The post-pandemic world is ripe with opportunities for growth. These include corporate strategies that had already begun to unfold in the last decade like the transition to cloud-based business functions.
A cloud ecosystem is a complex system of interdependent components that all work together to enable cloud services. However, these ecosystems have grown in size, scope, and complexity. Asian enterprises, having reaped the benefits of investing in the cloud, plan to expand across more cloud strategies over the coming year.
Countless startups and small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have already transitioned to operate some of their main business functions digitally. The writing is on the wall in this new realm of the cloud and companies have taken heed. Alibaba Cloud’s The next-generation cloud strategy in Asia report says that 84% of existing users of cloud services are expecting to increase their investment in cloud technology in 2023.
Thailand has been projected to make a 95% increase in moving its critical businesses online so they can more efficiently handle workloads. Indonesia (94%), the Philippines (91%), Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.) (83%), and Singapore (83%) are following suit.
These changes are largely driven by key industries such as Financial Services. Cloud-based applications can be combined to deliver comprehensive solutions for businesses that need to manage their financial data and documents. Some of the preferred applications include cloud accounting, payroll software, and Dropbox Business.
What are the benefits of a cloud ecosystem?
Businesses may face serious challenges when they fail to transition to the cloud. We talked about this in detail in one of our previous blog posts. In a nutshell, they face higher IT resource costs, susceptibility to service outages, and difficulties in collaborating. They become ill-equipped to handle the new reality of working remotely. Worst of all, they could lose the flexibility and scalability to adapt to changes quickly. Companies need to be agile to remain competitive and successful, and operating in the cloud gives them that edge.
In a cloud ecosystem, you no longer rely on vulnerable and costly physical resources spread across different locations with connectivity issues. It becomes easier to aggregate data, analyze it, update it in real time, and access it from anywhere. Cloud technology helps you cut down on costs, avoid geographical restrictions, prevent human error, and increase productivity. More significantly, it allows a company to quickly embrace and adapt to the new remote work model that Covid-19 forced upon businesses, and that remains the established business infrastructure of the day.
The Connection between Cloud Accounting, Payroll Software, and Dropbox Business
How do these particular applications all figure into the cloud and the benefits of using a cloud ecosystem? The starting points are always accessibility and flexibility. Working out of the cloud means you are never tied down to a business location. It also means that your data and tools are always up-to-date and safely stored away.
Cloud accounting–also known as online accounting–uses a suite of apps with the same functionality as desktop apps. Xero is a good example of this. It’s a cloud-based, small business accounting software with tools for managing invoicing, bank reconciliation, inventory, purchasing, expenses, bookkeeping, and other accounting processes. Xero provides a user-friendly interface and detailed reporting as the business grows, and its versatility hinges on its integration into a cloud ecosystem.
QuickBooks Online is another example of a cloud accounting solution aimed at small businesses. Individual cloud payroll solutions in Singapore integrate well with QBO and it has all of the accounting functions of the classic desktop version. Like Xero, it too relies on the strengths of an always-accessible, always-updated, cloud platform.
Another flexible online app, Dropbox Business takes the familiar features of Dropbox and adds tools and functionality for business productivity. It combines excellent file-sharing and sync features with cloud-based features such as document e-signature and team management. It makes a strong case for being the preferred cloud-storage solution for business.
Integration
QuickBooks Online and Xero offer integration with hundreds of third-party apps, including apps and services for payment gateways, inventory management, and CRM tools. Users can streamline workflows and save time with popular integrations. The most common integrations in Singapore and the South-East Asia region are with cloud payroll solutions such as QuickHR and Justlogin.
Dropbox integrates seamlessly with both to enable users to access and share files easily thanks to Application Programming Interfaces or APIs in most cloud platforms. Collaboration and document management are more rapidly streamlined because it enables third-party software to connect to the business’s systems to provide even further value. That means Xero’s global app ecosystem, QuickBooks’ great app store, and Dropbox’s added functionality can be fully utilized at will. This makes it easier to share documents and financial data securely with your project team and your clients.
Cloud payroll solutions automate the generation of monthly payroll, streamline the CPF submission processes, and generate the bank files for upload to the banks for salary payout. The entries would integrate into cloud accounting and generate the accounting entries automatically.
Real-time Access
You can access real-time information on your current financial position at any time. Cloud computing gives you a significant competitive edge in decision-making by providing up-to-date reports. Know your immediate cash position, plan future spending, and make strategic decisions with impeccable timing. Payroll and other accounting departments can link directly to bank accounts for faster reconciliation and invoicing, faster payments, and reduced admin work. Cloud accounting also gives you a wealth of choices in building custom financial apps.
