Cloud accounting for personal finances: a lot easier and cheaper than you think

Su-Lin Tan, Yahoo!7 Moneyhound July 2, 2012, 5:23 pm

The best way to sort out your money issues is by first making sure your accounts are in order. Then you can see where to trim off the fat.

Some people like folders, some people like a shoeboxes. But whatever you use having a system is prudent. And what better method than to have your own accounting system?

With the “cloud”, you can now subscribe cheaply to an “accounting system”. You do not need to buy hardware, because all you need to do is to subscribe to a user-friendly package like Xero or Freshbooks, via the internet.

With some simple accounting know-how, you can easily store all your financial transactions in one place and ditch the shoeboxes.

AccountsTeam CEO, Rener Lao, who helps clients with managing their accounts on the cloud, has the following tips for using accounting systems to manage your personal finances:

Benefits of storing your financial details in the “cloud”

The “cloud” is not a new place. If you are feeling a little pensive about using cloud, don’t. You have been using “cloud” for years. Your Yahoo! Mail, Flikr and Facebook accounts are all on the cloud. The "cloud" is really just the internet – it's large, out there somewhere. Cloud computing is akin to a large storage place where you can put your material out there and less on your PCs or servers.

The beauty of it is that you can access this space anywhere and anytime, all via an internet URL, just like your free email accounts.

So with cloud accounting, you can place all your receipts, invoices and mountains of paperwork by scanning them into this one storage space.

Is it safe? Well, if you have been sending private messages online for years, it is the same concept.

Stops the clutter

By using cloud management, you have all your paperwork scanned and housed centrally. Accessing them is fast and tidy. No more archive boxes.

Stop remembering

If you have your finances in a system, you can use its online calendar to remind you when to pay and when you’re about to be paid. Accounting systems like Saasu and Xero and user friendly and are built to help you with everyday transactions. It also helps with creating repeating transactions and reminders. Never miss a deadline again.

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It can help you prepare a budget for your spending

If you like, you can use these systems to show you a snapshot of your financial position, and help you forecast money matters. You can tell how much cash flows you need to prepare for the future.

Why is this better than a spreadsheet? For starters, you will never lose it or have to store it on a USB stick. And the systems are clever – it will prompt you if your numbers don’t look right.

Forget trawling through your bank statements.

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Cloud accounting for personal finances: a lot easier and cheaper than you think

The best way to sort out your money issues is by first making sure your accounts are in order. Then you can see where to trim off the fat.

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