Connecting Your Accounts, Software & Your World

AUTHOR:

“You mean I will never have to save my paper receipts again if I just use this app to snap a picture?” our client said to me with both fear and relief as I demonstrated how to use a new receipt app. He just couldn’t believe that one of his least favourite things to do was suddenly replaced with a snap.  

If you have nightmares thinking about filing paper receipts or you are still carrying around a wallet or purse stuffed with receipts, it is time to wake up to a new day and a new way to manage your receipts, all while keeping the Canada Revenue Agency happy. 

It can be hard to let go of old, tried-and-proven ways of doing business – paper trails and filing receipts. You might worry that the CRA won’t be satisfied and your new way of work will come back to haunt you at tax time or later, with an audit. But rest assured, the CRA understands the need to move faster, at the speed of business, and technology is a key part of that. Of course, the CRA has rules – but they’re easy to follow; you can read more at CRA’s Acceptable backup Guidelines.

Today’s new tools that are already in the palm of your hand can transform the way records are kept and money is managed. 

As accountants and bookkeepers, we understand the reticence to give up on paper. We were once the professionals who would demand every receipt, who would chase you for weeks to submit it, then who would post it and file it and finally demand it be kept for years. 

Those days are gone. As we help you focus on your business, we recommend technologies that are best suited to helping you understand and track the status of a project, so you can make changes quickly to boost your bottom line and increase your customers’ satisfaction. Like we have always done, we take the worry out of bookkeeping and taxes; find out more by checking out our accounting & bookkeeping services. 

We adapt what we do and what you do to our new digital era. Let’s consider a client, whom we’ll call ABC Company. ABC interacts with potential and existing customers to a high degree online and is a perfect example of a company that embraces technology; however, they needed to see how technology could streamline and enhance their administrative and bookkeeping work. 

With 10 employees, ABC struggled with payroll and source deductions. Tax penalties and the stress they caused were what prompted the manger to call us for help.

We showed ABC how to connect its cloud accounts so its software system is fully connected. Key to their new system is programs: Receipt Bank and QuickBooks Online.

Like the apps that shoppers use to claim discounts or savings, Receipt Bank is a receipt-capture system that frees you from having to keep, possibly photocopy for preservation purposes, and then file receipts. Gone are the days of the shoebox filing system, that required someone to sort the receipts at tax time.  Enabling receipts to be captured with a camera on a mobile phone, Receipt Bank reduces the chance a receipt would get lost or misfiled. 

Managing receipts becomes convenient, quick and easy. Once a receipt is attached to the accounting software entry, it is available for future viewing conveniently and quickly.  Never worry about having to track it down in a box or filing cabinet again.

QuickBooks Online streamlined their accounting and enabled them to:

• Record and track expenses
• Reconcile bank and credit card transactions 
• Create and send professional invoices

 

Money – whether earning or spending  – becomes easy to manage, in much the same way as online banking apps allow individuals to see and understand their finances and minimize or avoid banking fees.

We worked with this client to create a transition plan from the desktop and paper processes. We showed the company how to use these digital, cloud-based programs that give employees 24/7 access and which provide a better snapshot of the company’s financial position at any point in time. Because of the currency of information, company managers could make better decisions more quickly – which further boosted client satisfaction and helped build the business.

Making the transition to digital required a few one-on-one training sessions to help the client’s staff understand the processes, build their confidence in letting go of the old paper ways and rest easy knowing that required payments were being made to governments.

Contact us to find out how your business can confidently let go of the old paper ways and harness technology.