More and more South African SMEs are embracing cloud-based software for their payroll and accounting needs. By embracing cloud-based software, they can simplify their IT environments, save money, and achieve the flexibility to get more done quicker.
"With an online solution such as Sage One Accounting and Sage One Payroll, you can simply log in from wherever you are and start working," says Steven Cohen, managing director of Sage Pastel.
"You can access your data from the cloud which means that your data is available online, anywhere, anytime and from any device. All you need is an Internet connection and the ability to pay a small monthly fee for the use of the software."
But how do you choose the right online business solution for your needs? Security, reliability and ease of use are right at the top of the list of requirements, says Anton van Heerden, managing director for Sage HR & Payroll.
"A reliable company with a good brand will host your data in a secure environment," he says. "Its software will also have a simple and accessible interface, as well as powerful mobile apps that let you work on the move."
Choosing an accounting package
Cohen offers four tips for choosing a great cloud accounting solution:
* Rich reporting and dashboards: Look for a solution that puts the data you need at your fingertips.
* Easy invoicing: A good cloud solution will make it easy for you to issue invoices to customers as well as manage the invoices you need to pay.
* Automatic bank feeds: The best online accounting solutions will link your accounting records to your online bank account ? no more importing, no more manual processing and no more bank reconciliations.
* Ease of use: A good cloud solution for a SME is easy to use, with no accounting jargon and an intuitive interface that will make running your business a breeze.
Selecting the payroll package
Van Heerden advises that some things you should seek in an online payroll solution are:
* Security: Your payroll data must be kept safe and secure. It must be backed up daily and the software should allow you to email secure PDF payslips to your employees.
* Ease of use: With no payroll jargon and predefined transaction templates, the right cloud payroll software lets you simply sign up, add employees and start processing in minutes.
* Full compliance with SARS and labour law: The right solution will make your SARS submissions a breeze. It should allow you to comply with SARS requirements and generate tax certificates with the click of a button. It will take care of your UIF, SDL, PAYE and IRP5s with no fuss.
Bonus tip: Look for an integrated solution. Manually recording your payroll journals in your accounting application could be a thing of the past if you choose cloud payroll and accounting solutions that integrate with each other. With the Sage One Payroll integration tool, for example, you'll be able to automatically post your payroll journals to Sage One.
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