Businesses are increasingly turning to cloud accounting software solutions because of the wide range of benefits they provide. Unlike paper-based and manual accounting systems, they aren’t prone to inconsistencies and errors and offer financial accuracy. They also offer a much higher level of security as compared to desktop-based or in-house server-based accounting systems. In addition, they leverage automation to make many repetitive and mundane processes efficient and seamless.
These were just some of the benefits offered by cloud accounting software. With these lucrative benefits and some more, business owners are increasingly jumping in to enhance accounting operations at their companies. However, many of them struggle with choosing the right cloud accounting solution for their company. In this article, we’ll be discussing six of the most essential factors to consider while buying cloud accounting software.
6 Things To Consider While Buying Cloud Accounting Software
Features and Functionality
The features and functionalities that you need and want from your cloud accounting software are the most important to consider before buying one. But, isn’t that obvious? It is. Still, most business owners struggle with selecting the features for their accounting solutions.
The best way to choose features for your accounting software is to come up with an objective way of making a feature list and prioritizing it. First, you go for the features that you absolutely need from your accounting solution. If you still have some room on your budget, include the features that are not absolutely necessary but will make accounting operations much easier and seamless.
To make a feature list, identify the useful elements of your current accounting process, ask your accounting department, and take a look at your business goals. Here is a list of some of the most popular features for cloud accounting software for your reference :
- Invoice Processing
- Automated Invoicing
- Recurring Invoicing
- Customized Invoice Templates
- Payment Processing
- Quotes and Estimates
- Expense Tracking and Forecasting
- Purchase Orders
- Credit Memos
- Tax Forms Management
- Automated Vendor Payments
- Payroll Management
- Account Reconciliation
- Check Handling
- Direct Deposit
- Inventory Management
- Standard and Customized Reports
- Budgeting
- Multi-Currency & Multi-Language
- Mobile Accessibility
Data Security
Accounting and finance data are extremely sensitive. Thus, you must consider the data security a cloud accounting software provides before buying it. Typically, cloud accounting software provides a phenomenal level of data security compared to desktop-based or offline accounting systems. Being stored on external servers, your data is safe from any physical hazards at your end. Moreover, it is also backed up periodically which increases the level of security.
Even if you have in-house server-based accounting software for your business, cloud accounting solutions are much safer. External servers provide exceptional data security compared to your servers under the guidance of security experts.
Incorporating the benefits of modern technology into your business operations can dramatically increase efficiency. Take, for instance, the implementation of Invoice OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This technology can revolutionize your accounting processes by automatically extracting critical information from your invoices. Invoice OCR can be integrated seamlessly with cloud accounting solutions, providing a high degree of automation.
Scalability
If you factor in your future business goals while selecting the features, you will avoid most of the scalability issues. However, business growth can often be unanticipated. Thus, choosing a scalable cloud accounting software is extremely crucial for ensuring that your accounting system grows with your business.
Make sure that the vendor is flexible about the features and will be happy to extend extra software functionality for managing higher volumes of transactions at a fair price. It is also a good idea to check the upgrades beforehand that you will need to manage accounting operations once your business expands.
User Experience
User experience is one of the key things to consider before implementing any solution for your company, let alone cloud accounting software. Thus, it is essential to make sure that the solution you choose has an intuitive UI and is easy to use.
Make sure that you choose a solution that anyone can use- even those who have very little knowledge of accounting or aren’t tech-savvy. In addition, make sure that the software offers customized reports and dashboards for your company’s distinct needs and targets.
Support
Customer support plays an important part in defining the overall experience of your business with software. It is instrumental in the process of your business and employees getting the hang of the solution. You will need training and ongoing support with the solution at the beginning. So, find out about the quality and type of the support and training offered and when is the support available. Look for a cloud accounting software provider that offers excellent customer support and comprehensive training 24×7.
Seamless Integration
While many cloud accounting software offers the features of many solutions in one, they still need to be integrated with many business systems. Hence, you need to consider how seamlessly the software integrates with other business solutions. Choosing a flexible solution that easily integrates with your suite of business software enhances your business efficiency. This also includes integrations with your bank which enables seamless account reconciliation.
Final Words
To sum up, these were the six major factors that you need to consider before buying cloud accounting software. Choosing a solution with all the right features, exceptional multi-level security, intuitive user experience, and flexible scalability will help your business achieve unimaginable operation efficiency. Considering these six factors will help you choose the best accounting system for your organization and supercharge accounting operations at your company. To know more, click here to check cloud accounting software.
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