3 Ways to Simplify Your Finances With Cloud Accounting Software

Author: Sam Hart (ACCA) LHP Associate

For our 70-strong team of cloud accounting specialists based at five South Wales offices, our mission has always been to help you thrive adapt and grow in business. Back in 1935 when LHP started out, this involved traditional accounting methods, but today we’re at the forefront of Cloud technology and it’s through cloud automation, insight, and scalability that time and money benefits can be realised.

At LHP, most of our 4,000 clients are either already in the Cloud or have plans to switch to it. My role involves advising business owners across South West Wales on how to better run their finances, saving them time and money, gaining them ease of use and adding more convenience to their lives.

When it comes to simplifying finances, you can expect these three things from Cloud accounting…

1. Accountants can access your account online instantly.

Gone are the days of reporting an issue with your finances to your accountant and then having to wait for an on-site visit to see what the problem is your end.  With Cloud, our accountants can instantly access your account remotely to troubleshoot any issues, cutting out unnecessary visits and call out fees.

Meanwhile you too get the benefits of instant access and real-time insights, meaning no nasty financial data surprises or delays.  Sometimes you need that instant access to present a case to bankers or funding bodies. In the Cloud, data is quicker to find, reports more easily accessed, and support (more or less) instantly resolved, saving you lots of time.

2. Business payments are automated, reducing manual tasks.

Cloud accounting has benefits that equate to less hassles for you. For example, automating business transactions like the recurring sales invoice feature, which automatically generates and sends out your invoices, without you having to do any of the work. Other automated functions include importing daily transactions, made possible by connecting to your bank account.

For VAT registered businesses, your VAT returns are automatically prepared in the background as you input the data, allowing you sneak previews of the predicted VAT payable that quarter. Great for managing cash flow and big picture insights. Xero is accessible any-time, any-place, so you don’t download anything to your computer. You can even invoice someone on your phone before you get back to the office after a meeting with them!

3. Instant access to Apps help simplify business tasks.

There are over 800 Apps that work with Xero to help run your business easier. Shopify for businesses with online websites, Stripe for organisations wanting to add on a payment service to get sales invoices paid quicker. There are even Apps for farmers that provide solutions specific to them.

At LHP, we help businesses streamline the way they record accounts, adding in Apps like Dext.

Dext converts mobile phone photos of your purchase invoices, pinged over in a press of a button into cleverly extracted financial data, published to your accounting software.

When it comes to choosing your Cloud Accounting package, we recommend a handful. From Xero, QuickBooks and Sage to KashFlow and FreeAgent. There is no ‘one size fits all’. FreeAgent for example is free to those that business bank with NatWest. QuickBooks is well-suited to those with stock-based tracking systems. It does depend on your situation. Generally speaking, Xero is very popular for its user-friendly, ease of use and affordability benefits. For this reason, we are Platinum Xero Partners.

Are you prepared for digital tax?

Did you know you may need to avoid penalties if you are not already doing digital finances?

At LHP we are busy moving clients to Cloud based accounting to ensure compliance with the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) government-led legislation already underway. This scheme is changing the way businesses record their finances forever.

Making Tax Digital has been around for a couple of years now, firstly affecting VAT registered with turnovers above £85k, it’s now being rolled out for all VAT registered businesses, who need to be ‘MTD ready’ by April 2022.

For all self-employed business with turnovers above £10,000 per year including landlords, Making Tax Digital for income tax will be rolled out in 2023. For those that don’t comply, expect to face financial penalties. If you are a start-up, it’s advisable to use Cloud accounting from the get-go, to avoid a time consuming switch to Cloud in 2022-23.

Let’s Talk

If this interests you, or for further discussion, Let’s Talk.  We promise to make your life simpler, by freeing up time and saving you money and we promise to make the move to LHP as seamless as possible. Our team of Cloud specialists and business advisors are here to help, based in Carmarthen, Haverfordwest, Lampeter, Tenby and Cross Hands near Swansea. You can also email info@lhp.co.uk.