When we started Catching Numbers in 2017, we chose cloud accounting software — QuickBooks Online, Xero and Wave — for our clients instead of traditional desktop software and ERPs. At the time, that surprised many of our peers. Why not use the desktop application everyone else used, and why take on the perceived risk of putting accounting data in the cloud?
Key takeaways
- Bank feeds and rules automate most data entry.
- App integrations connect your sales, payroll and bill-pay tools to your books.
- You can see up-to-date numbers from any device, without waiting for month-end.
Today cloud accounting is the standard, and the reasons we chose it still hold. Here are the features and benefits that matter most to our clients.
- Ease of use – The interface is pleasant to look at and easy to figure out, which is key for non-accountants. Instead of learning a complicated application, you can jump straight in and start processing transactions. Our team gets up to speed quickly, too.
- Bank and credit card feeds – Transactions flow in from your bank and card accounts automatically, so nobody has to key them in by hand. That’s an enormous advantage.
- Auto-categorization and rules – These applications remember how you’ve coded transactions before and suggest the same next time. You can also set up simple or complex rules to code transactions automatically based on conditions.
- Support – When something comes up, responsive support teams and extensive, useful help centers are there to back you up.
- Integrations and add-ons – Their app marketplaces offer a huge range of applications that connect directly to your books. This is one of the main reasons we build on cloud platforms: whatever a client’s business needs, we can usually find an app that gets us most or all of the way to an automated solution. That speeds up reporting and reduces errors, whether you sell through Shopify, BigCommerce or countless other platforms.
- Mobile apps – Capture receipts, send invoices and check your numbers on the go.
- Reporting – Data isn’t much use if you can’t slice and dice it. These apps include a wide range of reports you can customize and export to Excel or PDF.
- Real-time access – You don’t have to wait for a database file or for your accountant to close the month before making decisions. Your numbers are available from any computer, phone or tablet, wherever you are.
Thinking about moving to the cloud, or already there but not getting the most out of it? See our QuickBooks and Xero consulting services, or read about the five bookkeeping mistakes cloud tools help you avoid.