Business leaders in today’s technologically revolutionary environment are learning that data is their best friend. Businesses need to have their latest data readily available to make those crucial business decisions. Because of this, let’s look at some reasons why it may be the perfect time to move your business to the cloud.
You may immediately have concerns about having your business’s data living somewhere “out there”, and losing the physical servers, hard drives, and other hardware. It can make some people nervous to lose the tangibility, but the benefits far outweigh the concerns that you may have.
When asked about the concept of cloud accounting solutions, many respond with, “I just don’t trust it,” or, “My data will just be floating around somewhere in the clouds, for anyone to take and use against me!” But, the truth is most people are utilizing the cloud in many forms every day. Internet banking, Apple iCloud, Google Cloud, and Electronic Medical Records are just a few cloud services people use daily.
If you’re making use of internet banking or backing up your phone to iCloud, then you’re already living in the cloud, so moving your business information to the cloud follows the same principles, and should not be anything new or scary to you.
To help put your mind at ease, we’ll look at some key benefits of moving to a cloud-based accounting software system, such as Accounting, Financials, Sage Business Cloud Enterprise Management, Sage Intacct, or NetSuite.
1) Access your data from anywhere, at anytime
As long as you have internet access, you can gain access to all your business data from anywhere, at any time. If 2020 has taught us anything, being prepared to access data from anywhere is crucial to keeping your business running.
Small business owners are responsible for many things concerning their businesses. Whether it’s being out on the road trying to close sales, or delivering products or services to customers. You might also be responsible for placing orders, or processing invoices. Because of this, time is valuable, and because there are only so many hours in a day, it’s crucially important to have software that will help you save time and allow you to run your business from anywhere, at any time.
Implementing a cloud accounting solution means that you can do all of this from a home office, hotel, or coffee shop.
You’re able to process invoices without having to fill out paperwork, and even order new stock while you are still at your supplier’s premises. This sounds like a very efficient way to do business.
2) Increase collaboration within your business
Technology is meant to enhance the way you do business and it’s supposed to assist you in making a success of your business. Cloud accounting solutions will be a tool that will assist you in making this happen. One of the greatest benefits of it is the degree to which it improves collaboration within your business. By moving to the cloud, you’re able to share valuable information throughout the business in real-time or distribute the results of your latest sales to the relevant people in your business straight after clicking on the “Done” button.
By increasing collaboration in your business, you’re increasing efficiency and ensuring that there is a level of transparency in your business that will lead to better decisions and business success.
3) Make the right business decisions with up-to-date information
With older accounting software, one would need to go through a very strenuous process to get the information needed to make the best business decisions. Most of the time you would also need to make decisions using reports and figures that you received at the end of the previous business month, which might lead to you making decisions that are not necessarily in the best interest of your business.
A move to the cloud would mean that you can simply log on to the application from your mobile device or tablet while still being at a supplier or customer. You’re able to see your data in real-time, ensuring that you have the power and resources to make the best possible decision. You can make on-the-spot decisions and see the effects that it will have on your business immediately.
Let’s use a practical example to illustrate this: You have just walked into the premises of one of your suppliers and you see that they’re running a special on one of the items that you know is a top seller in your company. To ensure you make the right decision, you first log on to your Accounting application and quickly run a report to look at your inventory levels, lead times, and future sales. Based on this information, you immediately see that you need to purchase a few more of these items to cover your future sales. Within seconds you were able to make the right business decision with the latest stock information.
Now that’s power.
4) Save money, a lot of money.
When you opt for accounting software that lives on your desktop, you firstly need to purchase the software, and then often spend more on implementation fees. You may also wait a while for an update to be released and installed, or for a certain bug to be fixed. Moving to the cloud means that you bypass many of these associated costs, ensures that you receive continuous updates and improvements to your software, and you can get started right away. The implementation process is also usually a lot faster and less complex.
A real winner to lower your business operating costs!
5) Safety and reliability
Safety and reliability is usually the biggest concern that’s raised by customers when it involves possibly moving their data to the cloud. I think this is mostly caused by a lack of knowledge on the concept of the cloud, and that’s a result of us not being able to physically attach the concept to a device or tool. When you install software on your computer’s hard drive, you know where it is. You know that all the data is contained within the computer tower that’s situated beneath, beside, or on top of your desk. You know that your data is not leaving that tower and that no one has access to that tower with all your data, besides you. The cloud works a bit differently but different is not a bad thing.
Imagine these nightmare situations: your computers have crashed, the server has crashed, someone clicked on a deal too good to be true and now you’ve been hit with a phishing scam, or there has been a robbery in which all their computers and other equipment were stolen.
It gets worse – no one has a backup of the data, which causes a major problem during financial audits or even for day-to-day business running, such as needing to pay their employees.
Having your data in the cloud means that you’re not impacted by this, as you will almost always have a backup of your data, readily available for you at any time. Most cloud accounting solutions do automatic backups for you. It further provides you full control over who can access the data and ensures more secure ways of protecting the confidentiality of your data.
6) You’ve Got Options
There’s a lot to consider when thinking about moving to the cloud. Fortunately, we’ve got your back. We offer the following choices that keep you right where you’re at, move within the Sage family, or consider a NetSuite cloud solution:
- All-on-premises – If you want to keep your Sage 100 solution on-premise you sure can. We’ll help you make sure you’ve got all the backups you need and your antivirus software if current.
- Cloud Connected – Get cloud-access, web-screens, and ISV integrations.
- Sage Partner Cloud – Cloud Subscription managed by BCS ProSoft.
- Sage Native Cloud – Move to Sage Intacct cloud solution.
- NetSuite Cloud Solution
Still not sure if the cloud is the right move for your business? Contact us at BCS ProSoft to learn more about why you should move your business to the cloud.
