How Popular is Cloud Accounting? What are the insights to the Cloud accounting benchmark survey?

An Accounting Benchmarking Survey completed in 2018 by GoCardless provides some key insights and information on what other features small businesses can benefit from when maximizing their Xero ecosystem. GoCardless surveyed 297 Accounting firms in the UK to understand the impact of cloud technology and their top 5 findings were as follows:

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1. Xero was the platform of choice among the accounting firms that took part in the survey.Over 67% of respondentswere recommendingXero to their clients, and 45%were usingXero themselves.Small businesses in the UAE can be assured of this when choosing the right cloud accounting software.

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2. Cloud accounting helps you grow and drive profits – 23% of Small Businesses see increased use of automation and technology as a top priority with an increased focus on technology:

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• Businesses benefit from the efficiencies of automation
• Staff spend less time keying in and processing manual work
• Small Businesses can get deeper insights into their sales and operations

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3. Client adoption still needs Improvement - on average, 53% of small businesses are using cloud accounting. Although this is a strong uptake, more should be done by small businesses to use cloud accounting to further their efficiency and profitability.

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4. Employees need more cloud training– althoughthere are many videos on YouTube, a comprehensive Xero help section, and 24-hour support from Xero, employees still need training on how to maximize the usage of cloud accounting to find optimal efficiencies.Xero even offers free online training courses on its Xero U website, which makes it easy for employees to train in their own time and leisure.

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5. Cloud payments unlock time and cash–Cloud payment solutions such as GoCardless allow the seamless collection of payments. As this Xero third-party app also integrates with Xero, once payment is collected,thisis recorded in Xero and matched against your aging accounts receivable balance, allowing you to know your outstanding receivables at any given moment.

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What’s next for the cloud? So, is Cloud King? Based on the findings of the GoCardless benchmarking survey, UK accountants are embracing the online approach and using it to deliver a more efficient, attractive, and profitable kind of firm. But there’s still work to do.

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Staff needs better ongoing training, more clients need to switch to the cloud, and firms need to increase their use of automation to help them achieve the full potential of the cloud.

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If you would like to learn more about Xero and take advantage of our discounted implementation offer, submit your contact details here, and one of our consultants will contact you.

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DISCLAIMER

This article is an extract from the GoCardless benchmark report. It is written in general terms and cannot be relied on to cover specific situations; the application of the principles set out will depend upon the particular circumstances involved. We recommend that you obtain professional advice before acting or refraining from acting on any of its contents.

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