Staying in control of your business and finances even when you are not onsite is important to business owners. The summer is a time when you especially want to be able to take time off and not be at your desk 24-7. In order to do this, you need to be able to stay on the pulse of your business’ financial accounting information.
If you are currently using the popular QuickBooks desktop software, you now have a fairly new option available to you: hosted QuickBooks. In this article, we’ll talk about what it is, what type of businesses it’s right for, and how to get started if you decide it’s for you.
A Host of Opportunities
Hosted QuickBooks changes the location of your QuickBooks company file from your local computer to one of the dozen authorized QuickBooks hosting companies. You then access your QuickBooks file through a secure Internet connection. The good news is you continue using the exact same QuickBooks software, screens, forms, and reports that you are comfortably familiar with, so the additional learning curve is extremely low. The two biggest differences are:
You access your QuickBooks differently; instead of accessing your local software, you will access the same version of QuickBooks software via the cloud on a secure server provided by a hosting vendor. You will most likely access your QuickBooks by clicking on a desktop icon or accessing a screen and entering your login information.
The pricing is different. Instead of paying a large software fee at the beginning and then optionally paying for annual upgrades, you pay monthly, like a lease.
There are a few other very minor differences, such as how you back up your file, how you print checks, invoices, and other forms, and how you interface with other software such as Microsoft Outlook® or Word®. At most, the learning curve for each of these minor changes is five minutes top for any user.
Who Benefits
You will benefit from hosted QuickBooks if any of the following are true:
You, your team, your bookkeeper, or your CPA needs to be able to access your QuickBooks files from multiple locations.
You are spending at least one hour per month restoring the file from one location to another.
You have experienced errors in the past from backing up and restoring the company file or the Accountant’s Copy because of passing it back and forth among people who need to update it or to get information from it.
You prefer to save the time it takes installing QuickBooks and applying the upgrades to QuickBooks software. With hosted QuickBooks, the hosting vendor takes care of all of that.
You do not have a recent backup of QuickBooks and forget to take backups on a regular basis. With hosted QuickBooks, backups are a routine part of the process.
You’re great at working on the core items of your business, but want to reduce time spent on IT-related tasks.
You dislike or feel inadequate when it comes to technology, and you agree it makes sense to outsource as much as possible.
Any Concerns
Hosted QuickBooks is great, but it’s not right for everyone. If you feel “safer” with no one having access to your QuickBooks, then hosting it may not be right for you. Although the data centers are far more secure than the PCs in most people’s homes and offices because they have to undergo a rigorous security audit to become a hosting vendor, some people are simply uncomfortable passing their financial data to others. If you want to consider hosted QuickBooks and wonder about security, we’ll be happy to have a conversation with you about that.
Hosted QuickBooks is also not right for people that are using very old software versions because you may be forced to upgrade to a newer version.
Hosted QuickBooks is also not right for people who have much more free time than budget. Although hosted QuickBooks is not particularly expensive, there is a cost outlay that will buy you time savings. If the free time you gain (that you can apply to completing more important priorities in your business) is not valuable to you, then hosted QuickBooks may not be right for you.
Getting Started
Before moving to a hosted QuickBooks solution, your accounting professional will want to ask you questions about how you are using QuickBooks, if they aren’t already familiar with your requirements. Selecting the right hosting solution means evaluating:
What version and line of QuickBooks you are currently using because this has to be exactly matched with the hosting vendor.
What other applications access QuickBooks, such as online banking and payroll.
What add-ons you are using with QuickBooks, if any.
What printers, Microsoft software, email software, and other peripheral needs you have when using QuickBooks.
Once those answers are gathered, your accounting professional can provide you with some hosting solutions, costs, and implementation plans. Most accounting professionals partner with one or more hosting companies so that you can get a seamless one-stop shop experience. You may also be able to benefit from volume or package pricing through your accounting professional.
If you are thinking that hosted QuickBooks might be right for your business, please email us or give us a call so we can talk more about it.
It may seem like a no-brainer – cut expenses to make more money – but many small changes can result in significant savings.
It looks like the economy may finally be looking up. Still, this is no time to loosen the purse strings in terms of your business expenses. Rather, why not re-double your efforts to cut costs and boost your profitability?
Excessive expenses cause debt, which in itself can be very costly. So any money-saving actions you take will be doubly rewarding.
More Effective Money Management
To cut expenses significantly, poke into every corner of your company’s finances. Inventory is a good place to start. If you sell multiple units of the same item and reorder regularly, you should be using QuickBooks’ inventory-tracking tools. Go to Edit | Preferences | Items & Inventory | Company Preferences.
You should be stocking your inventory to match the pace of sales. You don’t want to be caught short, nor do you want to be sitting on too much and tying up money unnecessarily. QuickBooks can help, but you’ll need to calculate the sweet spot for each item. Several built-in reports can help, including:
Inventory Valuation Summary. Displays the current asset and retail value of each item and inventory as a whole
Inventory Valuation Detail. Shows how individual transactions have affected the value of your inventory
Inventory Stock Status By Item. Helps you set up smart reordering procedures
Open Purchase Orders
Outlines each purchase order and its expected delivery date
Ratio reports, like profit over sales, can also be very telling. QuickBooks does not supply these, but we can help you create them in Excel.
Using Available Tools
The efforts you make toward reducing expenses in other ways can result in more savings than you might think. Here are some actions you can take that will accelerate your cash flow:
Use QuickBooks’ budgeting tools
. This doesn’t need to be as onerous as you might expect – you can start by pulling in your real data from the previous year as a base. Build in line items for ongoing accounting support like QuickBooks maintenance. Click on Company | Planning & Budgeting | Set Up Budget
Minimize your April 15 obligation with year-round tax planning. Work with us throughout the year on the next year’s taxes to, for example, make smarter quarterly payments, and we’ll help you reduce your tax bill by making better decisions every day.
Get discounts by paying invoices early. Set up a custom field in vendor records to track this.
Analyze the cost-effectiveness of your transportation. Can you replace some in-person sales calls with web-based communication? Make sure that your delivery routes and sales call paths are efficient.
Change product/service prices to build in your own cost increases. Do it across the board, in small increments. It may not even be that noticeable to customers.
Talk to us about establishing a line of credit. We’ll help you determine if this is a viable option for emergencies. It’s cheaper than using credit cards.
Cross-train employees. Have employees train each other on their tasks where it makes sense. You can avoid costly temp help and relieve overworked departments.
Don’t try to change everything at once. Establishing these new procedures will require some extra work. And you may not notice a reduction in expenses immediately. But over time, you will see a positive change – one that will give you extra dollars and hours to invest in making your company flourish.
