Accountants, bookkeepers and small business consultants have recognized the benefits of accessing client information remotely, where all parties can work on the same data in real-time, creating the opportunity to maintain more timely and accurate financial data for the business client. The Internet has become the network, facilitating a variety of different working models which allow users, regardless of location, to access business information and data to get their work done.
For accountants and their business clients, it is essential that there is some type of virtualized working model, else the client is relegated to accepting after-the-fact reporting and outdated information. Especially in smaller businesses where many of the accounting and finance processes are handled by an outsourced professional, time and distance is the enemy.
Just about anything that helps remove those barriers to real-time efficiency is worth looking at – which makes it particularly unfortunate that Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks, are now discontinuing the QuickBooks Remote Access Service, a tool that had addressed the remote access requirement for many businesses and their accounting and bookkeeping providers.
There are a wide variety of options for accountants to work closer with their small business clients, and jumping into a SaaS or web-based application is just one of them; other proven options include remote PC access and application hosting services. Hosting in particular is beneficial as it allow businesses to continue the use of the software and processes they have already invested in while enabling a remote access and mobile capability.
If the problem is access, the solution isn’t necessarily a complete change in software – the solution is to create access. With Intuit’s end of QuickBooks Remote Access services in sight, the time to explore QuickBooks hosting is now.
By Joanie Mann, EPM Channel Contributor, from: http://coopermann.com/2014/10/07/intuit-ends-quickbooks-remote-access-service-the-time-to-host-is-now/
Joanie Mann is a recognized authority in the areas of ISV cloud enablement and ASP service delivery. Her extensive work with accounting professionals worldwide has positioned her as an expert consultant and adviser to practitioners looking to leverage cloud accounting solutions, web-based applications and Internet technologies in their firms and with their clients. See Joanie’s articles on EPM Channel here.
