Business accountants blog

How can cloud-based accounting help my small business?

Published On: February 23, 2022Categories: Accounting

Are you still using pen and paper for all your budgets, payslips, and inventory management?

What about a Google Doc or hard drive?

Even the latter is considered superfluous now that you can advance your accounting with online bookkeeping software.

Worried about how you’ll make the switch? Let our accounting firm in Melbourne walk you through the potential switchover process.

Why is bookkeeping important for a small business?

Bookkeeping is essential for small business owners because it is how they remain compliant to taxation laws, maximise their profits, and write sound financial budgets and plans.

This is because bookkeeping is the backbone of accounting, as bookkeeping is the process of:

Storing invoices
Collating financial data
Monitoring client payments
Maintaining stock

The best way to carry out processes like these is by using modern accounting software. This is because you can’t lose information that’s stored on a trusted system and cloud-based software streamlines all your daily transactions.

What is the best online accounting software for a small business?

The three primary universal accounting software in Australia are:

Xero
MYOB
Quickbooks

Each of these software has its own benefits. At Bruce Edmunds, we recommend small business accounting software to you based on:

How many employees you have
How accessible you want the system to be to your staff
Your budget
How knowledgeable you are in the world of accounting
How many modules you need

Therefore, there is no straight answer to which software is the best for small businesses.

We break down the three programs’ individual benefits so you can start to understand which one will be most beneficial for your business.

Xero

Xero was founded in 2006 when digital business websites were an up-and-coming, advantageous trend.

Xero is extremely user-friendly: it has a 24/7 support service, insightful training modules tailored to your level of knowledge, and it’s accessible on any device that has an internet connection.

Xero uses extremely simple and contemporary terms throughout its modules and processes, making it truly user-friendly.

MYOB

MYOB is an Australian-based software that was conceived as early as the 1980s!

MYOB IT consultants predicted the rise of the internet age and so they invested in creating software that is now considered commonplace.

This cloud-based software is beneficial for sole traders and start-up businesses because it assists employers to:

Track bills
Track Business Activity Statements (BAS)
Issue invoices

It also automates upgrades so that your current files aren’t disrupted when you accept new updates. You can also use the same login details if you run multiple businesses.

Quickbooks

Like MYOB, Quickbooks is also an older, more developed company. It offers three different streams for different company sizes which are:

Self-employed – great for sole traders
Simple start – for small or start-up businesses
Online plus – for small to medium businesses

Quickbooks has a brilliant inventory management system which helps you track all your products, assets, and machinery.

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What is the relationship between bookkeeping and accounting?

Accounting and bookkeeping work hand-in-hand.

Think of bookkeeping as the day-to-day management and recording (or keeping of the books, as the name suggests!) of business’ spend.

Accounting is a broader and more long-term assessment of a business, including things such as algorithms, projections, and compliance.

The numbers and data prepared by a bookkeeper assists accountants.

There is no battle of accounting vs. bookkeeping; each as important as the other, and both dedicated to helping your business succeed.

What is Single Touch Payroll?

Single Touch Payroll, or STP, is a taxation law the Federal Government introduced in 2018.

Single Touch Payroll is used by employers to inform the Government of payslip information after each time they pay an employee.

STP, business tax returns, and IAS statements are lodged easily and accurately thanks to modern accounting software.

What accounting software should I use for a small business?

Let Bruce Edmunds decide for you!

Bruce Edmunds is an accounting firm based in Melbourne’s south-east that works with both businesses and their own bookkeepers, as we understand you can’t have one without the other!

Liaising with your bookkeeper, we can help you with a whole host of business accounting services, including: