What is Cloud Accounting and Online Accounting and How to Use Them For Your Business
Businesses are fast learning the advantages of integrating cloud based services within the corporate environment. This is why we are seeing a constant rise in the availability and application of cloud based services. Many cloud computing methods which were thought to be quite unconventional in the past are now becoming a compulsion in business units around the globe. One such concept is cloud accounting.
What is Cloud Accounting?
The concept behind cloud computing is that it allows businesses and individuals to run accounting applications online, which makes it easy to create and instantly backup accounting data to the cloud. This may even include applications like PowerPoint, which are not usually used for accounting purposes.
Why Use Cloud Accounting?
Backing up data in the cloud is always safer than saving it on local servers as most organizations (especially small and medium size companies) cannot afford to buy, rent or setup expensive UNIX servers which may be more reliable than common servers made on a free and unstable Linux OS. Furthermore, not every device supports a particular accounting software (e.g. Intuit QuickBooks), which creates compatibility issues on non-supported devices such as tablets and smartphones. This is why businesses are using free and paid web applications to benefit from cloud based backup and use of platforms that can provide more uniformity in viewing, editing and saving documents.
Online accounting
Basically, online accounting is the transfer of the functions of the in-house accounting service to third-party specialists. The meaning of outsourcing is to move non-core functions outside the company by entrusting accounting processes to accounting service providers.
Why To Use Online Accounting
Earlier online accounting was considered as a way to save on staff, now it is used to achieve competitive advantages and reduce financial risks. Most importantly, outsourced accounting allows companies to focus on the business.
Online accounting has such advantages as:
- Operational efficiency
- No problems with staff
- Accounting and reporting quality
- Pay for what you get
- Financial guarantees( этот пункт не уверен есть ли в осом, можешь удалить )
Some Useful Cloud Accounting Services
Among the various services available across the internet we have compiled a list of some of the finest web services that you can use in your business. These services can particularly be useful for small and medium size businesses, as they can often not pay for customized cloud based services and hence require a more generic service.
Office 365
If you are looking to use a cloud accounting service, then why not use the very best in the business. Microsoft Office suite is no doubt the most famous application suite for enterprise use. Its handy applications such as MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word and others have now been made available via the cloud. You can find out more about this cloud based application suite from Microsoft from our Review of Office 365.
Osome
Online accounting is a strategic decision of the company’s management that affects all the company’s activities and efficiency. Therefore, before outsourcing accounting functions, you need to develop a plan for the transition to outsourcing. One of the most important points of this plan is the right choice of an accounting service provider.
Osome knows how to do accounting and optimize tax for your business. Company offers fever-free accounting services, such as :
- Paperwork
- Checking of numbers
- Filing annual reports
- Chartered accountant
- Test-drive Online accounting
Google Drive
If you are looking for a free alternative to the Office 365 suite then you can use Google Drive (Google Docs). Although the quality of document output might not be as good as Office 365, however Google Drive can still get the job done for small businesses and individual users. For more details, check out our comprehensive Review of Google Drive.
Fresh Books
With over 5 million users, Fresh Books is a cloud accounting service that has taken the pain out of billing procedures. It has been designed to particularly help small businesses by providing them with uniformity of format and simplicity in terms of managing their daily accounting tasks. Fresh Books provides numerous options that can not only help you make your accounting tasks easy but also allow you to organize your business resources in a better way (including yourself). With fresh Books you can track time, receive payments (via PayPal, credit cards and other mediums), attach snaps of your receipts and add them to invoices, keep a track your expenses and perform other accounting related tasks. Fresh Books is meant for people who might find the common MS Office applications to be too laborious to use and might be looking for a more convenient cloud based alternative. For more details about Fresh Books, visit the developer’s website (see below link).
Go to Fresh Books
Free Agent
Free Agent is another good service for small businesses that can help organize and manage accounting tasks with ease. With Free Agent you can bring your finances in one place, export tax and invoice dates to a calendar, track your time with the help of timesheets, time slips and desktop time tracking widgets, as well as manage your expenses, banking transaction details and more.
Go to Free Agent
There are many other cloud accounting services that you can benefit from. If you know of a good accounting service and would like us to review it, then share it with us.
