Accounting has evolved a lot not only in terms of methodologies but also in terms of technology advancements. After the introduction of computers to the businesses, digital accounting started as a professional standard for bigger companies.
With time, innovation, and competition even small businesses can now use digital accounting as a standard form of accounting for daily tasks. But it’s not that simple.
Choosing an accounting software which suits your business needs is also a big task. Also, you need to consider other factors with it like, ease of training employees, price, basic or advanced version, etc., which makes or breaks your business accounting operations.
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Another important decision to be made is which mode of UK accounting software to be used – desktop or cloud. Well, without any doubt UK accounting software provides both the modes of purchase and is available for all types of businesses. Click here for UK accounting software and make your choice for the same.
But again you have a dilemma of what factors to consider while deciding to choose whether a desktop or a cloud accounting software is better for your business.
Here’s the differences between desktop and cloud UK accounting software.
S. No. | Desktop UK Accounting Software | Cloud UK Accounting Software |
1. | In desktop accounting, your accounting system and business data is stored within your desktop or laptop. | In cloud accounting, your accounting system and business data is stored in the software’s cloud, which means on the internet. |
2. | Here, your accounting activities will have a desktop based approach. | Here, your accounting activities will have a cloud / online based approach. |
3. | With this, you will be working on an older concept of traditional accounting. | Here, your system will be updated with newer concepts of accounting. |
4. | Desktop accounting software will require you to backup your data manually on your system or private cloud. | With cloud accounting software, your data will be automatically backed-up timely as per your requirements. |
5. | Here, you are restricted to single user utilization of the system at a time. | Cloud accounting gives you the freedom of multiple users utilizing the software at a time. |
6. | Your desktop accounting version restricts you to access the data from anywhere, as it is accessible only on the desktop it is installed on. | With cloud accounting software, you have easy and quick access to all of your accounting data, from anywhere across the world with internet connectivity. |
7. | You will need to manually install desktop accounting software and also manually update it. | Here, you don’t need any manual effort as the cloud accounting software updates itself automatically. |
8. | With desktop accounting software, you can easily work without internet connectivity. | For cloud accounting, you need good internet connectivity to access and use it optimally. |
9. | Finally, desktop accounting software will cost you less. | Cloud accounting software costs more due to its advanced technology features. |
With this, you can figure out that cloud UK accounting software gives you better benefits and ease of accounting than the desktop version.
When to choose Desktop UK accounting software?
Many startups or small businesses have a limited amount of working capital and fixed capital to spend on resources. Though your investment in UK accounting software is necessary due to many benefits, you can opt for a cheaper version – desktop mode.
It not only comes cheaper but has many advantages over cloud accounting software:
- Accessible even without internet connection
- Security of data storage
- Runs faster due to independence on internet connection speed
So, if your tasks involve basic accounting operations, you should go for desktop UK accounting software. But look out for the update costs too as today technology is evolving faster than ever. You need to envisage the scalability of your business to access this factor.
When to choose Cloud UK accounting software?
You should go for cloud based accounting software when your business needs advanced features or you have the budget to spend and save time on your daily tasks.
Well, you have many benefits over desktop version with cloud accounting software:
- Multiple users access at the same time
- No need of installing software on your system
- Automatic updation and back up of software and data respectively
- Multiple device access of the software data
This choice saves your system space, time consuming manual efforts, and keeps you updated with the latest compliances and rules of the industry standards.
The only drawbacks here are – risk of security breach of sensitive data, and dependence on good internet connection.
Conclusion
At the end, it all depends on how your business interacts with the market and then you should prioritize your needs. If you want to access data at any time, from any location along with working with the system that has advanced improvements over the desktop version, then it’s better to opt for cloud UK accounting software.
Also, if you cannot ignore the drawbacks of cloud accounting – security of data, necessary internet connectivity, and monthly payments for the operations, then opt for desktop UK accounting software. But the benefit of “cloud accounting” outweighs its drawbacks.