3 reasons to adopt the cloud

The way we work today has moved even further into the digital space over the last few years. Even though cloud technology has now been around for a while, change can still be complicated and nerve wracking for people that have not yet made the switch for their practice or business. It’s a big step, but the big move to help your firm adopt more modern technology, add offerings, and provide flexibility in the workplace. While some may still be hesitant, the time is now to make the jump. Here are a few reasons why you need to embrace the cloud.

More flexibility

Let’s start with the flexibility it provides. The cloud offers flexibility desktop services do not. This includes the ability to access data from anywhere on a secure server, along with the way it can offer clients easy-to-use services, such as e-signature and file sharing.

Allowing new employees the flexibility to work remotely will open up so many more opportunities for your firm, especially when it comes to recruiting. Over the last few years, this has become an expectation for employees, not only allowing them flexibility to work from home when needed, but also giving your firm more flexibility to look for top talent out of a bigger pool of candidates. You may even be able to grow your practice in other states with more state knowledge expertise.

Plus, without the cloud, you can’t offer as many easy-to-use services. For clients, collaboration with virtual document exchange and e-signature tools are becoming more and more expected. Intuit’s 2022 Taxpayer Insights & Intelligence Brief, found that 52% of taxpayers prefer the option of having all correspondence with their tax pro to be digital, and 72% of taxpayers report saving time by signing their tax documents electronically versus doing it in-person or with mailed signatures.

Being free from desktop services gives you, your firm, and your employees so much more flexibility when it comes to remote work and meeting client expectations, even on the fly.

Strong security

Clients now expect tax pros to manage their correspondence and relationships securely online. This shift has led to widespread confidence in highly secure digital products and services that help tax pros manage client data and result in successful financial outcomes.

According to the Brief, 86% of taxpayers expect their tax pro to store their tax documents/information with industry-standard security. The cloud can offer the ability to work with your clients online, while also maintaining a high level of security. When making the change to the cloud, be sure you’re working with encrypted servers, two-factor (multi-factor) authentication, and highly trusted sources with backup and recovery options.

Robust offerings

The cloud offers many more insights, such as performance information, data integrations, and data flow. If you’re not in the cloud, you’re not even scratching the surface on the analytics you could gather to improve your business. Take Intuit® ProConnect™ Tax, for example, a true cloud product that creates the roadmap to advisory services for firms across the country.

With more options comes more freedom for your firm and your employees: freeing up their time from compliance work, providing you with useful tools to track the growth and success of your business, and allowing for more 1:1 advisory and relationship building with clients.

Taxpayers have the ability to work with their tax pro from anywhere, any time, and on any connected device. If you aren’t already working in the cloud, it’s time for you to overcome any fears that may be holding you and your business back from its full potential.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Accounting Today.