Integrating cloud-based accounting with rental business software is a game-changer for the financial operations of your rental business.
The Accountancy Age predicted that 78% of SMBs will rely exclusively on cloud accounting software by 2020, and this is the trend prevailing.
As a business owner, with cloud accounting, you will have access and visibility to effortlessly track rental income, monitor expenses, and assess financial health. The financial reporting in your rental business software and cloud accounting will help you make informed decisions regarding your business. You can also ensure complete compliance with the regulations and accounting standards that apply to your rental business.
In this article, we will be discussing what cloud accounting is, how it works, what benefits it offers to rental businesses, and why you should replace your traditional accounting with cloud accounting.
What is cloud accounting?
Cloud accounting is online bookkeeping for your rental business. The financial information of your business is digitally stored on the cloud servers of the platform you choose. You can store records of income and expenses, assets and liabilities, and other financial information.
Keep in mind that cloud accounting solutions offer the best data encryption, similar to how traditional banks keep your data safe. Your cloud bookkeeping will only be accessible to those who have been given the login credentials to view, edit, and manage that information.
All cloud accounting systems have a centralized dashboard where you will be able to view all numbers from your rental business including income, expenses, revenue, losses, etc. This will give you complete visibility into how well your business is doing, what numbers you’re bringing in, and what expenses you have to manage.
How do cloud accounting solutions work?
You simply choose a cloud accounting software and move all your bookkeeping to the cloud. Since everything will be on the cloud, you can access your accounts from any device (mobile, laptop, desktop) and any browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari).
You can also use a mobile, tablet, or iPad app to access your bookkeeping as well. You will be able to connect your business bank account to the cloud accounting software to ensure that all transactions are seamless, tracked, and monitored. You won’t have to invest in special software on your computer anymore. Every accounting detail will directly be populated in cloud accounting.
Everyone you authorize will be able to see and use the same accounting information. This helps you save money by reducing the number of employees you need to handle your bookkeeping. Also, all of your data will be safe and easily retrievable on the cloud, preventing any unforeseen or unfortunate circumstances such as the loss of data.
What are the benefits of cloud accounting for rental businesses?
Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits of cloud accounting for your rental business:
1. Cost-effective and time-efficient
You will require a smaller number of accounting professionals, dedicated computers, and hours to enter information into cloud accounting. You will also require minimal to zero paperwork. Accordingly, you can save time and money for your rental business and focus on your core business instead.
2. Data security and safety
With every number stored directly on the cloud, you will have peace of mind regarding the security and confidentiality of your accounting data. When you choose a popular cloud accounting platform, you will be guaranteed additional layers of data protection, security, and management.
3. Automation and synchronization
All cloud accounting software is streamlined to perform repetitive tasks quickly and suggest workflows that can be easily automated. Your bookkeeping is also synchronized regularly with your rental software so you always have the latest numbers from your rental business.
4. Centralization and accessibility
You can centralize your rental business bookkeeping via cloud accounting. Instead of different locations, warehouses, stores, etc., all keeping separate accounting information, you can centralize it on the cloud. It will also be instantly accessible from anywhere at any time. .
5. Implementation and scalability
As your rental business grows, you can upgrade your cloud accounting to fit your needs. When you scale your business, you can always choose a cloud accounting plan that suits your business requirements. There will always be a higher tier offered by popular cloud accounting platforms as your small rental business evolves.
6. Analysis and trend prediction
All cloud-based solutions and SaaS products come equipped with in-depth analytics. The cloud accounting solution you choose will offer dashboards and reports that you can customize to focus on desired aspects of your rental business. Pair it with rental business software reporting and analytics, and you will be able to view areas where your business shines and where it lacks. Analyze the numbers and plan your future business strategies.
Why choose cloud accounting over traditional accounting?
The top reason for choosing cloud accounting over traditional accounting for a rental business is the ease of use, data security, and immediate visibility for all key business persons.
If you are manually updating your accounting, it will never be completely recent to the last minute and may contain human errors. The time you save by reducing these errors and manually putting in numbers is a decisive factor in choosing cloud accounting over traditional accounting.
Since all your bookkeeping will be on the cloud, you won’t have to worry about data security. Instead of storing crucial data on a USB drive, a single computer, or a local data center, you will store it in the cloud. That will make it accessible from anywhere, anytime.
Creating data backups in traditional accounting can be a tedious task that may also become an expensive affair. On the other hand, cloud-based accounting systems sync automatically at regular intervals to create useful backups.
Cloud accounting also offers multi-user access which you can secure with extra authentication to only specific people from your business. Traditional accounting also has paperwork that can be stolen, damaged, or destroyed. It is safer to keep your business accounting on the cloud instead of cluttering up your office with unnecessary paperwork.
By integrating cloud accounting software with your rental business, the information you enter into your cloud accounting software will also be visible on your rental management software. This will give you visibility on crucial financial data points and key stats like income, expenses, revenue, etc. By keeping a tab on these, you can minimize losses and increase profitability by focusing on core areas of improvement.
FAQs
What are some examples of cloud-based accounting?
Cloud accounting is similar to any cloud software, but in this, the focus is on taking the business’ accounting and bookkeeping workflows to the cloud. Some popular cloud accounting software are Sage Business Cloud Accounting, Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, etc.
What are the key benefits of cloud-based accounting systems?
Some of the key benefits of cloud-based accounting systems are:
• Save time and money by reducing resources, hardware, and software
• Keep your financial data secure
• Automate bookkeeping workflows and data backups
• Access your bookkeeping from anywhere, anytime, on any device
• Utilize financial analytics to predict trends
• Scale and pay as you grow
What is the best way of tracking rental income?
The best way to track your rental income is to integrate your rental management software with cloud accounting. Your rental software dashboard will be powered up with extra features that the cloud accounting software offers, like financial analytics and reporting. You can customize these reports and populate them on the dashboard for further in-depth analysis.
What is cloud-based bookkeeping?
Instead of manual paper-based traditional bookkeeping, cloud-based bookkeeping takes all your accounting to the cloud. You get immediate access to it from anywhere, anytime. Your financial data stays safe and is backed up regularly so you will never have to worry about losing it. You can integrate with your rental software to further automate accounting workflows.
