Cloud based accounting has become a mainstream solution as businesses try to find ways to cut costs by outsourcing functions such as accounting and bookkeeping.
The reality today is that most computing, IT and data systems are, at least in part, processed through the cloud.
In this article, we take a look at what the cloud actually is, how it works and how your business can benefit from cloud based accounting solutions. You can also check out this post on our blog to learn how cloud solutions can help improve digital efficiency.
Why use cloud based accounting?
The main benefit of cloud based accounting solutions is the big savings you can make for your business.
Servers are very expensive pieces of hardware, and the software required to operate them also incurs a cost. They are also energy intensive and require cool rooms, so using cloud computing will also save on electricity costs.
Another obvious, but an often overlooked benefit of using cloud computing is that you save on office space.
How Can Dexterous Group Help with moving to cloud based accounting?
Dexterous Group was set up in 2015 with the goal of challenging accounting norms. We embrace technology and started our operations in the cloud.
We use the award-winning accounting software Xero, which allows us to deliver more value at a lower cost for our clients.
By outsourcing accounting functions and bookkeeping to Dexterous, hundreds of businesses from startups to top-tier companies, have benefitted from our cloud-based solutions.
Cloud based accounting allows us to work in real time, using cutting-edge software to get immediate results.
This means that if a transaction has been made, we process it and provided you have an internet connection, you can monitor in real time.
At the end of a business day, you will know exactly what your incomings and outgoings were, giving you a much clearer picture of what is going on.
This allows business owners to make informed and timely decisions about their operation. Because the data collection is processed in real time, it also means that half-yearly and yearly reports are compiled on-the-go, meaning that when lodgement time comes around, we simply check that all is correct and in order and ready for submission, rather than starting the whole operation from scratch.
Because we use software and the cloud, we can also scale our services up or down to suit individual clients’ needs due to factors such as seasonality, for example.
Another service which we offer through the cloud is automated payroll.
Accurate data-based reporting
Cloud based accounting software is not limited to monitoring incomings and outgoings.
The software we use can generate specific data reports which can be analysed by our experts and distilled into easy to understand business insight reports.
These reports can help with traditional problems that afflict businesses including cash flow management, budgeting, and forecasting.
The most important aspect of moving to cloud computing is finding a reputable service provider who can ensure that you will receive a tailor-made solution for all your needs.
The most important things to keep in mind when selecting a provider is data security, disaster recovery, and multiple failsafe backups.
If you want to learn more about the cloud, you can read more dedicated articles on our blog, here and here. You can also get in touch with Dexterous Group TODAY to find out how we can help you move your business to the cloud.
What is cloud computing?
Up to just a few years ago, most businesses stored their data in-house on servers. Remember those futuristic looking glass cabinets with hundreds of cables and winking blue and green lights? That’s where data was stored.
While the cloud is thought of as a virtual space, it is made up of thousands of those servers in giant secure data centre spaces. To explain it simply, if you have ever received a document over Gmail and Google documents, where you have shared, read and edited documents, then you have used Cloud Computing before. This means that if you have permission to access your cloud data, you can do so from your smartphone, a laptop, computer or any other device, as long as you have internet access.
There are different types of Clouds, including Public, Private and Personal Clouds. Personal clouds are used by individuals to synchronise the data on all their gadgets such as a PC, tablet, and smartphone.
Public clouds are used when data and information are open, such as Google, eBay, Facebook and all social media.
From a business perspective, we will be looking at private clouds which are used by companies to secure information in a hosted data centre for improved security, reliability and efficiency.
Because these servers are so powerful, it allows for an unlimited amount of users to connect to it, without affecting performance.
Google also gives a great explanation of how to use cloud computing.
