4 Ways Technology Has Made Accounting Easier

Accounting is referred to as the language of business. This language has undergone a lot of changes over the years. However, advancements in technology have had the most significant impact in making accounting work easier. Thanks to these changes, accounting is no longer seen as the dull profession with loads of paperwork. Instead, it has become a profession that is entrusted with offering valuable information to businesses on how to cut costs and maximize their profits. The following are ways that technology has made accounting easier:

1. Cloud computing

Cloud computing allows computers to share data and resources across the internet. This means accountants can now work from anywhere, and they can send their reports and financial statements through the cloud to any of their clients or partners. Many businesses have chosen to take advantage of a virtual bookkeeper. All that the clients has to do is send them their paperwork – bank statements and receipts. The virtual bookkeeping service will then send back the profit, loss and balance sheets along with other vital information in less than a week. This simplifies the accounting process as it saves valuable time for both parties and allows them to engage more with each other on more important things such as how to improve the business strategy.

2. Advancements in tax software

Filing tax returns used to be a hectic procedure due to the amount of paperwork involved. However, with the development of tax software , the process has now become simpler for accountants with a significant drop in the margins of error and improved accuracy being witnessed. This has had a direct benefit to companies as it means avoiding unnecessary tax penalties and problems with stakeholders due to avoidable mistakes. This has also improved the reputation of accounting firms which use these tax software to conduct audits and carry out their duties. Some of the tax software has additional features such as analytical tools that identify discrepancies in data that need more scrutiny and can report any errors. This allows their clients to correct any mistakes before filing their tax returns.

3. Mobile Accounting

Mobile devices are increasingly becoming popular among accountants. Mobile connectivity means the physical barrier of location between accountants and their customers is bridged. With access to mobile devices, accountants can not only add receipts, reconcile statements and send invoices on the go, but also communicate with their clients at the same time. Most Accounting developing software companies are keen on making mobile accounting efficient. Many have tailored their website to be fully viewable on mobile devices and have made iOS (Apple) and Android apps for use on mobile platforms. That makes the work of accountants easier as all they have to do is to download the applications on their mobile devices and they are good to go.

4. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Technology

OCR Technology is the detection of printed or typed characters by a computer. Accountants can use this technology to convert any images, paper documents or PDF files that have been recorded by a digital camera into data that can be edited and made available on search engines This technology has helped to make the work of accountants easier as it is no longer tedious and stressful to sort out data. It is now as easy as capturing your documents by the digital camera and saving the data onto your computer. Afterwards, all the information you need is just a click away in a centralized place. The accountants can now quickly search, sort out and edit any piece of a document they need. Additionally, data can be backed up to a cloud to avoid the issue of missing or misplaced documents and files.

As an accountant, if you embrace technology, your work is bound to get easier. Maybe consider following the above points to find out if it can really make your work easier.