, in turn reducing.

Is My Data Secure When I Use Cloud Accounting?

Yes, and for two great reasons!
First, storing your data in the cloud protects you against common accidents that can destroy years of information. When you store your company’s financial data on the hard drive of an individual computer, you risk losing it forever if the computer breaks. Dropping a laptop, spilling coffee or other drinks on your equipment and electrical power surges, all common mishaps in an office environment, put you at risk for losing your company’s accounting information. The computer could also be stolen or lost.

The same is true even if you store your accounting information on the server for your company’s network. Power surges, failed equipment and fires, as well as floods and other natural disasters put you at risk.

When your accounting data is stored in the cloud, it’s in a secure facility with safeguards in place to prevent these types of common accidents. There’s also redundancy, so that if equipment fails for any reason, there’s a complete backup – so you’ll always be able to access your financial information.

Second, IT security technology has improved significantly. Cloud companies work hard to set up data encryption software, administrative controls, anti-virus detection software and hold security audits to ensure your financial data is secure.

Have any more questions? We’d love to answer them. Learn more about cloud accounting and what we can do for you.