Cloud Accounting

Cloud Accounting is the future and its presence in the UK market has grown rapidly over the recent years. More and more business owners are switching from spreadsheet and desktop systems to cloud based software. We have outlined some of the key features & benefits to you below.

Key Features & Benefits

  • Online Based – You, your team, your Bookkeeper and Accountant can all access remotely at the same time 24/7 and on any device.
  • Invoice on the Fly – Design professional looking estimates & invoices and send them from your phone.
  • Snap Receipts - Take a picture of receipts as you go via a mobile app to save time finding lost ones or typing them into spreadsheets!
  • Open BankingConnect your Bank and Credit Cards to pull through information seamlessly, this saves a lot of time and error typing it in.
  • Real Time Reporting – Once set up, just by logging in you can see key information on a Dashboard such as: What invoices are outstanding, overdue or need to be sent and Estimated Income Taxes.
  • Track mileage - Via a Phone App that automatically works out distance travelled and calculates your mileage rate for each journey.
  • Smart Payroll - Employee portals that can be used to input basic information to assist with onboarding, book annual leave or enter weekly timesheets. All all feeding directly into your payroll system.
  • Sector Specific Integrations - There are endless options available to super charge your business. An example of Intuit QuickBooks integration can be seen on www.apps.com

Contact Us

Where we fit in

We have researched and continue to stay on top of the developments of all three of the main Cloud accounting software providers: QuickBooks Online, Xero & Sage Cloud. This means we can help you decide which is right for your business, by weighing up the pros and cons of each; Instead of just recommending one specific provider.

Our services are tailored around Process Consultancy, Outsourced Bookkeeping & Cloud Accounting and Training, enabling us to cover most small to medium business needs.

Our experience in researching and implementing Third Party App partners has been ongoing for half a decade. We categorise Apps that are specific to processes and sectors. This ensures when joined together with your Cloud Accounting Software the benefit is maximised with your own Cloud Ecoystem.

The relationships we have with third party providers usually means we can get much better prices via our wholesale discount agreements for Cloud Accounting Software as well as Third Party Apps by purchasing through us.

Cloud Ecosystem

A Cloud Ecosystem is a set of separate applications (Apps). Each has different functionality that automates a specific manual operational or accounting processes. Once joined with Cloud Accounting software, specific Information Is either passed one or two ways harmoniously to create highly automated synchronisation.

Cloud Accounting Software sits at the heart of everything regardless of sector or business. General Apps are focussed on automating specific processes across most sectors. Specialist Sector Apps are designed to solve specific changes or streamline specific processes in a chosen sector.

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1. Cloud Accounting Software

We partner with the top three Cloud Accounting Software providers: Intuit QuickBooks, Xero & Sage Business Cloud. This decision is based on functionality, innovation, security, and popularity of each package.

2. General Apps

Although some of these applications have a larger a presence in some Industries more than others, we have categorised them as Multi Sector Process Apps, as each have functionality that solves.

a. Credit Control - Chaser & Satago

At an entry level both applications aim to significantly reduce the time it takes to call or email clients to ask for payment on overdue invoices via automated and personalised email templates. Integrating with Cloud Accounting Software links data on outstanding invoices.

Larger packages from both providers go further to provide a Credit Control facility with external debt management and mediation services.

b. Automated Receipts & Bills Extraction- DEXT & AutoEntry

Optical Character Recognition(OCR) technology has been around since the early 1990s. Its applications in Cloud Accounting Software from an entry level reduce manual data entry time significantly. The technology can extract relevant lines from receipts into a digital format. This information gets fed through your Cloud Accounting Software that speeds up the Bank Reconciliation Process.

Intuit has its own free version of this built into its products. Xero acquired Hubdoc and Sage Acquired Auto Entry. DEXT is useful for some businesses that have lots of paper-based transactions, while Expensify is focussed on streamlining the process of a mobile workforce that uses Company Credit Cards.

Both solutions now can also extract bills and invoices. DEXT Commerce can also fetch data from Ecommerce Channels like Shopify & Amazon.

c. Customer Relationship System (CRM) – Insightly

We recommend Insightly as it is fully scalable as your business grows. Entry level is free and comes with a long list of features to help the Sales effort of any business through adding contacts, creating / managing opportunities, and pipeline management. The upgraded versions also include an email marketing tool, perfect to drive content that leads to responses and conversations.

Integrating with your Cloud Accounting Software means you can save manual data entry as customers details and invoices are synced.

d. Bank Payments - TransferMate & GoCardless

TransferMate is an application that focusses on consolidating payments. It also provides a quick, easy, and reliable service to pay suppliers internationally. Bills are entered into Cloud Accounting Software as per usual and paid through TransferMate, the app then automatically posts the payment information back to the Cloud Accounting Software to save manual data entry.

GoCardless is a relatively low-cost way to setup a Bank Mandate and Direct Debits with Clients. Simply put send a customer an invoice, and GoCardless will collect the total amount as payment directly from their bank account on the invoice due date.

e. Bank accounts & Cards - Pleo & Tide

Pleo is a holistic company spend solution that automates expense management, mileage tracking, petty cash spend, subscription spend and purchase/supplier invoices. Pleo's expense cards offer a simple, easy-to-use expense app that reduces receipt loss and empowers employees. Pleo seamlessly links up with your accounting software to provide a simple spend solution for your company

Tideis a business financial platform and the leading provider of digital business banking services in the UK. Tide offers a free business bank accountset up service with plastic card that can be completed in minutes.

3. Specialist Sectors Apps

Being partners with our clients means being able to understand and implement specialist applications that can make a real difference to specific business sectors.

Below we have listed all our specialist sectors with corresponding pages. Click through to see how we can help transform your business.

If your sector is not listed here, we can point you in the right direction or research the best solutions for you.