Accounting in the cloud

Do your accounting from anywhere!

We tell our young children of a time when the big black phone hung on the wall. We had to put our finger into the right number, dial it to the end, let it whizz back and start again with the next number (hard to believe it was only 30 odd years ago!).Similarly (not that my kids would be interested in this...) in accounting, gone are the days of writing ledgers, paper invoices, "paid" ink stamps and sending half a tree of paperwork to your accountant after year end.

Today it's about Cloud Accounting, or 'online accounting'. Meaning access from anywhere, anytime using the internet. We no longer have to come in to the office to access from the one computer the accounts are saved on.

From home, on holiday, overseas, it's real time access, all saved to "the cloud". Seamless, simple and such a time saver!

Other benefits:

• Your accountant can have access, making year end accounts far more cost effective and timely
• Upgrades to the service are automatic
• Many software providers integrate with add-ons that sync to your accounting software. These include stock, time recording, cash flow applications relevant to most industries
• Book keepers have just one log in, with numerous business accounts accessed

You've probably heard of Xero, one of the largest global providers of cloud based accountancy software. They're based just around the corner from us here in Wellington and have a massive resource library, here's what they have to say about doing your accounting from the cloud.

Oh yeah, and if you need a hand with getting set up in the cloud, call me.~ Rachel