Paperless Bookkeeping

So it’s that time of the year again. What is the saying… “Nothing is certain but death and taxes” lol According to the Phrases Finder: This phrase draws on the actual inevitability of death to highlight the difficulty in avoiding the burden of taxes.

But there is still hope!

If you are trying to shuffle through and sort that shoe box jammed full of receipts and paperwork then you may want to talk to us…

Can you imagine just simply making a receipt digital, tossing the shoe box away and calling it a day??? Imagine, this time next year, there is NOTHING you have to do with any receipts or documents!

Believe it or not this is actually possible!

What is hub doc.jpg

Hubdoc is a program that allows you to free up the time and minimize the stress of gathering and going through all your receipts. All you have to do is take a photo of the receipt and Voilà! Let the program and Cloud Accounting do the rest! Using a quickly growing technology (OCR), the photo of the receipt is automatically deciphered for the date, amount and vendor, uploaded into Quickbooks Online and stored in the clouds. The best part is that it is fully audit-proof so you can literally toss that receipt in the trash!

Do you get receipts in your e-mail? Many stores now offer receipts to be e-mailed so save paper... this works too! Do you have bills and statements that you need to enter on a regular basis? Hubdocs takes any size documents and with just a snap of a photo, it's done! Even better, ask for those bills and statements to be e-mailed and you will save the step of taking a photo! 

As a Hubdocs Certified Quickbooks Online ProAdvisor, we can easily set up and manage (if required) the system to help you refocus your energy and give you time to do other things you want in your business! 

To find our more about Hubdoc and how it works, visit the Hubdoc website! Or just give us a call and we blow your mind away with how easy this whole process can be!

Reach for the clouds… But is it safe?

One of the most common questions about online software is security. If I can’t see the server that runs the program under my desk, how do I know if my business information is safe?

According to DigitalFirst, all software, whether it runs on your desktop or online, is vulnerable to security threats. A security company once said the only safe computer is one that has been switched off. This doesn’t stop businesses from using software. Software is indispensable to running an efficient, modern business and communicating with your employees, customers and suppliers.

Instead of asking, “is online software secure?” a better question is, “is online software more secure than desktop software?”

For the vast majority of small and medium businesses the answer is yes. To understand why we need to look at the vulnerable points in the process of using software.

Desktop software

The points of vulnerability with desktop software are all located in one place, the desktop or laptop computer. It is the point of access for the user, the point of storage for the accounting software and the user’s data file, and the point of connection to the internet.

The level of security for desktop software comes down to the initiative and budget of the user.

Most businesses spend very little on security, whether electronic measures such as firewalls and anti-virus protection or physical measures such as locked doors and anti-theft cables. They also tend to spend little time or money on educating staff about best security practices.

The reality is that an office computer is usually vulnerable to a greater range of internet-based attacks than online software. And it is much more vulnerable to physical risks such as fire, flood or theft.

Not only is the software often poorly protected, the emergency processes to restore the software are usually lacking too. Backup is the great Achilles heel of many businesses who usually treat it as an afterthought. When something does go wrong it can take many hours or even days to return to full operation.

 

Online software

The points of vulnerability for online software are split between the vendor and the user. The point of access for viewing the software (whether laptop, desktop, smartphone or tablet) is still the user’s responsibility to secure.

Storage of the accounting software and the data file is not the user’s responsibility but the vendor’s. Software companies run their programs from enterprise-grade data centres with highly sophisticated, layered defences.

These enterprise data centres are patrolled by guards and access is controlled by keycards and fingerprint and iris scanners. Other physical defences include firefighting systems (gas and sprinklers), large diesel generators to supply power during blackouts, and flood-resistant locations.

Data centres usually have multiple, redundant, extremely fast internet connections. The networks are protected by the latest security technologies and 24-hour monitoring by a team of IT security experts.

There’s also security in obscurity; the data for one business is stored on the same server as hundreds of other businesses.

If a server fails in an enterprise data centre it can automatically push an online  business application from one group of servers to another.

Online software companies have detailed backup procedures for restoring their applications if a software bug causes a crash. The average amount of downtime for the best-known online business programs is several hours in a whole year.



So how hard is it to secure?

Whether the threat is theft, natural disaster, a virus or a hacker, online software is generally far better protected than a desktop program. If a thief steals a smartphone they won’t be able to access the online software without entering a password.

A business owner could log in from another computer and change the password in their online accounting software and it would be impossible to access from that smartphone again.

If a thief steals a laptop they have a much greater chance of opening data files in any desktop software it contains.

You can minimise the risk of attack in several ways.

Use a unique, difficult to guess password and keep it in a very secure location.

A password manager is a very handy tool for creating and storing long and difficult passwords for many websites. Of course, you need to have a very secure password to access the password manager but at least it’s the only one you need to remember.

Never reveal your password to anyone, even if they are allegedly calling from the bank or software company. If someone does ask you for your password it is almost always with malicious intent.

Only use your own laptop or computers rather than public computers.

Public wifi networks in cafes and airports can be compromised. For maximum security use your smartphone or tablet, or tether to them with your laptop, to access your online accounting software. Telcos tightly control access to their networks which makes them more secure.

One specific area of concern deserves its own chapter. What happens to your company file when you move from desktop accounting software to online? DigitalFirst has some answers for you: Read Chapter 8: Looking After Your Data to find out more.

AI and Accounting

Artificial intelligence and accounting are perhaps not the first two things you think would go together... However, with the rising speed of new technologies we are in a time in our lives where we can experience amazing changes in the way we do things. The heart of any business lies in the financial bones and managing the money coming in and out. 

"Rather than eliminate the human workforce in accounting firms, the humans will have new colleagues—machines—who will pair with them to provide more efficient and effective services to clients." - Bernard Marr, Forbes

How exciting is this! We all want our business to run smoother and we will try a variety of methods to make things easier. If your accounting and bookkeeping processes can be more efficient and streamlined, it free's up your time and mind space allowing for your focus to grow your business or simply have more time for yourself. 

"As machines infiltrate accounting tasks to take over the more mundane and repetitive tasks, it will free up accountants and bookkeepers to spend more time using their professional knowledge to analyze and interpret the data to provide recommendations for their clients."Bernard Marr, Forbes

We are excited to be part of this new growth in technology and would love to share with you all the ways we can help you improve your processes and workflows when it comes to accounting and bookkeeping. The heart of your business lies within money management. When you put your books in the cloud you can easily review and control your cash flow, and keep tabs on your open invoices, customer balances, and past due amounts. You can get insight into cash flow projections and get a budget analysis. You will always be able to see the big picture at a glance, all in one place and at anytime, anywhere! This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to technology and accounting. Contact us anytime to find out all the ways cloud accounting can help you! 

"As accounting firms and departments begin to rely more heavily on machines to do the heavy lifting of calculating, reconciliations and responding to inquiries from other team members and clients about balances and verifying info, accountants and bookkeepers will be able to deliver more value to their clients..." Bernard Marr, Forbes