By Michael Ly
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February 14, 2023
As a business owner, you know how important accounting is. Many businesses rely on spreadsheets to organize and manage their financial data. However, online accounting systems are becoming increasingly popular and offer advantages over spreadsheets. When is it time to move away from spreadsheets and transition to an online accounting system? Your Business is Growing Are you sending more invoices to clients, or are your vendor bills piling up? In that case, it’s probably time to implement a workflow process . An online system can help you streamline these workflows by tracking open bills, posting bills, or automating the bill pay process. You can even send invoices and collect payments from the online accounting system. You Need Reports Frequently Are you planning to apply for a line of credit, or do you need to have a grasp on your bottom line each month? Consistent reporting in spreadsheets can be very manual and time-consuming. An online accounting system can generate reports quickly, providing access to accurate, up-to-date information about your business’s financial health at any given moment. You Spend Too Much Time on Data Entry Are you spending hours on tedious data entry tasks? An online accounting system can automatically reconcile your accounts and categorize your transactions, allowing you to focus on what matters most - running your business! An online system can sync directly with your bank accounts to feed your transactions into the platform automatically. Moving away from spreadsheets to an online accounting system could be a great way to free up your valuable time and energy for other functions like customer service or product development. The decision to switch from spreadsheet-based accounting to an online system depends on various factors, like the size of your business, the complexity of its operations, and how often you need access to financial information. A spreadsheet may suffice if you are a small business owner with simple cash accounting processes and don’t require frequent financial reporting. However, if you’re recording transactions on an accrual basis and dealing with multiple departments, vendors, or clients, an online system may be necessary sooner rather than later. It's also worth considering any compliance requirements, as these may require more sophisticated tools than spreadsheets can provide.