The Receipt Bank Blog

The buzz and excitement around the continual development of cloud accounting has become a constant feature of the accounting and bookkeeping industry. Yet underlying the enthusiasm and awareness of the possibilities of the cloud, there is also a ripple of uncertainty within the community about what advancements in technology may bring. The vision of a sleek number-crunching Terminator striding into the office is not one that engenders enthusiasm for the cloud.

Whilst concerns about new technology changing roles are understandable, rather than disrupting your role, cloud accounting software can be used to bring improvement and expansion.

Here are just a few of the ways you can put cloud technology to work to improve both your role and your practice’s position.

Client offering

Technology empowers you to broaden and strengthen your client offering. There’s a vast range of add-ons available to simplify every step of the accounting process for your clients and your firm. Receipt Bank, with its reduction of the time spent on data entry for both clients and practices, is just one! Other great add-ons include Spotlight and Tripcatcher, serving all your reporting and mileage capture needs respectively. Not only can you offer your clients additional services, but you can invest the time saved on administrative processes back into building your firm.

Immediate Insights

How often have you looked at your clients’ monthly or annual report and wish you could have discussed it with them sooner? The majority of cloud accounting software enables you to see your clients’ financial information quickly, whether that’s due to information directly from bank feeds or the easy submission of documents via automatic data extraction. This constant flow of information brings you much closer to your clients and enables you to offer them timely and informed advice.

Strategic planning

The cloud offers further opportunities to consolidate your position as a trusted and expert advisor, rather than spending your valuable time chasing clients for information. According to a survey by Accounting Today two thirds of accountants say that strategic planning is a challenging issue for their clients, and it is here that the expertise of accounting and bookkeeping professionals makes such a difference to their ability to grow their business. With cloud solutions offering more accurate information and better reporting options, accountants and bookkeepers can use them to share their expertise for the benefit of their clients.

The wave of technological changes moving through the accounting industry is inevitable, but it should be viewed as an enabler that can sweep you onwards and upwards! The cloud offers the chance to streamline your administrative processes and instead devote your time and expertise to building your clients’ businesses and your own practice. We think that this guide on AccountingWEB is a great place to start managing your journey to the cloud.