In an era defined by technological advances, business processes have become more streamlined and automated. One of the major advancements in recent years is the rise of cloud-based accounting software.

This article will explore the various areas where cloud-based accounting software can help SMEs increase their business productivity and efficiency through various types of automation. All set to power up your knowledge? Start now!

1. E-invoicing and billing

Traditionally, the simple chore of issuing an invoice or a bill can be very time consuming. Aside from issuing the document, you also have to ensure that the information is being recorded in your accounting books.

Additionally, you need to draft an email with the attachment and set up a tracker based on the payment terms. Not only is this a tedious process, it also creates a lot of room for error.

Fortunately, with the help of most cloud-based accounting software today, you’ll only be required to issue your invoice or bill and the software will take care of the following for you:

• Journal entries — DR: Accounts Receivable, CR: Revenue/Sales Income or DR: Expense, CR: Accounts Payable

• Send e-invoice — You’ll have the option of sending an online copy directly. There’s no need to export a PDF anymore.

• Outstanding payment and collection tracker — Based on your payment terms, a basic tracker will be updated, allowing you to easily track outstanding payments and collections. You’ll even have an aged receivables and aged payables report to refer to.

This significantly reduces the time spent on tedious processes and potential human errors!

2. Reporting at your fingertips

If you’ve been using an Excel sheet for your business bookkeeping, you are probably very familiar with VLOOKUP and Pivot Tables when it comes to generating all the necessary reports such as the profit & loss report and balance sheet.

With today’s technology, all your reports are updated live whenever a new entry of sales, purchases and other expenses is made. You no longer need to spend hours pulling together necessary information across various spreadsheets to generate your reports.

Better yet, because everything is hosted in the cloud, you are able to access this information from anywhere at any time as long as you’ve got access to the Internet.

3. Multi-user collaboration

Unlike certain spreadsheets where only a single user is permitted access at a time to avoid the risk of overwriting a previous action, most cloud accounting software allows the creation of multiple users so that collaboration can take place.

The admin can also set specific permission levels on each sub-account to assign specific roles to each one. Through proper collaboration, work processes can become more efficient and effective.

4. Inventory tracker

Some accounting software comes with a basic built-in inventory tracker which is very handy for businesses that carry an inventory. Financio, one such software with this feature, allows you to input your product information along with a SKU Code or Serial Number.

With this function, your stock balances are automatically adjusted when the payment is collected or issued for your invoice or bill respectively.

5. Live backup

Last but not least, cloud-based accounting software comes equipped with live backup feature. One of the worst-case scenarios is having completed all your accounting only to find that your file has been corrupted. Even a simple habit of constantly saving your files and backing them up on a local server may also end up costing you a whole lot of time when accumulated.

Financio offers secure real-time and daily backup (up to seven days) in two locations. This ensures that your data is always safe with an additional backup should anything go wrong. That’s one less thing you have to constantly worry about.

This is merely the tip of the iceberg as far as how cloud-based accounting software can help a business become leaner and meaner in its day-to-day operations.

We’re certain you’ll find many more features and functions along the way that can help automate your business processes.

This article is brought to you by Financio, an online accounting solution designed for start-ups and small businesses in Malaysia.