Business owners need their accounting software to be accessible, easy to use, and up to date to ensure they can make the best business decisions with the right information. As more businesses are learning to work remotely, moving over to Xero or QuickBooks gives business owners and their teams an advantage with the many flexible benefits they bring.

Here are our top 10 benefits for making the change…

1. Remote access from anywhere with an internet connection.

A business owner’s life is busy! and so, you need to be able to access your data on the go. Teams can log in from anywhere that has an internet connection and see the same information at the same time. Now there’s no need to be tied to the office or a specific computer to be able to access and process your accounting data. Cloud accounting provides the flexibility needed wherever you choose to work.

2. Save time with automation

With so many time saving features within Xero and QuickBooks it makes bookkeeping a Joy.  Bank feeds not only save hours of time, but they also create more accuracy by eliminating manual data entry leading to typos and human error. Sales invoices can quickly be sent to clients on the go and can be automated if it’s a reoccurring invoice. Chasing payments becomes less time consuming with one click payment options and automated payment reminders – you even get updated when the customer has viewed the invoice.

3. Share and collaborate

Xero and QuickBooks allow you to share information with your accountant, business advisors and collaborate with your team instantly. You are able to have multiple users entering and viewing data at the same time 24/7. You choose who to invite and the level of access they can see. Training and support is now a breeze as we can login and walk through the data together and discuss any problems in real time.

4. Real time information

Both Xero and QuickBooks have great dashboards which show the bank position, and outstanding invoices due from clients and suppliers to be paid, helping you to see the cashflow position. As sales invoices are created within the accounting system “on the go” and purchase invoices can be uploaded via systems like Hub Doc and Dext the bookkeeping is now more current. No more waiting for the month end to be fully processed to get meaningful information.

5. Paperless and better for the environment

With HMRC’s requirements for making tax digital, both Xero and QuickBooks support data capture to ensure you stay compliant with keeping your records digital. Images can easily be uploaded using their mobile apps, or alternatively by connecting through an add-on partner such as Dext and Hub Doc – these applications will extract the data from the image and push this through into your accounting records. Storage and fading receipts are no longer a problem and no need to print out those invoices sent via email!

6. Mobile access for teams on the go

Instantly access your accounting data from your mobile or tablet. Teams can take photos of their receipts and upload into the system as soon as they receive them. With mobile apps available for IOS and Android you can pay your bills on the go or raise that quote or sales invoice without waiting to get back to the office.

7. Integration to other cloud applications

With hundreds of cloud add-on partners to collaborate and connect with, this allows your business to grow while streamlining your processes and systems. There are add-on partners which are industry specific and can help with many areas of your business from CRM, Ecommerce, Human Resources to Stock Control.

8. Security

 Both Xero and QuickBooks back up your data and protects it with multiple layers of security and so there’s no need to be backing up onto memory sticks or remembering the last transaction number and version.

With a two-step authentication at login this gives an additional layer of security into your account. Users can be set with different levels of access permissions to ensure the best user role is assigned when inviting them into your organisation.

9. Save Money

One easy monthly subscription price, and no more software upgrades is a huge advantage to moving into the cloud. Time is money and with automation and less manual data entry the time previously spent on these laborious tasks can now be spent on other areas of your business and growth.

10. User friendly

Xero and QuickBooks welcomes you with a dashboard showing a snapshot of your key financial information. This includes how much money is in the bank accounts, who you need to pay and what is outstanding from your customers. Built with the business owner in mind the systems are intuitive and with many reports and features to save time, it makes accounting easy.

At Lewis Brownlee we are passionate in supporting business owners to understand your numbers better and to be able to manage and grow your business with current information and great systems.

If you are considering moving your accounting software into the cloud please get in touch for a free chat and we would be delighted to give you a demo of how Xero or QuickBooks can support your business.

There have been reports showing that the ink in an inkjet printer is dearer per centilitre than a bottle of Dom Perignon vintage champagne. So you might ask yourself, “Do I need to print documents for my business?” and think “I don’t need bottles of vintage champagne”. However using Xero and the internet, you could reduce your paper output and save significant amounts of money for your business, allowing you to possibly buy those bottles of vintage champagne.

Current practice

So you have approved your customers’ sales invoice in Xero, pressed print and the printer is happily churning out the document. You have to then fold it, place it in an envelope, add postage and hand it over to The Royal Mail for delivery. Your customer may receive it tomorrow, or the next day or maybe never (the old excuse of “I never received your invoice” – a delaying tactic used to postpone payment). All of this uses resources, time and effort that possibly could be better utilised.

Forward thinking

Rather than pressing print, why not email the document to your client.When you have approved your invoice in Xero you will be presented on the screen with the completed invoice showing as awaiting payment. Just above your invoice details on the right hand side of the document there are five options for you to choose from, these can be seen below.

Using the first of these you can preview the document in Xero thus allowing you to see what the invoice will look like on a computer screen or a mobile phone screen. The second option is the one that we are most interested in, this is the email option. Press this and up will pop a window in Xero allowing you to enter the email address, if not already set up in Xero, where you want the invoice to be sent.

You can also email yourself a copy of the document if you desire. Gone are the days of having to wait for the postman to deliver your invoices, Xero and email will do it instantly! Of course if you want to print the document and send it via snail-mail then the third option is for you. We will be discussing the other two options in a later blog, for now it’s enough to think just maybe you could save on ink, paper and time by emailing that invoice rather than printing it.

So there we have one way of possibly saving your business time and money, thus allowing you possibly to buy a bottle of vintage chamagne.

If you have any questions regarding the above or would like to discuss this or any other matter regarding Xero please contact us at Lewis Brownlee.