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"By the time accountants decipher the data new invoices have been raised and it’s out of date. The financial position of the company has changed and they’ve lost the opportunity to advise clients on cash flow, accounts payable or how they might get a loan for a factory expansion or to hire another staff member.
"For 15 years the software has forced accountants to be retrospective in their engagement with clients and dudded small business out of valuable business advice," Drury says.
Then came the internet. Brands such as Facebook, YouTube, Skype and Google proved that it was in many instances more logical and convenient to use software built, owned and operated by somebody else, software that people in different locations and organisations could access with reasonable security over the internet.
Suddenly accountants and their clients can look at the same ledger in real time. What’s more, accountants given permission can log into a client’s accounts, examine them and make suggestions to
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improve operational performance.
"The software is hosted on the internet so there are less problems with different software versions and with transferring data between the customer and their accountant," Greco says.
"There are some security issues that need to be addressed and it is important to check that client data is being stored securely. However, once you are over these obstacles it’s a far more reliable and practical approach than traditional accounting services."
It wasn’t long before this new model was given a suimbly obscure name: software as a service, or SaaS.
The larger accountancy firms are steering away from SaaS because of customer concerns regarding data security and privacy However, the technology is being rapidly adopted by medium firms at which the productivity improvements associated with web-based software result in improved service.
Brisbane wealth management provider Logiro is typical of the type of business that has embraced SaaS technology not just for
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accounting (using an Australian-made product called Saasu) but also to manage its customer relations database (with software called XPLAN).
“Both these SaaS products improve our back-end efficiency so we can spend more time on the things that matter to clients,” principal strategist Lyn Bell says.
Many of Logiro’s staff work from home, logging into the system from anywhere in the world, which reduces the firm’s overheads. The SaaS systems also automate rnany administrative tasks. Scanning a barcode on a letter of authority triggers a whole series of tasks, such as sending a thank you email or investing in some product.
“In the early days clients were naturally apprehensive about using online software, for some it was as simple as being reluctant to embrace change, others were understandably concerned with data security and integrity? Bell says. "In the eight years that we have been using these services, we have never found security to be a concern.”
For many medium companies the transition to web-based software provides a |
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big improvement to their data security because externally hosted data provides a higher level of security redundancy and disaster recovery options than many could afford to provide within their own computing facilines.
The main challenge for accounting practices that offer web-based accountancy services lies in finding staff who possess the right skills to use the software.
Tim Johnston, the managing director of Booksonsite, says accounting SaaS is the most cost effective approach for small and micro businesses and will ultimately enhance the level of service they can afford, although he says larger businesses will still require face-to-face support.
“The increased accessibility does provide greater flexibility to our staff. However, once a business reaches a certain size you do require face-to-face contact with the client due to the physical volume of paperwork and the level of interaction required between the bookkeeper and the client,” Johnston says. BRW |
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