5 Reasons Your Small Business Should Switch to Digital Bookkeeping (smallbizclub.com)

            
In the 21st century, it would be an understatement to say technology and the internet have made running a business easier. With all this useful innovation at your fingertips, why would you continue to perform essential tasks such as bookkeeping the old-fashioned way? Maybe because you’re already drowning in a flood of paperwork and the utter thought of organizing and scanning each document seems like a petrifying endeavor. Or perhaps you’re just a creature of habit and afraid a drastic change might disrupt the flow of your business. There are undeniable advantages, however, to convert your paper documents into electronic files. Here’s why digital bookkeeping is right for your business. Increased Efficiency Sifting through file cabinet after file cabinet for receipts or financial statements can be an enormous time waster, especially in this age of instant access. With the help of an online bookkeeping software like ours, most documents can be found in a few seconds just by using the search bar function. Digital bookkeeping also speeds up the invoicing process. Sending timely invoices to clients or other businesses will maintain your cash flow and expedite your operations.

Save Money Think about all of the expenses that come with traditional, manual bookkeeping – printers, copiers, fax machines, ink, and of course paper. When you add these costs up for the year, you might be surprised how much you spent. By going paperless, you’ll give your budget much more wiggle room. This allows you to spend your money on more important matters related to your business. Also, you might see your electric bill decrease since you’re not consuming as much energy with printers, copiers, and other machines. Environmental Friendliness According to The World Counts, 50% of the waste from businesses is composed of paper. Plus, paper accounts for 25% of landfill waste and 33% of municipal waste. Don’t let your small business be part of these statistics. Decreasing your paper usage is the simplest way to reduce your office’s carbon footprint. If you absolutely need to print paper, try using the two-sided print feature and always make sure you’re recycling. Less Clutter = More Space If you’re the kind of business owner who has rows of file cabinets along the walls of your office, you may want to consider the adage “less is more.” By eliminating this clutter, you’ll free up some space for your office. This means more room to have a larger break area or add more desks to accommodate new employees.

Keep Documents Safe from Disasters You never know when life will surprise you – and not in a good way. From natural disasters such as floods and tornadoes to bizarre incidents like an accidental discharge of your office’s fire sprinklers, there are several unfortunate ways your documents can get destroyed. That’s why transferring your paper documents electronically and storing them on a cloud-based software is the best way to prepare for the worst. Even if your computer gets destroyed when catastrophe strikes, you can still access your records from any other computer or mobile device. Utilizing an online bookkeeping service can relieve yourself from bookkeeping duties. This will let you focus more of your attention on generating revenue and growing your business. Doing it yourself, especially if you’re a bookkeeping novice, will most likely result in errors, and mending those mistakes will waste more time for your business. Sometimes, it’s best to leave certain things to the professionals.