WHAT IS CLOUD ACCOUNTING & BENEFITS
Cloud or online accounting is a growing trend for small & medium sized businesses. It essentially replaces the traditional methods of accounting ranging from basic paper-based books of account to excel sheets or even locally installed accounting software like Sage 50.
There are huge efficiency benefits from having your financial data in the cloud. Some of these benefits include:-
ACCESS FROM ANYWHERE
Because your data is not just on your work PC or laptop this means you can access your financial information from your iPad or iPhone or basically anywhere you have an internet connection using your username and password. You can raise invoices on the go or query cost line items with your accountant. It really is that easy!
PAPERLESS ACCOUNTING
We know how much paper can raise stress levels. You will be glad to know that by using our combination of Receipt Bank & Xero paper records will be a thing of the past. Copies of all of your source documentation will be stored securely on encrypted Xero servers.
INTEGRATION
We can integrate your bank account, credit card account and other payment service providers like Stripe & PayPal to Xero. Along with this we can also integrate clients websites like Shopify & Woocommerce, stock management systems, ePOS etc. Check out our case study to find out how integration has helped a client of New Energy to get real handle on their finances. Ollie & Mac Case Study
REAL TIME REPORTING
You and your accountant are looking at the same data at the same time. You no longer have to wait until after the year end to get a detailed analysis of how your business is performing – monthly / quarterly management accounts are now within the grasp of most small businesses.
All of clients end up with two key pieces of software. Xero and Receipt Bank. Typically, clients will also integrate other key operating software such as stock, EPOS and CRM systems to ensure all relevant financial information is up-to-date in Xero.
WHAT IS XERO
Xero is a cloud accounting system. It is purely a financial system that pulls data from other sources and uses this data to create your financial statements. It also has a powerful reporting.
WHAT IS RECEIPT BANK
Receipt bank is an app that integrates with Xero and handles all of your purchase invoices and receipts. You can get suppliers to email in in their invoices into a dedicated @receiptbank email address or use the handy smart phone app to take pictures of all.
Is it secure?
We get this question a lot and the straight answer is if you are comfortable using online banking you should be comfortable using Xero. Xero encrypt all data that goes between you and Xero using industry-standard TLS (Transport Layer Security), protecting your personal and financial data. Your data is also encrypted at rest when it is stored on their servers and encrypted when they transfer it between data centres for backup and replication. Your data is stored in physically secure data centres and there is always a back-up, meaning if one data centre goes down for any reason you should still be able to access your data.
How easy is it to use?
If you can surf the internet you can easily navigate your way around Xero. It is intuitive and easy to use – we will have you up and running in no time.
Is it difficult to set up?
Couldn’t be easier! Simply fill out the form here and we can set you up on a 30-day free trial of the software or alternatively you can set up a discovery call and we can get you started. We will even send you useful tips and tricks along the way to make the journey even easier.