Why you should move your practice to the cloud

Modern practices are more profitable thanks to online accounting programs. But moving your practice to the cloud means making a change in how you work. What’s the most effective way to make this change?

Accounting is moving to the online world

Accounting professionals in other countries like the United States, United Kingdom or New Zealand, have been moving their activity to online accounting for years.

The reason is simple, they’ve seen its benefits:

1. The greater mobility it provides you.
2. The possibility of establishing closer collaboration with clients. Something that’s vital when you’re trying to build a trust and long-term relationship with them.

Many advisors already believe that online accounting is the future. Despite this, almost all agree that there’s not just one way to make the change from a traditional practice to a cloud practice.

The step isn’t simple because you’re not just moving your clients and accounting program to the cloud, you’re also reinventing how you work and interact with your clients.

It’s totally true that your business will be much more effective in the cloud, but first you have to get there.

The migration process will be slightly different for each practice but in this guide we’ll tell you the basic steps that most go through.

Let’s start from the beginning.

What is cloud accounting?

You’re probably already using cloud technology every day, although you may not be aware of it.

Just to give some examples, you might be using Dropbox or some of Google’s programs like Google Drive or Gmail. Any system that allows you to access your files remotely is a type of cloud system.

Cloud invoicing and accounting programs work in a similar way. You use them like a normal accounting program with one big difference. Your clients’ data isn’t on a computer that can be lost, broken or stolen. It’s stored remotely on secure servers.

This means you can access your data anywhere and anytime - from your laptop, desktop computer, smartphone or tablet. This means your IT maintenance is reduced, and you’ll always have the latest and most secure version of the program.

Online accounting can increase your earnings

Online accounting can make your business much more efficient because it allows you to provide accounting services in an easier way. This means your team can spend more time on more lucrative work such as advisory services, consulting or business development.

Practices that use a pricing plan system are the ones that achieve the greatest benefit from their activity. The reason is that they stop wasting time on their clients’ invoicing, accounting and taxes. And they can dedicate this time to adding new clients to their portfolio with the same number of people on their teams.

All these elements can make you the most reliable financial and business advisor for your client. In fact you can become their virtual finance manager. Instead of being a simple advisor who fixes their mistakes and prepares some financial reports.

You’ll be able to:

• Explain what the numbers really mean.
• Advise them from a financial point of view.
• Give your advice on business decisions.
• Prepare growth strategies.
• Identify problems.

This type of advisory is very beneficial for small businesses and will surely mean more profits for you.

Introducing more effective and productive processes in your business will be a great achievement for your work - open your mind.

To move your practice to the cloud, follow these 3 key steps:

Step 1: start using cloud solutions

The best way to learn something is to start doing it, and online accounting is no exception. A good way to start is with a copy of your own accounting. You know what the results should be so you can quickly check if everything is correct.

At FacturaDirecta any new account has a 30-day trial. Enter your own data in an account and check that the program does the accounting correctly. Then you can compare your current program that isn’t in the cloud with FacturaDirecta.

Look for the main differences between both programs, including ease of use and workflow. Then ask yourself these questions:

• What’s different?
• What’s new?
• Can I do everything I did in the old program?
• Do I have to do things differently? If so, is it easier or harder?
• Are there some things I could do to simplify my work?
• What tools does one and the other offer me to automate my business?

Understand the benefits

When you’re clear on the program basics, you can start evaluating the program more deeply and think about how you could use it. Ask yourself some of these questions:

• For which of my clients would a program like FacturaDirecta be good?
• For which client wouldn’t it be useful and why?
• Can this online program help me improve relationships with my clients?
• Will I be able to work more closely with my clients with this program?
• Will the program help my clients take a more active role in managing their accounts?

Remember that a program can’t be learned overnight. But introducing more effective and productive processes will be a great achievement for your practice, so open your mind.

Step 2: identify ideal clients

When you’re comfortable using FacturaDirecta, you can try using it with some of your clients.

The best option

It’s important to choose your client well to achieve the easiest possible migration process. The ideal client would be one who meets these conditions:

• Business profile: less than 2 years open and with less than 10 employees.
• Technology use: User of Google Apps, Dropbox, Smartphone, Tablet or other cloud programs.
• Industry: Professional services, creative agencies, online companies,…

Some of the best options might be:

• Single-person small businesses because the migration process will be very simple.
• Small businesses that are used to working with technology because they understand the benefits of cloud services.

Professionals, creative agencies or online companies that meet both previous profiles can be the ideal choice.

Clients to avoid

On the other hand, clients to avoid would be those with a lot of inventory, who have a very large volume of transactions or who use many different and complex programs.

Moving these clients to the cloud can be a very complex task. It’s easier to do when you’re already completely used to your online accounting program.

If none of your clients seems suitable, consider starting with the client you have the most trust with. Tell them about the advantages of paying a monthly or annual fee instead of receiving several invoices of different amounts throughout the year.

Timing is also important

Another way to simplify migration to the cloud is to choose the ideal time of year. Some clients will prefer to start with the beginning of the fiscal year. This makes life easier for the client, but you still need to plan the change one or two months ahead.

FacturaDirecta can simplify and automate data entry. You can also import client data for a certain period (a month, a quarter, a year,…). You’ll have organized and clear information flowing from your old program to the new one. This will facilitate the transition.

Step 3: move clients to the cloud and learn

As you move your first group of clients to the cloud, make sure to evaluate what works and what doesn’t. Try to learn from the transition process to be able to apply improvements in future migrations. To help, ask yourself these questions:

• What worked and what didn’t? Why?
• What functionalities did my clients use? Why?
• What functionalities did my clients ignore? Why?
• Where did I gain efficiency? How can I achieve even more?
• How can I become my clients’ most trusted advisor?

You should also think about your role in the migration process. For example:

• Did you lead the process correctly?
• Did you communicate it well?
• Did you collaborate with the client?
• Did you train your clients enough?

And finally, don’t forget to ask your client what they gained from the change:

• Do they like FacturaDirecta? Do they find it efficient?
• Do they feel closer to you?
• Do they feel more capable of taking a more active role in managing their accounts?
• Do they have simpler and faster access to their business information?

Optimize the migration process

Each client you migrate to the cloud will be a new source of knowledge and experience. Take time to analyze and evaluate each migration. This will help you perfect the process for your future clients and get the most out of everything online accounting can offer you.

When you and your first clients are comfortable working in the cloud, you can move the rest. If you follow the advice in this guide and learn with each migration, the process will become increasingly simple.