Your Accounting or CPA Service and The Imminent Cloud

“Cloud computing” is a commonly used buzzword of late and referrs to a adjustment in the way software is delivered to your firm. Rather than being delivered by disc or download and getting stored and operated on your local computers, cloud software is stored and executed remotely and accessed with a web browser over the internet.Many CPA’s are beginning to embrace cloud computing. Are you one of them? If it is, buy yourself a beer! Cloud computing is  undoubtedly very nearly the rule rather than the exception.

Keep in mind, on the other hand, that there are likely risks with this movement.

We frequently take our business applications for granted, but it’s taken lots of us several years to incorporate our practice’s systems. Have you ever really thought about how many programs you apply each day to conduct your practice? From word processing programs to accounting software to your email – your time is usually dispersed across a range of various systems. Ideally all of them are able to communicate with each other.

Let me offer an example:

Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to do this without gobbling up your mobile minutes?

You take a night off to meet an old friend. After a while your friend excuses himself. He says, “Keep talking. I forgot to feed the meter. I’m just going to pop out to my car”. The conversation continues. A few blocks, a few miles, even the other side of the world might as well be a few feet away on the internet.

This kind of communication is not only delightful on a personal level, but also vital professionally, and increasingly so.

Now in a conventional software environment it’s unlikely that two people will have compatable messaging software, but in the cloud it’s easy.

Value Efficiency

Although cloud computing will ultimately be an important resource and a geniunine time saver, that potential dwindles if apps in the cloud can’t interact with the programs on your computer.

Existing accounting programs are, for the most part, already pretty good at this. They “talk” to each other, and the dialogue is valuable. It makes all of these applications more efficient. Consider these examples:

• Client records are updated when Tax talks to Engagement and Practice.
• Work papers are linked when Engagement talks to Microsoft Office.
• All applications to Document Management – and so on.

But imagine if Tax and Practice weren’t able to talk, or the link between Engagement and Excel was broken. Can you imagine the data entry you’d be stuck doing?

Mix and Match Causes Problems

Running applications intended for your computer – Word, Excel, Quickbooks Pro, and so on – with Web-based ones – Google Docs, Quickbooks Online, online banking accounts – also damages integration. For example, using the cloud for your tax software and then turning to a practice program installed on the local network creates difficulties with dialogue.

If you decide to go with the cloud, it’s best to assess the integrity of the links to make sure they stay intact. A slow transition may not be the best way to adopt the cloud. You may need to make a more dramatic transition.

Mind Your Data

As a rule cloud services are better equippped to handle obvious security concerns than an accounting firm without a full time IT propfessional. Most have security experts that can protect your data from accidental loss to hackers or viruses.

There are other security issues to consider, though. Data storage could become a serious problem. In order to use cloud applications data needs to be uploaded to the remote server running the application. As a rule they will let you store that data online once it’s loaded. This is much more efficient than uploading each file in order to work on it, then downloading it when you’re done. Unfortunately it also leaves vital client data stored off-site. Can you imagine restructuring your business to rely on a cloud service only to find out it’s been bought out or closed? You could find yourself forced to rebuild and relearn a whole new system. Likewise if a cloud service finds itself with a need to raise some quick capital what’s stopping them from changing the rules on you? You could find your costs creeping up as they start adding “Data Retreival Fees”. Never allow your vital business files to be stored exclusively off site. Always backup your files to a local machine daily.

Proceed with Care – But Proceed!

Within the next ten years accountants and CPAs can expect all or most of their important applications to be web based (or at least web integrated) if current trends continue.

Until then, mind the gap! If you don’t you may end up paying for it.

About The Author

Brian O’Connell is the President and founder of CPA Site Solutions, one of the country’s leading edge web design companies oriented exclusively to accounting website design. His firm currently provides websites for more than 4000 CPA, accounting, bookkeeping, and tax preparation firms.

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