Automation
Your company can greatly reduce data errors and even save on staff hours with the transition to cloud services. Payroll software and cloud accounting software are well-equipped to effect this positive change by automating many ordinarily time-consuming tasks associated with payroll and accounting management. Sales, income, and purchase data can flow straight from the bank to your own books, without needing to spend hours transcribing them. With Dropbox integration, you can easily and securely share the document end-products of these processes like pay stubs, tax forms, and financial reports. You can also use Dropbox’s automated folder function to automate specific tasks like naming, sorting, tagging, or converting so that files become better organized and easier to find.
Collaboration
Accessibility fuels cloud-based services. Cloud accounting can give you instant access to your records, reports, and receipts without needing to download and install any software. All you need is an internet connection and a web browser. You can then collaborate with your accountant using QBO (A) and Xero HQ for cloud accounting. With the simple transition to online accounting, you can sever the dependence on office servers and lay the foundation for stronger and easier collaboration in your business.
Dropbox Business provides a platform for this new collaboration by making it possible for accounting teams and partners anywhere in the world to securely share important documents at the drop of a hat. It’s indispensable when financial data and documents require input from multiple parties.
Security
Keeping vital and sensitive information on the cloud has clear security advantages. Data becomes less vulnerable to theft or mishandling. Cloud services also manage backups for you, so your data remains safe and current within the conditions that you require. We’ve described these advantages at length in a previous blog where we also talk about syncing, secure sharing, real-time collaboration, file recovery, and convenient storage.
Data security has several facets, though, and cloud-based accounting elegantly addresses many of them. Uniform security standards, scheduled security upgrades, and automatic redundancies are staples for any organization that’s serious about data safety. Xero is a good example of this too. It uses bank-level encryption on data that’s housed in enterprise-grade hosting facilities.
Businesses stand to benefit from stronger protection for their financial data and documents because cloud-based software providers are good at addressing physical disasters, cyberattacks, and other security threats. Cloud-based accounting, payroll, and file storage solutions are shielded by heavy security measures that protect data from loss, theft, or unauthorized access. One example of this is ransomware detection, a Dropbox alert policy that identifies suspicious activity and helps prevent malicious ransomware from spreading. Once these measures are in place, you can then securely share the data with partners or advisers in real-time.
Dropbox Sign adds even more value with the ability to securely send and sign documents stored within a seamless Dropbox workflow. Even better, by using Dropbox’s activity reports and external sharing reports, your administrators and gatekeepers can get a better picture of team activity, folder events, invitations, sharing, and more. This allows you to better monitor events within your Dropbox Team so you can respond quickly to them.
How Dropbox Business, Cloud Accounting, and Payroll Solutions help small business owners
Cloud-based accounting benefits extend as much to small business owners as they do to large enterprises. 2023 statistics on cloud computing show that 48 percent of businesses choose to store their classified and most important data on the cloud. This data is curated and kept up-to-date with cloud software that is itself seamlessly developed, updated, and delivered faster and more easily than traditional counterparts. Acc Pro (Singapore)’s Dropbox PSG Package is an excellent example of such a setup. It gives you the flexibility to run your business from work, home, or on the go, giving you an up-to-date picture of how your business is running, anytime.\
The benefits to small businesses don’t stop there, though. Working in the cloud creates opportunities not available to traditional data management. It becomes easier to share large files and coordinate activities remotely with teams to get work done. Cloud redundancy circumvents the loss of service in any geographic region. Customized, automated backups help recover from data loss or data corruption. Finally, a multiple-cloud strategy with software that incorporates all of these features virtually insulates your enterprise from disaster.
Making the Smart Move to Automation with Acc Pro (Singapore)
The simple combination of cloud accounting, payroll software, and Dropbox allows you to save time and effort, reduce errors, mediate costs, and increase productivity while you maintain control and security over your financial data and documents.
Acc Pro (Singapore) can help you streamline your financial operational and financial management processes so you can focus on strategy, growth, and your company’s long-term vision. Our hand-picked cloud solutions integrate with cloud accounting systems such as Xero and QBO increasing the power of the whole cloud accounting eco-system, giving you a real-time view of how your business is doing, and empowering you to make the best data-driven decisions at any time.
Acc Pro (Singapore) is the QuickBooks Elite and Xero Gold Champion Partner in Singapore. We can help you implement and customise user-friendly cloud accounting solutions that streamline the way you do business and help your bottom line. Our expert teams can help you maximize the potential gains of moving your accounting and financial processes to the cloud. We are ready to guide you through the risks and rewards of converting your workflows to online solutions.
The pandemic may have forced a sea change in the way that enterprises do business, but we have risen to this challenge and we welcome the opportunity to help you do the same. With current government-funded Productivity Solutions Grants and SFEC credit, there has never been a better time than now to transition. Acc Pro (Singapore) also assists SMEs on EDG (Enterprise Development Grant) in automation and financial management with Enterprise Singapore Certified Consultants.
Contact us today and find out how we can help you turbocharge your business.
