How Can Cloud Technology Improve Your Payroll System?

In today’s competitive business world, it’s more important than ever for companies big and small to keep up with the latest technology trends. When it comes to accounting systems, one of the biggest innovations has been cloud technology. Especially useful with payroll systems, the cloud offers users many more options, as well as ease of use and greater online security. If you’re in charge of your company’s payroll system and are seeking to upgrade and expand your capabilities, here are some of the best reasons why using the cloud could take your system to the next level.

Greater Security

While in years past businesses have kept all of their computer systems internal, the invention of the cloud has changed all that. Though it’s natural to think that the security of your accounting system could be compromised if kept off-premises, that’s not the case at all with the cloud. A much more secure method for storing data, the cloud beats an in-house setup in many ways. For starters, storing your system in the cloud will make it much more difficult to be corrupted by malware or other viruses, providing greater security. Along with this, using the cloud will make it much easier for your company to keep sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, tax forms, and other data safe from hackers. Because of this, your company will have reduced liability regarding the storage of the data, since the external cloud provider will be responsible for all support and updates related to the cloud.

Customized Systems

Since companies everywhere are different when it comes to their size, number of employees, or the expenses incurred each month, it’s more important than ever to have customized systems that can be easily implemented and maintained. Because of this, using a cloud system that can be customized in numerous ways can be very beneficial as well as cost-efficient. Along with this, this technology offers a wide range of scalability for businesses, which allows the system’s various capabilities to be increased or decreased based on what is needed at a particular time.

Financial Control

By having a cloud system that can be easily customized and scaled up or down depending upon your company’s needs, you will have much greater financial control over your accounting system. In the long run, this can have a very good effect on your company’s budget, since you’ll be able to better forecast long-term needs and their costs. For example, if your needs increase for a few months, you can spend more while knowing how much your cloud system expenses will be in the ensuing months, making budgeting much easier.

Improved Procedures

As the years go by and your company implements new procedures related to your accounting system, it’s only natural to discover ones that work well and ones that need to be abolished. Because of this, you’ll find new ways to complete certain tasks by using a cloud system. When this happens, the cloud will then allow you to share these procedures throughout your company through collective learning. As an additional feature, cloud systems allow updates to your company’s accounting system to be transferred automatically and implemented much easier than previous options. And since most of these procedures have been tested over a period of time and found to be effective, implementing them will be a smart financial decision.

Accurate Forecasting

Since most accounting professionals realize that various financial systems will become even more complex over the years, they are always striving to plan ahead so that they will be able to stay one step ahead of the competition. To do so, business forecasting needs to be as accurate as ever, and cloud technology will make that happen. With cloud-based software, your company will be able to run much more detailed short and long-range reports, allowing for numerous adaptations and changes.

Mobile Availability

While in-house accounting systems were set up so that only select management personnel had access to the system, today’s cloud systems have made tremendous strides when it comes to increasing availability to employees. With most companies, all employees can now gain access to certain parts of their company’s accounting system, letting them continually be aware of their vacation time, benefits, and hours. And as an added bonus, employees can create accounts for these systems that will let them make simple changes to their information.

Business Growth

For many small businesses, implementing cloud technology has led to increased growth. Viewed as possibly the most significant tool businesses can use to stimulate growth, it’s estimated that small businesses that use the cloud as part of their accounting system grew 26 percent faster than other businesses, and were found to be up to 21 percent more profitable than similar businesses.

Resolving Job-Related Problems

In years past when a job-related problem occurred, it sometimes took days or even weeks to get the problem resolved. However, with the implementation of the cloud, more and more problems can now be solved much quicker. For example, when employees may have questions about payroll, they can use the cloud to get input from fellow employees and share information and knowledge, allowing many problems to get solved much more efficiently.

Easier Training

When most companies switch accounting systems, it often takes a tremendous amount of time and money to train employees on how to use the system. Because of this, companies may actually take a loss initially when switching systems. However, when a cloud system is implemented, costs go down tremendously and employee training time is greatly decreased as well, making them a smart investment. Whether employees are on-site or at remote locations, training can be done through mobile devices, and either individually or in groups.

As companies find even more ways to implement cloud-based systems, there’s no doubt most accounting functions will become easier than ever before. Whether allowing employees easier access to their benefits information or letting managers make more accurate business forecasts, the cloud is poised to revolutionize business as we know it today.