Advances in cloud accounting over the last few years mean that savvy accountants stopped asking themselves “Why cloud?” years ago. They now see the cloud as a way of striding ahead in the profession.

The real time nature of accounting in the cloud means that accountants can get instant access to the information they need whenever, wherever.

Short but regular virtual meetings have now all but replaced sporadic on-site consultations. Bank feeds mean that accountants no longer have to struggle waiting for financial data from their clients too; they now have insight, in real time, into what is happening in their client’s business now. It enables the client to keep their information up to date the whole time but more particularly it allows the accountant to check that everything is on track at any point.

Accountants working with their clients in the cloud are able to hand ownership of day to day bookkeeping back to their clients, therefore leaving them time to offer more lucrative advisory services in order to help their clients’ businesses grow and thrive and seek out more clients.

This is why a number of companies have moved their accounting software offering into the cloud.

The principle behind the cloud is simple. Using Sage One as an example, the client logs on through a web browser or downloads the app onto a mobile device (or both, or onto multiple devices). He or she then enters their information – invoices, purchases, generates VAT reports, whatever they need.

The idea of holding it in the cloud is that the information is resident on Sage’s secure servers rather than on the client’s individual laptop, phone or tablet. It is therefore safe on the one hand, and there’s only one version of it - paper documents or versions of documents have a knack of being updated or going missing.

Perhaps the best gift to accountants, however, is the “accountant’s view” function of the app. Subject to rigorous security and permission from the information’s owner, the accountant can also go into the app and look at the data. The accountant gets a stripped-back view with the account codes and ledger information intact; the customer will simply have recorded a sale or purchase, or calculated their VAT automatically and hit “submit”, so that their VAT return has gone straight to the right place at HMRC.

Automating all of these steps and storing the data securely means two things. First, the client is filing everything into the correct category so their accounts are going to be in order. Second, the accountant can, at any point, go in and check everything is as it should be, moving things around as necessary.

Leveraging the convenience of the cloud and the speed and security Sage One affords gives accountants more hours in the day. Whatever state of technological development we’re in the old adage rings true; time is money.