Why You Should Go For Cloud Accounting

Excel and other spreadsheet-based systems are also cheap. And whilst you can automate some processes (e.g. adding up columns), they take time to set up, you need advanced Excel skills to produce management reports and you can waste hours changing the spreadsheet as your business grows and evolves.

Then there is the old-fashioned desktop system. Whilst these are far better than manual and spreadsheet-based accounting systems they come with a host of hidden costs. Yes, the software can be relatively cheap. But that’s a false economy because of these hidden costs:

Customisation -

Setting up the software and any reports to work for your business.

Implementation -

Many desktop systems have been around for years and are cumbersome. You can waste hours carrying out data entry in old-fashioned ways.

Hardware -

Because a desktop system is hosted internally, you must maintain your hardware to meet the demands of changing software.

Software Upgrades -

You must deal with (often costly and compulsory) software upgrades.This can cost you in terms of paying for the upgrade, spending time carrying out the installation and sorting out the mess if the installation doesn’t work.

Security -

This is a big one. Your sensitive financial data is only as secure as your internal system. What if your premises burn down and the hard drives are destroyed? What if your hard drives fail (which is not uncommon)? What if your computer systems are subject to theft? How safe are your systems from hackers?

Back-Up Routines -

Because the security of your financial data is so critical you must schedule regular back up routines. And that means every single day at least (because systems can fail at any time).

Restoring Data -

When things go wrong you will then need to restore your data from a back up. That takes time. It’s stressful. What if back up is corrupted and doesn’t restore? Have you ever tested your system to ensure you can successfully restore in the event of disaster?

Unlock Efficiency with Cloud Accounting

Embrace the future of accounting – it's all in the cloud! Say goodbye to the limitations of manual systems and outdated desktop software.

In our guide, you will learn:

How Cloud accounting streamlines your processes, saving you time.
How Cloud accounting saves you money and increases efficiency.
How Cloud accounting provides real-time insights and comprehensive management information.

To get your FREE copy, simply fill out the form to your right.

The modern business needs a state of the art accounting system

In contrast a modern cloud accounting system gives you the following benefits:

It saves you a very significant amount of time.
Gives you 24/7 access to up-to-date financial information and reports (you can use cloud-based software from any device with an internet connection).
You can sleep at night knowing your sensitive financial data is always secure and backed-up automatically.
No system downtime because all software upgrades are automatically installed. This worry-free maintenance saves you time and hassle.
It reduces your accountancy fees because it makes it easier for your accountant to produce end of year accounts.
Since your accountant can access your data 24/7, you get more value from an accountant.They will help you run and grow your business rather than just adding up the numbers.

Cloud accounting systems are so much better than manual systems, spreadsheet based systems and desktop software. But just like those other three forms of accounting system they are such a hassle to set up.

When setting up any accounting system you need to set up details of your business, set up the chart of accounts (that’s the specific types of sales, income, expenses, assets and liabilities unique to your business), and transfer any opening balances. Even for a small business this typically takes at least 10 hours. And probably much longer.

Your time is precious. For a business owner who values his or her time at £150 per hour, this is £1,500 of opportunity cost (i.e. the amount you can earn if you don’t have to do this) just to get set up.

Do you really want to spend £1,500 setting this up yourself?

So what is your investment?

Many accounting firms would quote you an hourly rate to set up your accounting system. In fact, that’s how most accounting and bookkeeping firms price; an hourly rate.

The trouble with an hourly rate is you have absolutely no idea what the cost will be until after the work is complete. You have to trust that they are keeping an accurate record of how long they are spending. And you have no way to budget for the cost.

That doesn’t seem right to us… it’s certainly not fair. So what we do is give a fixed price (based on your particular circumstances and what you want). That way you can budget and plan. You know with certainty what it is going to cost.

We also know there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution. Every business is different. Your business is unique. So what we do is give you a choice of different packages so you can choose the one that best meets your needs. And each of those packages can be further tailored so you get exactly what you want.

Oh, and one more thing… we have an option that lets you spread the payments...

Does your data need a spring clean?

To set you up on a cloud accounting system and transfer across your financial records you will need to make sure your current financial systems are complete and up to date, your bank accounts fully reconcile and you have an accurate trial balance. Sometimes businesses get behind with their bookkeeping or there are errors. This will need sorting out first.

We call this ‘clean up work’. If you need your data cleaning up first, we can do this for you. This is a separate service and we can price this for you too.

And if you are not sure, we can carry out a diagnostic review of your current financial data.

