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How Cloud Accounting Could Expand Your Business Horizons

25th Oct 2017
Brought to you by
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Pandle is cloud bookkeeping software made with real people in mind.

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A lot has been said about cloud accounting, but is it as great as we’re all led to believe? More and more firms are turning towards it, particularly in light of Making Tax Digital. But is it right for the trusty old high street accountancy firm? 

Local accountancy firms may have a more personal touch than online accountants but many clients are quickly realising that the convenience of online outweighs physical proximity, no matter how friendly the faces. Here are some reasons why adopting cloud accounting in your high street accountancy firm is only going to broaden your business’s reach and profits.

Wider reach for your business

An accountancy firm that doesn’t operate online can only really work with clients in the surrounding area. As a result, local accountancy firms are at the mercy of the local market, limiting their business prospects and clientele. 

The main benefit of operating online is that it broadens this reach. If your firm begins to operate online, you could expand nationally or even internationally. This gives you the chance to increase your client list and as a result, your profits. Your potential for growth will have far fewer limits.

Remote working 

Technology has made it not just possible, but easier than ever to work with clients remotely. With cloud accounting, clients can either invite their accountant to access the software they’re using or use the firm’s own software. They can access their records at any time as long as they have access to an internet connection, which makes the collaboration process incredibly simple. 

And it’s not just the accounting sector feeling the benefit from new technology. Many businesses across the world are moving towards more flexible working practices for their employees as a result, including remote working. For accountants, remote working is a very real possibility. With fewer drop-in appointments because of online submissions, there’s more opportunity for accountants to work outside of the office, which for employers means fewer overheads.

Saves time

With accountants collaborating with clients online, both parties can save time that would otherwise be spent travelling to offices and setting up face-to-face meetings. 

This freed up time can then be used on other clients, potentially expanding an accountant’s workload capacity. For clients, it frees up time that they can then spend on making the money they’re recording.

Keep everything in one place

Cloud accounting allows clients to upload receipts and invoices so that all their financial information is in one place for you access. This means fewer clients bringing in bin bags of unorganised documents, and will make it harder to lose track of records. Instead, transactions and expenses will be more likely to be submitted accurately. 

Get ready for Making Tax Digital

The future is certainly digital for the accounting industry. The Making Tax Digital scheme, although delayed, will be rolling out to all businesses by 2020. Accountancy firms need to prepare for this, and adopting cloud accounting will make the whole process much smoother. It will also ensure firms are ready to support your clients through it, offering any advice that they will need.

To get your own software or not?

If you’ve decided that cloud accounting is for you, your next question might be “do I need my own cloud accounting software?” 

There are certainly benefits to this; it improves your brand, gives you another source of revenue in subscriptions and advertising and can help simplify accountants’ jobs as they’ll mostly be dealing with one software. 

However, it’s expensive and time-consuming to get a piece of software developed. So, many firms will rely on others and train their employees to use the most common ones that clients will be using. 

We offer an alternative at Pandle with our Brandle white labelling option. With Brandle, you get our software but under your own brand and logo. This gives you the benefits of having your own bookkeeping software but without the hard work and high costs. You can find out more details about Brandle here
 

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