By Hayley Robins, Senior Accountant at Hive Business.

Accountancy isn’t straight forward – if it was I wouldn’t have had to do 5 years of exams to qualify and I appreciate that some accountants converse in what seems like very dull foreign language sometimes.

However, over the last 5 years the whole landscape of bookkeeping (broadly speaking, the data entry work) has completely changed. It’s now easier than ever for business owners to handle their own figures and really get a grip on how they are really doing. No longer relying on the crude method of the bank balance. No more crossing fingers when the tax bill you’ve been blind to is delivered on 31st January.

The shift has been driven by “cloud” software and you’ve probably heard of, or seen, adverts for this maybe without even realising. There are a growing number of providers and although the exact version is unimportant (we generally use Xero) it’s the philosophy that can spring-board your business performance if you commit.

The software in itself is easy to use and is designed for business owners (not accountants) to get up-to-date ‘real time’ information at the click of a button. Hive provides a free implantation program to get you going and linking directly to your bank account it’s a largely automated process from that point on.

However we still see a number of practices that are either:

• Over-complicating the ‘bookkeeping’ process; or
• Still using last decade’s mentality and outsourcing it all–together (at last decade’s cost structure I would add).

It’s not the cost that is painful – it is the time delay. Both of these scenarios unavoidably result in the ‘real time’ information Xero is designed to provide, being largely out of date by the time it’s been processed and fed back to the business owner.

The best option is often bring the ‘bookkeeping’ process back into the practice. But don’t panic, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be responsible for it. You could give this task to a member of staff, and remember with automation, this decade’s solution is not a slightly more efficient of last’s. Much like Skype is not a slightly better version of your BT landline – it’s a different way of working entirely.

All practice owners comment to us that it wasn’t as complicated as they originally feared.

It may appear that I’m doing myself out of job here but if anything cloud software helps me to do a better job for my clients. I can view the data immediately, remind clients if it hasn’t been completed, or correct items, all of which are a necessity for improving their financial performance.

Most of all, it allows Hive to make positive recommendations in time for them to be implemented and actually have an impact. This could be tax saving strategies or to see how their marketing strategy is performing and adjust accordingly.

If you would like to discuss your accountancy services with us call 01872 300232 or email us at hello@hivebusiness.co.uk.