Many small businesses start out using an on-premise accounting solution like QuickBooks that takes care of basic financial management and accounting tasks. But as your business grows, your needs grow too—and that’s when you have to consider whether it’s time to move your accounting software to the cloud.
Desktop-based vs. cloud-based
QuickBooks Enterprise and many other accounting solutions are desktop-based—meaning they were developed for on-premise usage and have since been updated to include some cloud functionality.
Sage Intacct, the cloud-based, best-in-class financial management and accounting software solution, is the most notable alternative to desktop-based solutions. As a multi-tenant solution built specifically for the cloud, Sage Intacct inherently offers certain advantages to users.
With its open API, Sage Intacct integrates easily with your organization’s existing software, like Salesforce and BILL, enabling advanced reporting, improved visibility, and automated financial processes. Through the cloud, Sage Intacct also rolls out its quarterly updates seamlessly, eliminating downtime and ensuring that the integrations you have in place aren’t broken or interrupted.
General benefits of accounting in the cloud
On top of the specific benefits offered by Sage Intacct, there are many general benefits of moving to a cloud-based accounting and financial management solution. Let’s consider three: cost, scalability, and access.
On the cost front, cloud-based software eliminates the need for expensive on-premise servers and other expensive hardware. It also eliminates the cost of managing, updating, and upgrading that hardware.
Cloud-based software also scales up or down as needed to meet your needs. Cloud providers typically use a pay-as-you-go or subscription model based on the number of users. When your business grows, you can scale fast without adding staff and hardware.
Access is typically improved with cloud-based accounting solutions—which is especially helpful given how many employees are now working from home at least some of the time. Cloud-based solutions make it easy to connect securely from anywhere, at any time, using devices ranging from laptops to cell phones.
Get the support you need
The experienced professionals at ACI Consulting can help you evaluate and implement the user-friendly, efficient ERP and financial accounting solutions your business needs.
Contact us to learn more about our team and all of the services and solutions we offer.
