Cloud Bookkeepers: 8 Questions to Ask Before Picking One

Cloud bookkeeping services have altered accounting forever. You no longer have to work from your hard drive anymore. And since all your accounting data is stored online, you can access it from anywhere, at any time.

Cloud bookkeepers use cloud accounting software to record all your transactions and generate financial statements. But how do you choose the right one?

Asking Yourself the Right Questions

AI has transformed bookkeeping, and there are a lot of factors you need to consider to pick the right cloud bookkeeper. Before settling on one, ask yourself these questions.

  1. Is It In Your Budget?

Cloud accounting software comes in a range of prices. Go through what each offers and at what price. Subscribe to the one that has everything you need at the cost you can afford. If you have subscribed to one software application, you don’t have to pay for its maintenance. Also, consider bookkeeping services that update their software for free

  1. Does It Save Time?

Accounting is time-consuming. The more time you spend balancing your books, the less you’ll have for growing your business.
The purpose of any cloud bookkeeping service is to save you time by figuring out your accounting for you and organizing it automatically. Ask yourself if the software you’re interested in subscribing to will meet your expectations or not.

  1. Is It Easy to Use?

Some cloud bookkeeping services allow you to take a demo or free trial to understand how the software works. Is it easy to use? Does it cater to everything your business needs? Remember, the purpose of a cloud service is to make bookkeeping easier and hassle-free.

  1. Is It Suitable for Your Business?

Every business has unique accounting needs. Some require complicated calculations to be made, while others need software with industry-specific features. For example, a construction company will need a cloud bookkeeping service that keeps track of expenses for individual projects. Before you subscribe, make sure it has everything to support your business accounting needs

online accounting and bookkeeping services

  1. What Do You Want From Your Software?

You should first figure out what accounting features your business needs and then find the cloud accounting service that meets them. Do you want your accounting software to:

  • Create invoices?
  • Store your customers’ information?
  • Pay bills on time?
  • Track your expenses?
  • Prepare your financial statements?

Or do you want it to do something more?

Paying for the features you don’t need is a waste of money. As your business grows, your service should have added-on features to support you.

  1. Do They Have a Customer Service Team?

Suppose something goes wrong with your cloud bookkeeping, or there’s something you can’t figure out. That’s why good customer service is important.

Make sure your cloud accounting service has a customer service team you can conveniently reach by email, phone, or online chat.  Even the most efficient cloud bookkeeper needs a little help and guidance every now and then.

  1. Is It Safe and Secure?

Make sure that the cloud bookkeeping service you pick will protect your data. Your personal information and passwords should not be accessible to your service representatives. The company should also be insured and have a legal agreement in place to protect its customers’ privacy and data.

  1. Can You Lose Your Data?

With cloud accounting services, you don’t need to store your data on your hard drive. So losing the data due to an error on your end is out of the question. But can you lose cloud data? Not unless you delete it yourself. Everything you place in cloud storage stays there and can be accessed from anywhere anytime.

Reputable cloud bookkeepers can help streamline your business accounting. If you’re in Canada, get in touch with Virtuous Bookkeeping and choose from the wide array of virtual assistance services we offer.