The accounting and bookkeeping industry has come a long way from what it was a few decades ago. There have been significant changes in how the industry accounting services functions with the advancement in technologies. The accounting and bookkeeping process is no longer a laborious task that requires a lot of time and effort. You can hire virtual bookkeeping services and you no longer have to enter data nor reconcile a huge volume of transactions manually.
Let us look at how different technologies have helped improve the jobs of accountants and bookkeepers.
- Cloud Accounting
The emergence of cloud accounting systems has brought about many positive changes in accounting and bookkeeping processes. You are no longer bound to the heavy desktop accounting software or a specific location. It gives you the freedom to work remotely from anywhere, and you still get access to all financial information with just a click of a button.
Do you know how much more can cloud accounting benefit you? The fact that you don’t have to run heavy software updates regularly takes a huge chunk of time and system space—no need to upgrade your system as per the software requirements.
You can log in to your cloud accounting software from any browser and get all the essential records in one place. Also, it allows multiple users to make use of the software in real-time.
Cloud accounting software also comes with multiple integrations, which can help you streamline your overall business process.
- Mobile Accounting
Cloud accounting has enabled users with another technology – Mobile accounting. We cannot deny the fact that we humans are highly dependent on our mobile devices. Cloud accounting allows us to conduct accounting processes right from our mobile devices as well.
There are times when you are not near any computer system to record or extract financial data from your accounting software; in such cases having access to mobile accounting makes it much easier for you to conduct your accounting process. Whether you want to create invoices, send invoices, capture receipts, pay your vendors, you can do all this with just a couple of swipes on a screen.
- Specialised Accounting Software
There has been a lot of improvement in the accounting software. From the times when accounting was conducted in the spreadsheet to today’s cloud computing, we have seen a lot of transformation. One such significant upgrade is specialised accounting software. Today most popular accounting software enables you to customise itself as per the needs of the business. Also, there are many specialised accounting software that caters to individual industry needs.
Such accounting software eliminates the need to hire specialised accountants or bookkeepers who are proficient and well aware of your industry. While it does help to have specialised accountants and bookkeepers, it can be difficult to hire such personnel on an immediate basis. You can hire bookkeeping and accounting services who are well skilled and experienced conducting accounting and bookkeeping for your industry but having specialised accounting software does help to reduce confusion and errors.
- Artificial Intelligence & Robotics
Artificial intelligence and robotics automate complex and repetitive tasks and processes. It does so with extreme accuracy while reducing operating costs and increasing efficiency. With the use of AI, we can witness that technology is slowly taking over the transitional role of accountants and bookkeepers. While saying AI and robotics can fully take over the role of accountants and bookkeepers can be a bit extreme, it has significantly reduced the workload for accounting and bookkeeping personnel.
The benefits of Technological advancement
- Time save
One of the most noticeable and vital benefits of technological advancement in accounting and bookkeeping is the amount of time it saves. What took days in traditional accounting is now done in a fraction of minutes. - Enhanced productivity
Technology has definitely helped increase the productivity of accounting and bookkeeping professionals along with overall business productivity. The time saved plus lesser errors allow you to improve your business productivity. - Data accuracy
With technology, you no longer have to face human errors. You can have an error-free data entry process that is otherwise highly prone to human errors. - Quick Access
Retrieving data can be time-consuming, especially in traditional accounting, with stacks of paper documents to be checked. Technology has allowed us to retrieve important data in no time.
- Secure & Safe
Technology has enabled your accounting data to be safe and secure, without the fear of losing it to natural calamity or system issues. Also, your data is accessible anytime and anywhere.
Application integrations
Technological advancement has allowed the integration of one software with another. So you can now integrate accounting software with other relevant software like payroll, ERP, inventory management software, etc.
Accounting is evolving every day for the better. Newer technologies are making accounting & bookkeeping tasks easier for business owners. We have come a long way from traditional bookkeeping systems to automatic data entry processes helping increase business productivity. Technology has enabled even non-accounting professionals to understand accounting information better, allowing them to analyse their finances more efficiently. When you know your business finances better, you are more motivated to work and improve your financial condition.
Technology cannot, however, replace the need for accountants or bookkeepers. Many fear that technology will someday take over the jobs of accountants and bookkeepers. While it does help ease your accounting and bookkeeping process but the process itself requires human intelligence. You cannot expect artificial intelligence to analyse your business finance just like how an expert will do. The best way to take advantage of the newer technology is to keep yourself updated and upskilling yourself with newer advancements. This way, you will always have a competitive edge over your competitors and keep you open to any opportunities that might come your way.
