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Almost a year ago, we made a leap of faith to switch accounting systems from a desktop product to “accounting in the cloud” with QuickBooks Online. As scary as that may sound to a finance professional, it was something we needed to attempt. Our primary goal was to enable remote accounting access for all of our offices. In my original post, 7 tips for start-ups and SMBs moving from desktop to cloud-based accounting software, I touched upon a few solutions to some of our pressing financial needs and added tips based on my experience. Now with the benefit of more time, I have been able to add tidbits of advice to our original post and provide you with some additional user feedback:
Needs, wants and desires with a cloud-based accounting software:
1 – Remote access to real-time data for management in different locations.
Updated Results: To quote Intuit, “Your whole business. In sync everywhere”. We are almost one year into the online system and in my opinion; access to real-time reporting anywhere, anytime, anyplace is the best feature. Regularly reviewing the numerous reports with finance and management, including a balance sheet, profit and loss statement, accounts receivable aging, accounts payable aging, revenue by product, balance of paid time off remaining, etc., has been very helpful in fully understanding our financial picture.
New tip: Data available at your fingertips is only as good as the data entry process. Scheduling frequent reviews, at least monthly, will keep the data accurate and will allow invaluable insight into your business.
These previously mentioned tips still hold true as well:
Tip 1: Set up time early on for live training to run through all the functionality and different types of reporting features available. You want your team using this data.
Tip 2: Create memorized reports for specific needs (finance, marketing, sales, product development, etc.). Through the Manage Users functionality, you can see how active they have been.
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