By Sandra Mitchell
A new trend in business is accounting hosting. It involves the uses of accounting software so that the data gathered can be accessible on the internet, yet protected with security measures. This is similar to outsourcing, and has proven to be more efficient and economical than maintaining your own in-house accounting servers.
There are many recognizable benefits of accounting hosting. From a company standpoint, it is truly a practical breakthrough. On an individual's standpoint, the benefits would be similar to writing your novel on your computer as opposed to writing it on an email account. Basically, you can access your email on any computer in the world with an internet connection whereas you have to be physically proximate to your computer to write your novel if you do not write it online. For company accounting, the implications stretch much further.
Aside from the online access, accounting hosting also offers more efficiency. Online accounting can allow multi-user collaborative access. It can employ the adage "two heads are better than one." Teams of accountants can access online simultaneously, and even have online conferences. This will reduce the time spent on individual updates that will then be discussed in company meetings that take too much time or even constantly postponed due to uncoordinated schedules.
There is also the economical side. The physical hardware needed to maintain accounting servers, from the mainframe to the computers in the network, can result in an astronomical figure. Aside from this, the personnel needed to maintain this, IT experts whom you would have to keep on call (if not on 24 hour shifts, which will require you to hire an entire team) also demand higher fees. These measures are taken for the sole reason of preventing a computer crash, which could result in the disastrous situation of losing precious data.
An online accounting host may not be immune to computer crashes, but the data will always be retrievable. Also, accounting hosts already have counter measures ready. They have gained prior expertise in the field, since they have specialized in it for years. The time and money saved from computer maintenance can translate to a huge amount. When you add on the relieved stress and the actual physical space, accounting hosting is almost a no=brainer.
There are now many companies that offer third party accounting hosting. The competition, just like in any industry, works in favor of the consumer. It is now the consumer's duty to look for the best accounting host. There are various factors to consider.
Since accounting hosting has been heralded as a money-saving option, choosing a company with a reasonable price has to be a priority. Otherwise, the benefits would be negated. Also, the integrity of the company should be unquestionable, since they are hosting sensitive and vital data. After integrity has been established, the host company should be recognized as specialists. If the company offers training programs apart from their credentials, that usually translates into being specialists.
Now that the benefits of accounting hosting have been established, the ball is now in the court of businesses making that practical decision.
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