3 Reasons to Choose Cloud Accounting Over Desktop




So why should you choose cloud accounting over desktop applications? Why not just use the desktop version of QuickBooks, Drake or Sage? Why go for QuickBooks hosting, Drake hosting or Sage hosting? Why go for cloud-based solutions?
Indeed. There are 3 big reasons why you should choose cloud accounting services such as QuickBooks hosting over the desktop version of the same software. Let’s have a quick look at them.

Reason #1: Cost Advantages– The problem with maintaining a desktop version of accounting software is that, you will need to pay for the hardware infrastructure needed to maintain it. You will have to pay for the software upgrades and hire a dedicated IT team to manage the whole system.

This is not the case with cloud accounting. You don’t have to worry about the software upgrades or the IT support – that’s taken care by the cloud computing company. You don’t have to buy any hardware, servers or IT infrastructure. All you need is a laptop on which to launch the application which would grant to access to a remote server. All of this is available for a relatively minor monthly fee. You can scale up or scale down your plans as needed and go for a pay-as-you-go model.

Reason #2: Speed and Performance – The problem with the desktop version of accounting software such as QuickBooks is that the speed and performance of the application is directly dependent on the configuration of the local system. So if you have powerful servers, that will certainly deliver the speed and performance that you expect. But there will be a number of people working in your firm, providing them all with powerful systems would be prohibitively expensive. Also, sharing files can be a problem and email communications are often messy.

What about cloud accounting? With Cloud accounting, the speed and performance of the accounting depends squarely on the cloud computing company, or the hosting provider. If the hosting service is one with a reputation for delivering high performance services with a high guaranteed up time, then you have nothing to worry about the speed of the application.

However, if you sign up with a hosting provider that is not up to the mark, then the performance delivered will not be good enough. So as long as you sign up with a fast and reliable hosting provider, your accounting needs and those of your team members will be met easily.

Reason #3: Future Proof – The problem with the desktop version of accounting software is that you will need to keep updating it constantly. Eventually, the hardware will not be able to keep up with the new software upgrades, so you are forced to change the hardware as well.

Cloud accounting, on the other hand, is future proof. The hosting provider takes care of all software upgrades and delivers them to you at no extra cost. This ensures that all of your accounting requirements will be met, now, and in the future as well.

For the three reasons stated above – cost advantages, speed and performance and free software upgrades, cloud accounting is a much better solution than the desktop version of accounting applications.