Going Digital and Online with your Financial Record-keeping

The days of paper are about over, at least for keeping financial records. Things like note-taking or quick lists require paper, but when it comes to keeping permanent, secure records of an attorney’s financial information, paper just can’t compare with the modern solutions. Even a desktop software is fast becoming a relic of the early 2000s. 

It’s the modern world, where everything is online, and bookkeeping should be brought online, as well. Isn’t it dangerous to put your most private financial information onto the worldwide web? Isn’t that better kept inside the security of an office? Absolutely not, and here’s why.

1.   Online bookkeeping will never catch on fire

Fire can devastate a business. Sure, insurance will help with the value of physical items, but careful records can not be recovered if they were limited to a few pieces of paper or computer that melted in the heat. Hopefully, your business will never have to realize just how much valuable information is sitting in file folders or stored on a computer with no backup plan in place. If those precious receipts, contracts, invoices, and financial reports are kept online, not only are they completely fireproof, but also safe from any other natural disaster.

2.   Online bookkeeping will never be stolen

One study found that a laptop is stolen every 53 seconds[i]. A busy attorney might run into a store or restaurant, only to return to her car to find a broken window and a missing laptop with valuable company information stored inside. 

Because of losses like these, data theft has risen exponentially as well. Attorneys have a responsibility to their clients to keep all information private and safe. This includes names and addresses, financial transactions, and more. All of that can be exposed to a thief by a quick break-in and theft of a company computer. 

Online records are much harder to break into than the basic lock and key of an office or the theft and use of a hard-drive. That is not to say that online records can never be stolen, but web security is much more advanced than a deadbolt. Which would you rather have keeping your financial records safe?

3.   Online bookkeeping is always available

Any attorney that has had to move offices knows how much work moving all those file boxes, locked cabinets, and desktop computers can be. Packing up, moving, and then setting up may take several days of valuable time, and organizing takes time as well once the move is complete. Imagine needing to apply for a loan, or wanting to check on a client’s balance after changing office buildings. Digging through records in a file or on a desktop could take up more valuable time. If the records are online, all one needs to do is flip open any laptop computer, navigating to a bookkeeping software or online storage file, and print out the needed information within minutes. Times are changing for the better for record-keeping!

4.   Online bookkeeping will never breakdown

Computers have a shelf life, like everything physical does. They last a few years, then need to be replaced. What happens to all of the bookkeeping information when that change needs to be made? It must be transferred to a new computer via a complicated process that may end up losing information along the way. Desktop bookkeeping software needs to be upgraded as well, and that can get costly, especially when each desktop computer or laptop has to have a copy. 

Even the big bookkeeping companies are trying their best to move companies to the internet rather than staying with desktop software. Everything is just more convenient online, more up to date, more accessible, and definitely more secure. 

Yes, online software has glitches and down time. But those get resolved very quickly, and all of the information is still safe and current once the program is back to normal. This isn’t the case when a computer crashes or suddenly gets overrun by a virus.

5.   Online bookkeeping is more affordable

Most law offices don’t have the budget to hire a full-time accountant or bookkeeper for their firm. Employees require office space, salaries, benefits, insurance, and a host of other needs. 

Law firms that embrace the new possibilities of online bookkeeping find themselves with competent bookkeeping done virtually by a professional in online software. This path is very cost-effective, easy, and secure. Taking financial records to the “cloud” will be the best decision a law office can make in this modern age.

[i] https://techspective.net/2018/09/10/7-shocking-statistics-that-prove-just-how-important-laptop-security-is/