As the years go by, we as humans find innovative ways of living, doing things, working together, and making each other’s lives easier. And as we head into a future full of uncertainties, technology refuses to stand still. Innovation has been a constant process and, for the most part, technology has been on the receiving end. As technologies continue to evolve, different professions react differently.  Whether it is medical science, the motor world or management services, every profession has readily adopted new ways, techniques, and technology to make their process faster, easier and more streamlined. “Change is the only constant” and everyone who wishes to avoid becoming obsolete must follow suit.

Just like every other field of business, accounting too has undergone a remarkable makeover in the field of technology. For example, moving beyond the traditional methods of maintaining records in thick registers, accounting is now done on desktop-based software which can now be hosted in the cloud as well.

The Challenges In Accounting

There is more to accounting than just number crunching. Entrepreneurs deal with a series of challenges, such as managing resources, business expansion, creating a foolproof business plan, hiring employees that are reliable, monitoring the day-to-day activities, and more. Although leveraging accounting software can help with cash-flow, management, sending invoices, making and receiving payments, and managing inventory. But, when it comes to monitoring and keeping-up-with-progress, the challenges become all the more real. That’s when the cloud comes to the rescue.

So, here are some of the common challenges faced by the accountants and how the cloud helps solve them:

Accessibility

The world has been taken by digitization. Geographical barriers are slowly vanishing, converting the world into a single market. Big businesses, by investing in and adopting the latest technology, are capturing the world market swiftly. But, what about the small and medium-sized businesses? With their constrained budgets, how do the SMBs connect with the world? Is there any solution using which the accountants, managers and/or clients can connect better?

Solution: The cloud will provide you with the desired mobility to access your data from anywhere in the world at any time of the day/night. Cloud hosting will let you carry your business in your pocket, which will eventually enhance your overall business capability.

Collaboration

In order to correctly and efficiently complete the work, accountants need to connect with the managers, partners, and employees on a regular basis. Although your desktop software will help you to complete your tasks hassle-free, when it comes to complete a task collaboratively in real-time, accountants seem to struggle. Not everyone can be present at the same place, at the same time. So, is there an alternative to collaborate with the team without much struggle?

Solution: The cloud is all about removing the barriers and providing you with an easy and accessible solution for your accounting business. Hosting your software to the cloud, such as QuickBooks hosting, will help your accountants and tax professionals to work together on a project on a real-time basis and will allow them to share files (relevant from the point of view) with others. Working collaboratively will enhance overall productivity since you can do more work in less time. And, let’s not forget, it promotes team spirit as well.

Matchless Security

Security of data is supreme for every business and when it comes to accountancy and taxation, it is unquestionably better. Most of the accountants of the small and medium-sized businesses find it hard to share their files without worrying about data loss due to security issues. Furthermore, they cannot go against their tight budget to invest a considerable part of their proceeds in security. So, what they can do to protect data without investing a fortune?

Solution: Hosting accounting and tax software on the cloud will not only ease the sharing of data but will also make your data secure. The state-of-the-art cloud centers will keep the data protected under multiple layers of security. On the cloud, your data will be stored in encrypted form, and hence, provide extra assurance of safety. Therefore, the accountants, without worrying about security, can easily work with their team-mates.

The Struggle of Staying Up-to-Date

In order to stay ahead in the competition, the need to remain updated regularly is inherent. Updating your software in your busy schedule can often become hectic. These tasks, in the busy tax season, become more problematic for the accountants since there is already a shortage of time. So, what is it that the accountants can do to remain in touch with the latest updations, without investing a lot of time and effort?

Solution: Hosted software will keep you up-to-date and hence, will help you to manage your business accounting without any glitches. Your cloud vendor will take care of updating your accounting and tax software. With a reliable cloud vendor, accountants, business owners, and individuals have no longer have to invest a lot of time on updating their accounting software manually, allowing them to focus more on their core task i.e. accounting.

Conclusion

Gone are the days when accounting was limited only to keeping records of cash-inflow, outflow, and passing journal entries. Trusted accounting software, backed with the features of the cloud, such as QuickBooks hosting, has turned the story completely. Now, with automation in place, accountants are not only managing the books more efficiently, but they are also taking an active part in constructive decision making. After all, technology can not replace the knowledge and experience that humans come with.