Franchise Q&A


John Horton


Head of franchisor relationships at d&t chartered accountants


Q: How do


franchisees speed up their bookkeeping?


A: Trying to do bookkeeping using accounting software that’s not available via the cloud can be really tedious. It takes far too much time and effort and really takes the fun out of being in business. After all, how much value is there in a franchisee manually typing in lots of numbers? Cloud software can save you a lot of time and money, and allows franchisees and staff to focus on running the business. The problem with traditional accounting systems is that the software and the data are rarely kept up to date. More importantly, it’s costly and complicated to keep backups (if they are done at all). In addition, it’s typical that the software is only accessible to one person on one computer, so key people can’t access fi nancial or customer details when they need it the most.


Whenever you are accessing your Gmail, LinkedIn or Facebook account, you are using the cloud. The cloud is a platform to make data and software accessible online anytime, anywhere, and from any device, so your laptop’s hard drive is no longer the central data source.


30 | BusinessFranchise.com | November 2016


Five ways cloud accounting software could benefi t your business are:


• You have a clear, real-time view of your current fi nancial position


• Multiple devices with multiple users makes it easy to collaborate online with both your team and external advisers


• As everything is running online, there is nothing to install – everything is backed up magically whether you’re on your smartphone or your PC


• Upfront costs are reduced, as server failures, software upgrades, maintenance, and system administrations are no longer issues; instead, the service provider manages them


• No more manual data entry because bank transactions are automatically downloaded


The real benefi t of using the cloud is in


the fl exibility it gives you. Whether you run your business from home, from an offi ce or from a van, you can be sure you have the most up-to-date picture of how your business is performing.


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