The Definition
Online accounting is software hosted on a web server that can be accessed by many users at once using commonly available web browsers. A single (or multiple) instance of the software runs on server infrastructure, but serves multiple client organizations (tenants). So rather than paying large up front costs for software customers pay a smaller quarterly fee. This is a bit like renting your software while you need it rather than buying it.
The Switch
Saasu is an Software-as-a-Service utility company. The current switch is from Software to Online Accounting. In our view online accounting will win the market over in the end. It simply has so many compelling advantages that it’s almost inevitable.
The Recipe
Take an easy to use online banking website and mash it with the functionality of a good accounting package and you end up with an Online Accounting Application like Saasu. Sorry, but we think it’s great!
Online accounting is simple because it’s like doing your online banking. Actually, it’s like that because we modeled it in such a way that it’s a similar customer experience. We even have a completely original accounting screen that everyone needs called a Bank Transfer. It’s amazing how many accounting software systems have ignored this basic business requirement.
There’s a lot more we do differently from your normal bookkeeping software so it’s worth having a look around the application yourself. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to discuss the topic. We are happy to help you setup fresh, walk you through the application or even migrate your data from your old software.
Online Accounting vs Software Accounting
Saasu’s online accounting engine dramatically enhances accounting file synchronisation, centralisation, integration and accessibility, to a level unavailable to the small business owner using installed software. In the old world information existed like islands in different systems. Now it can be connected.
We do not have CD’s to manufacture, ship and market to retail outlets. Savings we make lower subscription prices. Effectively customers are tenants using our server and software.
Saasu uses a development methodology that reduces R&D costs, it’s a small highly skilled team, long burn time approach. This is keeping the product price to a minimum.
Small business does not want to deal with licensing issues and the manual upgrade of software. The automation of multiple annual upgrades and daily backups through our SaaS business model delivers real business savings to our subscribers’ bottom line. It’s not single units out of the box, it’s an instant on-demand application.
Outside of operating systems, software technology has reached the mature end of its commercial life cycle. We feel that there are recent examples in the last decade pointing to this. Take what online banking has done to “branch banking”. Online accounting will do the same to software accounting. The movement is underway to the SaaS model across the industry (Microsoft, Oracle and Peoplesoft amongst others have headed in this direction in enterprise markets.
We’re not building a version of something that already exists, we are building a product that is part of the next evolution in accounting, supporting interaction with your financial from any computer on any platform, anywhere, anytime.
In the end our aim is to make the whole business finance workload smaller. The human race should be doing bigger and better things than wasting time managing the books.
Switch to Online Accounting
The concept of getting your business online is not new. So how far can we go with this? Once you get a taste of online vs. offline you will want more, however, the web application lolly jar isn’t bottomless just yet. Organisations, including some of the largest in the world, have written internal policy to encourage (ahead of other solutions) the development or purchase of browser based tools for their business. They are doing this for a reason. Security, deployment, resilience, accessibility, upgrade cycles and cost savings are just some of them.
You can see the applications Saasu uses on our Cool list. Gradually we will become a completely SaaS oriented business model. There are still a few more products needed to complete the process but we feel this is only a year or two away. Strictly speaking we could do it now but we aren’t blinded by our passion, there are very good software products in the market that don’t have a good SaaS alternative as yet.
Smaller Businesses can now achieve a high level of SaaS quickly and easily. It is almost possible to run an organisation entirely using online applications as a choice over software. Stephen Collins, a Saasu customer, produced a fantastic sample list that his company Acidlabs uses. While Saasu online accounting is an important piece of this picture. Saasu now connects to four other applications in Stephen’s list provided.
Going to SaaS Case Study – Acidlabs.org