Your options in detail	Premium cloud set up	Full cloud set up	Essential cloud set up
Analyse and select the best solution
Company set up routine
Chart of Accounts set up
Input debtor and creditor account details
Enter comparative balances
Maximise your tax deductions*
Reconcile your existing system
Enter sales and purchase ledger open invoices
Create your email and invoice templates
Set up your repeating transactions
Software subscription	Free (12 months)	Free (6 months)
Training day
Unlimited email and telephone support	Free (12 months)	Free (6 months)
Create your fixed asset register
Full data and transaction history conversion
Enhanced credit control
Quarterly reconciliation
Management information at your fingertips
Bank feed set up	Free
Follow up systems and business review
Holistic system	Free	Free	Free

We will analyse your specific needs and help you select the best solution

There are a myriad of Cloud Accounting solutions. They are all different. Some are better than others. Some suit different types of business. Getting the wrong solution will cause you a big headache. And assessing all of the options is time-consuming. We will analyse your business and recommend the most appropriate cloud software solution that best meets your needs. This will save you time and avoid the headaches of having the wrong solution.

We’ll set up your company
information in the new system

Setting up a business on any Cloud Accounting software is tedious and time consuming. We will do the set up for you, which will save you time to get on with running your business. You can be sure that your VAT numbers, registered office and registered numbers will be correct and appear where they should. This will also make sure that your stationery is compliant and all online submissions contain the correct information for HM Revenue & Customs.

Setting up your chart of accounts

If this is the first time you have set up an accounting system you will need a ‘chart of accounts’. Every business is different with different types of sales, income, expenses, assets and liabilities. The ‘chart of accounts’ is your list of sales types, different income sources, expenses, assets and liabilities. It’s unique to you. Setting this up correctly at the outset will save so much time and make it much easier to post your transactions to the right place. It will also make your accounts more meaningful and so you will be able to make much better business decisions.

Of course, you may already have a computerised accounting system with your own unique ‘chart of accounts’. And if that’s the case, we will convert that for you into the new system.

And we will analyse your chart of accounts and discuss the benefits of refining this to enable clearer business information and better reporting.

Entering comparative balances

To get the most out of your new system, you will want to be able to view touch-of-abutton reports and, in order to get the very best information from these reports, you will want to see comparative information.

So what we will do is we will enter your historical comparative balances (for the previous period) so you can always see how well your business is performing against historical trading information, which will help you make better decisions about how to grow your business.

Your holistic system

Many cloud accounting systems integrate with other solutions. For example, you can integrate many systems with your online banking so that bank transactions are automatically posted. This will save you time and ensure everything is entered. There are systems that allow you to photograph receipts with your smart phone and enter them into your bookkeeping system; never worry about losing that parking receipt again! You can integrate online payment with direct debit systems. You can integrate with payroll systems. stock, inventory systems and debtor management. The list goes on… but we’ll simplify it for you.

You will be amazed at what you can do to run your business more easily, to help you get your cash faster and save you time. As part of our set up service we will provide a report setting out the most popular integrations.

Maximise your tax deductions

As part of your set up we will take you through a list of some of the most common tax-deductible expenses and show you how to easily record them into your cloud accounting system. This means you will be able to claim every penny possible against your tax bills and have more money in your pocket. Many of these tax-deductible expenses are often overlooked, which means many business owners end up paying unnecessary amounts of tax (for example, the use of a home as an office and mileage allowances).

Sales and purchase open transactions

Making sure that you enter your ‘opening balances’ correctly is crucial – get it wrong and you risk over claiming VAT, or missing information. Not only will we make sure that all this information is brought across perfectly into your new system, we will also reconcile the debtor and creditor accounts and discuss anything we think needs attention with you – helping you keep on top of who owes you, who you owe and finding out whether there is any tax relief available on older items.

Create your fixed asset register

One of the very best things about cloud accounting systems is that they will help you to accurately handle your fixed asset register, depreciation and any disposals. These are complicated accounting transactions that have to be done properly in order for your accounts to be right. To make sure you get the biggest benefit from this functionality, we will re-create your fixed asset register within the system, make sure that each asset category is being depreciated in line with your accounting policies, set up the depreciation for you and provide you with a comprehensive report on your assets so you can consider whether any adjustments need to be made at your year end.

