Any business worth its salt has data storage high on its agenda. As more and more of our working resources become digitised, there’s the escalated threat of losing everything in a matter of moments. Whether due to accident, corruption or malicious activities, relying on paperwork or hardware for data security is like playing with fire – you’ll almost certainly get burned in the end.
Cloud computing not only safeguards against these risks, it also has a range of other benefits for businesses and self-employed professionals, particularly contractors and freelancers. Here’s why the cloud is becoming increasingly essential for smart bookkeeping:
Anywhere, Any Time
Managing a growing archive of documents, spreadsheets and media files can be a chore for businesses of any size. As a contractor dealing with invoices and timesheets for several clients, it can be difficult to stay on top of your bookkeeping if you don’t have systems in place to organise and protect your data.
Cloud storage is essentially an online bank that can be accessed on any device; as long as you have internet, you can retrieve anything in an instant. By saving an update from your laptop, you’ll be able to access it on your tablet, or share the latest version with your client.
Endless Space
Hard drives have a limit, which can prove problematic as your storage needs grow. Cloud computing has introduced the concept of infinite storage, allowing you to continuously add receipts, invoices and data without fearing full capacity.
Our dedicated accounting software, FreeAgent, is designed to sort and contain all of your financial paperwork in one platform. It also goes one step further, with your cash flow translated simply and clearly on the dashboard, so you can track where your money is going as your bookkeeping records pile up.
The Price is Right
As a contractor or freelancer, you’ll naturally want to avoid any extra costs wherever possible. Saving your data on a physical system can engender significant cost. You’ll be paying for third-party storage, or backing everything up yourself, which means dealing with maintenance charges.
Cloud-based bookkeeping solutions, on the other hand, charge very little to store gigabytes of data on a rolling basis. FreeAgent betters this by being included as standard in any of our annual packages: you’ll be reassured that your purchase won’t climb to higher rates further down the line, unless you upgrade to another tier when your business grows and evolves.
When you’re making it as a freelancer or independent contractor, you shouldn’t need to worry that everything you’ve built may come crashing down around your ears at a moment’s notice. You want the reliability, interactivity, and elastic communication of great accounting software, harnessing the power of the cloud revolution.
For more information about how FreeAgent can transform your bookkeeping, get in touch with Bright Ideas Accountancy. Call 0161 669 4221 or email Info@biaccountancy.com to see how we can make accounting headaches a thing of the past.
