Cloud Accounting allows better financial management of your SME

For many businesses, the traditional role of the accountant has involved updating financial information for your small to medium enterprise (SME) once a year for the tax season. But with the advent of cloud accounting, your accountant can do so much more. Using cloud accounting software to automate many accounting processes will free him/her up so they can offer your organisation financial management insight and advice to benefit your SME.

Cloud accounting and your SME

Cloud computing is part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution that’s changing the game for SMEs, especially regarding costs and efficiencies. Not only does the cloud allow for better collaboration between all role players, who can access key information which is constantly updated, but it also makes work easier. For example, automating accounting functions such as adding every bank transaction your SME makes, with the added benefit that the process is faster and more accurate.

Link between SMEs and lenders

Colin Timmis, country manager at Xero South Africa, a global software company that offers a cloud-based accounting software platform for SME businesses, says the right partner can also be a link between SMEs and lenders. “At Xero, for example, we’ve announced new agreements with three South African digital lenders: Bridgement, Retail Capital and Lulalend. Initiatives like these will improve business access to funding – and make the accounting function more versatile and multidimensional.”

We’ve come a long way

In the past, accounting software was kept on one computer that was rarely updated in terms of the data or the software. Information was usually transferred via a USB drive that wasn’t secure. Typically, only one person had access to financial information and customer details and, usually, there was no backup because this was expensive and complicated. It was also onerous to upgrade the software, and customer support was slow and costly.

The benefits of cloud accounting

Using the cloud costs less than using traditional servers and hardware with the benefit of having fixed monthly fees, no initial costs for infrastructure and no long-term contractual obligations. The value can really be seen as the business grows and cloud accounting scales accordingly without business owners having to buy more software or hardware. Not to mention the fact that it also includes advisory functions at a lower cost than it would be to employ house professionals.

Rae & Associates can help you make the move to cloud accounting so you can experience the advantages of technology in your business accounting today. We also have training courses to prepare and support you.

Talk to us to find out more about how small business accounting software can help you take your business to the next level.