Today, cyber security is a critical issue, particularly when it comes to financial data. Indeed, it seems one cannot scroll a news feed without hearing about a company that had their data stolen. For small businesses and accounting firms, security must be considered a top concern. A firm’s cloud hosting partner must also view security as a number-one priority. Industry-leading secure accounting solutions include solid backups, impenetrable firewalls, encryption, and permission security controls. In this article, we discuss why these security measures are required features when it comes to hosting your QuickBooks desktop accounting software.
Financial Data Is the Most Vulnerable
A common element that all the recent data thefts share is that they all revolve around financial data. Prime targets for hackers and other thieves are companies and institutions that deal with financial data. Small businesses - especially accounting, financial advising, and tax firms - are particularly vulnerable to these hackers. It is critical that businesses protect their and their customers' information. Housing files on a local server can prove to be problematic and dangerous. Unfortunately, most small firms do not have the financial resources to continually upgrade on-site security of their file storage. Secure cloud-hosted accounting solutions provide high-level security features at a reasonable cost. Enterprise-grade firewalls and file encryption ensure information is safe from cyber predators.
The Right Security Saves Money
One consequence that potentially comes from financial data theft is the loss of customers. For an accounting firm, clients trust that all their personal and financial information will be kept safe from hackers and thieves. A failure to provide security for their data can drive customers to seek their accounting needs elsewhere. A significantly sizable theft could even cause the most established accounting firms to go out of business. The cost of protecting files with secure firewalls, backups and encryption far outweighs the cost to rebuilding a firm. Additionally, flexibility provided by cloud hosting allows accounting operations to function from anywhere, possibly eliminating or reducing the need for expensive office space. Flexibility also increases personal empowerment, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Investing in QuickBooks cloud hosting is money well-spent.
Secure Accounting Solutions Save Time
Another unsung benefit to hosting your accounting software in the cloud is its time-saving capability. Accessibility and control lead the way. Users are assigned permission levels once and can be quickly locked out anytime the need arises. Plus, multiple users may access files simultaneously without waiting for another user to finish. Files are immediately accessible, eliminating the wait for file transfers. Backups are automatic, so there is no need to take time out to schedule and do so manually. Unexpected crises – a fire, flood, or global pandemic – will not prevent access to critical company files, and business can continue to operate from any location. And finally, knowing company files are secure frees up time to focus on growing the business. The value of saving time is hard to overstate.
Today, businesses must be tech savvy. In the past, small companies had very few options when it came to cyber security. However, with numerous hosting solutions available today, small business and other accounting institutions can harness the power of the cloud to safely maintain all their QuickBooks and other financial records. The time to invest in security is now.