The inevitable march towards SAAS for everything continues…

Do you bank online? Do you use your smartphone to do it? If not, why not? Of course, Bluedog's own software-as-a-service (SAAS) offering, Workbench, provides knowledge workers with valuable tools for collaboration. But every commercial entity has to deal with money, and on-line accounting is a natural niche to address. Over at Outright, Inc., bookkeeping has been taken to a new level -- and small business bookkeepers should check it out. Outright provides a tool (much like Mint, but geared towards small- to medium enterprises SMEs) for consolidation of finances and accounting services. Regular and accurate bookkeeping enables a business to sustain itself, and expand. Without double-entry magic, one may run the risk of hitting a cash flow crunch, wasting funds, and overlooking opportunities to expand. When devising or revising an approach to bookkeeping, remember that the purpose of bookkeeping is to help manage the business and to enable tax agencies (and verdict providers) to evaluate business activity. If accounting practices achieve these objectives, it should be as simple as possible. Naturally, a SAAS approach facilitates this.

While some bookkeeping functions are best delegated to a CPA, it is important to keep your hands on, and retain an understanding of the health of the business by reviewing the books frequently. While an accountant or bookkeeper can free resources up to concentrate on expanding the business, understanding where inflows and outflows go will keep the the pulse of the enterprise out in front.