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The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Cloud

We buy online, bank online, and obtain advice online…so why not manage our businesses online? Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can handle all of your business accounting; from back office tasks to currency fluctuations, and now you can do all of this without even buying the software.

Dynamic businesses stay ahead by using computer-based solutions for managing their resources. Whatever your size, it’s a rapid response to clients and business opportunities that count. Today’s resource planning is all about seeing the whole accounting picture all of the time and adapting instantly to changing business conditions. Computer-based systems are the baseline and ERP systems are putting traditional accounting software in the shade.

So, if that’s where your business is at right now, how do you make the next leap forward and do it all online?  There are all sorts of solutions out there and focusing on a few key priorities will help guide your choices.

Make your IT budget Deliver more

Reliable systems are inevitably complex if they are to cover all aspects of your financial accounting. The ones you can run in-house require an upfront investment in hardware and software, back-up equipment in case of a failure and specialist IT staff that can run it all year round.

Good IT staff are essential but expensive. They have to choose and set up your system and train your team to use it, as well as sorting out day-to-day problems. You will always need them but you may need fewer of them with an online provider.  Are you sure that you can justify it all in-house? An online service can deliver it all for a fixed monthly fee, no matter what else changes in your business.

Use the Newest Technology

Cloud services are running financial management systems as their core business and you can expect them to always have the latest software. They will be replacing and updating their technology much more often than you and their key to success is offering more functionality at faster speeds.

Faced with a sudden growth or decline in business, your Cloud ERP system needs to show you and the rest of your team the impact in real time across all your costs and projected income streams. Online providers give instant access to all of your data, wherever you are, supporting you in smarter business choices ahead of the competition.

Worries about Security

You may have very legitimate concerns about data security and want to know that your confidential data is completely under your control. It is also a massive responsibility if you run this yourself. Weigh up the risks of your business losing data or suffering a security breach compared to an online provider who can throw more resources at keeping it completely secure and accessible.

There are clever ERP solutions out there in the Cloud that can take your management accounting to a new level.  So look for a system that offers the right flexibility for your business, reassures you about security and is constantly adaptable. Chances are you’ll find one that scores better than you can and at a monthly cost that leaves you smiling.er