Next week on Friday December 2, 2011 we will be hosting our first free information session, here at our Red Hill office, to discuss the phenomenon called the “cloud”; which we believe (if not happening as we speak) will revolutionise the way we all do business.

Our first session will be focusing on the cloud concept and the construction industry.

• What is the Cloud?
• How will it benefit your business?
• What cloud software solutions are available?

We’ve been lucky enough to have as our guest speaker Jason Forbes, Xero‘s Senior Account Manager for Queensland. Xero is a New Zealand company (founded in 2006) who is currently leading the way for accounting software in the cloud. Xero started small with an idea; a concept; a brighter future: to produce “beautiful accounting software” that would be accessible anywhere, any time, on any device. And that’s what Xero did. Five years down the track they have produced a seriously impressive product that has wowed not only our kiwi brothers but the world! Xero certainly has raised the benchmark. A product compatible with other leading cloud software specialising in payroll, e-commerce, inventory, work flow management, point of sale; the list goes on and on. What desktop accounting software can put that down in their CV? Not many.

So come join us, meet us, bounce off ideas with us next week on Friday 2nd December 2011 at 4:00PM (that’s QLD time). Let’s take the leap into the clouds.

Being brought up with Mac computers, I was destined to face many problems when it came to compatibility and the ability to replicate tasks which were performed on Windows based computers. As I have ventured into the accounting industry this problem became even more noticeable when it came to software which would never be made for the Mac OS X system. Highlighting this point is the fact that the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) doesn’t provide its E-Tax platform to Macintosh users. Instead, they offer a tax deduction for any cost incurred in purchasing any emulation software required to use E-Tax. Leading accounting software provider QuickBooks has only this year released its first ever version compatible for Mac, but perhaps it’s too little, too late.

Over the recent months, this problem has become less and less of an issue at Rush & Associates. We have recently joined the “cloud” revolution by introducing Xero to a number of our clients. The beauty of Xero is that it can be accessed any where, any time, as long as you have an internet connection. There is now no need to pay for the annual cost of the most recent release of MYOB or QuickBooks, as Xero regularly performs software updates whenever required. Both ourselves and the client have access to a “live” portrait of their business. Daily bank feeds provide the client with the opportunity to reconcile each transaction, which removes the annoyance of querying clients six to twelve months after the transaction has occurred; which would be done when we were provided with the bank statements for the previous financial year. The problem with traditional accounting method is that information was provided too late. Important business decisions were being made based on past performance. Xero allows business advice to be specific to the problems that they are currently facing.

By adopting Xero we also remove the painful barriers that were previously encountered by Mac users. It was only this week that we had a client contact us asking the questions, “I purchased a Mac, can I still access my MYOB file via remote access?” My old accounting ways initiated the thought of setting up a dual operating system which would provide the opportunity for Windows to be used on the Mac. Suddenly, I realised, what have I been preaching over the last 6 months? Take everything on-line and access the information any where, any time. I came back to my colleagues and suggested that this was the perfect opportunity to offer the client the option to convert from MYOB to Xero. In doing so our client would be able to reap the benefits of their new Mac computer and experience the capabilities that Xero provides by allowing them to access their accounting records via the internet through their chosen device; either a Mac, Windows based PC, or mobile device.

As technology has evolved, I was always hopeful that accounting software would move in the same direction. However, this wasn’t the case until the introduction of Xero. Now, our clients are able to utilise everyday basics, such as iPhone’s and iPad’s to access their accounts and reconcile the company bank account. They are able to take photos of invoices and upload them to the specific transaction to which it relates; removing the potential to lose the receipt.

At Rush & Associates we strive to stay up to date with technological advancements. We regularly review our IT set up to ensure that we meet the needs and wants of our clients. After all, our clients don’t want to have to worry about basic accounting issues, they just want to run their business in the best possible way, and so do we!

This truly is The Beauty of the Cloud.