Cloud Accounting Software vs. On-Premise: Should You Join the Cloud?

By Brainsell Editorial Team

As times change, so does our ability to access data. It used to be that accounting software programs could only be stored on a local drive at your office’s building location. Now, you can access accounting software from any location with cloud-based accounting. But cloud accounting software might not be right for every company. Let’s take a look at the benefits of cloud-based programs opposed to traditional programs.

Accessibility

You can access your data anywhere from any device using the cloud, no matter the time of day or current situation. Whether your accountant called in sick but is well enough to work from home, or a huge winter storm just hit, employees can connect to the cloud and access your accounting program. This means that you don’t have to work on one specific computer. Instead, you can work on a laptop by logging in to your accounting program via a web browser. No desktop download or installation needed.

Automatic Backups

Cloud accounting software programs are automatically backed up, while on-premise programs have to be manually backed up. Remembering to back up a system constantly can be quite difficult when you have a long list of tasks on your to-do list. This might just have to be an item on that list for you to remember, but who wants to do that? If you don’t back up the system for months and suddenly one day your local server crashes, you are going to be the one people point fingers at for this loss of necessary data.

Unlimited Storage

If your company is growing, but using a on-premise program, you will eventually have to upgrade to a bigger local server – which costs more money. Cloud-based programs are not limited to storage capacity, while on-premise programs depend on the storage capacity of the local server.

Software Upgrades

Do you ever feel that once you buy a new product, the latest and greatest version comes out right after your purchase? With cloud-based programs, you don’t have to worry about this. Instead, whenever an upgrade or new version comes out, the program is automatically brought up to speed (along with bug fixes from the previous version).