Home Articles Let’s face it people, old-school accounting just doesn’t cut it anymore!

Let’s face it people, old-school accounting just doesn’t cut it anymore!

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Accurate accounting is absolutely essential for the success of any business, right? It is therefore shocking to learn that according to a recent report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics one in seven SMEs (13.6 per cent) do not even use basic IT to do their accounting! Not even an Excel sheet!

And on that note, business solutions provider MYOB is calling on Aussie SMEs to get with the times and invest in technology that will make their accounting easier and more efficient.

“These findings reveal a huge opportunity to save time and stress is being missed by business operators who aren’t even using a computer, let alone cloud accounting, to maintain their books. The right system can significantly minimise manual data entry and errors while giving back time to invest into growing the business or enjoying life outside work,” said MYOB CEO Tim Reed.

Mr Reed further told Anthill that setting up an accounting system is more than compiling a shoe box or glove box of receipts or setting up Excel spreadsheets with complex formulas.

“This DIY approach could be detrimental to your business, especially around financial-year end or when you review your business performance to date,” Mr Reed warned.

Why should your business switch to modern accounting?

It is high time you started organising your paperwork via an electronic system. This gives you clearer visibility over your finances and you will hence be less inclined to run and hide from the challenges – or perhaps opportunities – that knowing your numbers uncovers.

Instead, you will now be able to monitor your cash flow in real-time, potentially save dollars in tax, repayments and expenses and spend less time on admin and more time on your business. At the end of the day, you will have a much better sense of your overall financial situation at any given time.

Mr Reed told Anthill, “With your financial data organised electronically, your accounting software can help pinpoint positive and negative trends and generate other reports of your business activity. When were your peak periods? How well did each of your products/services perform?”

“This vital information can help identify new opportunities to improve your business operations, leverage new revenue streams, tap into new markets, and increase cost-efficiency,” Reed added. He further noted that owners who recognise the potential of cloud accounting solutions in particular are getting the jump on their competition.

“Cloud solutions have huge potential to help businesses grow and be more competitive, yet for many business owners the cloud is still a big unknown. It can make them and their team more mobile, providing ‘anywhere access’ that nurtures healthy collaboration. It also means the ability to hire or keep quality staff that may want to live across the state or country,” Reed explained.

However, if you still feel that you are not yet ready to let go of your shoebox of receipts, then take a look at the five advantages of cloud accounting Reed shared with Anthill.