A great solution to easily transition your accounting engagements to the cloud.

I have been touting the benefits of the cloud many times over. Briefly, the cloud delivers:

• Access the applications anytime anywhere for real time collaboration,
• Eliminates dealing with multiple versions of the software,
• Eliminates transmitting those large pesky QB files,
• Minimizes most of the travel to the customer site improving productivity,
• Allows you to expand your services without worrying about internal infrastructure,
• You can keep better tabs on your client.
• Plus you are keeping your practice current and building your practice valuation.

All of the aforementioned benefits allow you to provide more efficient and more profitable services to your client. Feel free to visit my website for more information on the benefits of the cloud.

You may be asking, “But Bob, I have tried QB Online (QBO) and it doesn’t have the same feature set of QB Desktop (QBD). And Bob, I do not want to learn a whole other application, nor does my staff or my clients!”  Well, what if I can deliver ALL the benefits of QB Desktop AND the ALL the benefits of cloud solutions with no learning curve?  Have I piqued your interest? I hope YES! It is termed hosted cloud solutions.

The way to accomplish this is to host the QB Desktop solution, the same application you love, in the cloud! That means QBD is installed on a server in the cloud and not on your local machine (nor your client’s PC). Now you, your staff, and your client access the application from a common portal via the internet. All data updates are real time. You use the same QBD application that you know very well and you eliminate the core hassles of desktop solutions while getting all the other benefits of cloud services I mentioned previously.

This transition will also help softly step your practice into cloud services while building your practice valuation. With that said, keep in mind the QB Desktop application will not be available forever, but you can buy a few years staying in your comfort zone while easing into the cloud.  Hopefully in a few years, the QBO solution (or other cloud-based accounting applications) will have a richer feature set - and then moving to a pure cloud solution will make more sense.

How do you get started? Contact BAT Consulting and we’ll help set you up with a service that hosts QB 2013 (free upgrade) in a secure server right here in Long Island. The service also includes Microsoft Office 365 so you get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Lync (a Skype-esque conferencing tool) for you to access anywhere. You get both core products you love for just $99/month per client (no additional staff fees). Considering that you are eliminating travel, eliminating file transfers, eliminating worries about back ups, and working real time with your client from anywhere AND you do NOT have to spend any time learning a new program that doesn’t even have all the features you want - it makes great sense.  Plus your practice is uplifting their technology capabilities which is great for your business valuation and staff moral. It is the classic win-win situation.

The transition and implementation is easy and painless. Simply give me a call and we can take your practice to the next level. I am confident that you, your staff, and your clients, will appreciate this enriched service. We can get you started before tax season.

For further reading and insights, I recommend an article from CPA Practice Advisor titled, “How Cloud Services Can Differentiate Your Firm”.

Best wishes for your greatest year ever.

Bob Torella MBA