Enhanced credit control

Cash is so important. One of the big benefits of a cloud accounting system is the ability to keep on top of your cash and bank balances, on top of your debtors (i.e. who owes you money) and get paid easier. There are now so many easy ways to manage debtors and get paid automatically (e.g. online payments and direct debits) and so many ways to integrate this into your system. Our Enhanced credit control service will identify all the options available to your business to help you get paid quicker and have more money in your bank account.

Quarterly reconciliation

Reconciling your bank account on a regular basis is critical. When you get to the year end, if this doesn’t reconcile your accounts will be wrong. You could end up paying too much tax because you’ve missed allowable expenses. Or you risk fines and penalties from HM Revenue and Customs because you’ve missed taxable income. Or you have to pay higher accountancy fees for the accountant to sort it out.

So what we do is reconcile your bank account each quarter for the first 12 months and this means you get an early warning sign if something is going wrong with your bookkeeping. We can fix it before it becomes a serious problem for you.

Management information at your fingertips

The real power of a cloud accounting system is having important management information to hand. Information such as, who owes me money, what are my sales this month and am I making a profit? As part of our Premium set up we will help you set up the key reports you need so that the most important information is always a click away.

In addition, we can set up your financial dashboard; a fully customisable screen showing you the key financial information you need to run your business. You’ll come to rely on this Financial Dashboard just as much as you rely on the dashboard in your car when driving.

Processing transactions, finding entry errors, reconciling differences is what we do. Day in and day out. Before moving across a trial balance and other data into a cloud accounting system it’s essential that everything fully reconciles and balances. If you are worried that this isn’t the case we will give you a fixed price for reviewing your accounting data and making sure that everything is in order which means the transfer across will be as seamless as possible.

This is how you benefit from our accounting record clean up and business review service:a

A full operational review
of your current record keeping and systems to find quicker, better and cheaper ways for you to keep up to date.
Rigorous quality control checks
on the financial information, VAT returns and accounts to eliminate any errors which may cause you problems when the tax authorities decide to check your records.
A dedicated professional
to get your accounts back up to date in the shortest time possible and saving you the time and hassle of doing it.
Reduced accountancy fees
because it makes it easier to produce end-of-year financial statements.
We will liaise with HM Revenue & Customs
on your behalf if any of your previously filed information needs to be corrected, or if you are behind with any of your statutory filings.

Doing your books for you

Every business owner hates bookkeeping and paperwork. Unfortunately it has to be done. And it has to be done in a prescribed format… otherwise the tax man will be on your back. And when done accurately it provides critical financial information, key performance indicators and aids decision making.

And because everyone hates bookkeeping – you’d much rather be out there making money from your business – most people end up doing it in the evening or at weekends. Yet, shouldn’t evenings and weekends be spent playing with the kids, spending time with your friends and loved ones, or out on the golf course?

So why not let us take away all that hassle so you can spend your time with the people you love, doing the things you love.

Keeping on top of – and understanding – your numbers

Management reports, forecasting and budgeting help you plan and will give you an early-warning signal if you are likely to face cash shortages. Our management reporting service is broken down into three packages so you can choose the one that works best for you. This service will give you a continually up-to-date complete picture of what your business might look like in the future. In fact, this is such a powerful business planning tool banks very often insist on it as part of raising finance

Why You Should Go For Cloud Accounting

Contents

The world is changing fast

Unlock Efficiency with Cloud Accounting

Download Now

The modern business needs a state of the art accounting system

Let’s quickly sum up the main points

Let’s get the bad news out of the way…

Your hassle-free set up solution

So what is your investment?

Cash is so important

Does your data need a spring clean?

Your options at a glance

How you benefit from our real-time accounting system

We will analyse your specific needs and help you select the best solution

We’ll set up your company information in the new system

Setting up your chart of accounts

Creating your customer and supplier records

Entering comparative balances

Your holistic system

Maximise your tax deductions

Your extra benefits from our Full Cloud Set Up service:

Reconcile your existing system

Creating your email and invoice templates

Sales and purchase open transactions

Setting up your regular transactions

Full data and transaction history conversion

Software training

Software subscription

Support

Your extra benefits from our Premium Cloud Set Up service:

Create your fixed asset register

Enhanced credit control

Quarterly reconciliation

Management information at your fingertips

Setting up your bank feeds

Follow up systems and business review meeting

Your software subscription

Popular add-ons

Accounting record clean up and business review

Doing your books for you

Doing your payroll for you

Keeping on top of – and understanding – your numbers

Quick Contact

Services

About

Locations

Industries We Work With

Useful Links

We’ll set up your company
information in the new system