Tag: hosting technologies

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The True Cost of the Cloud

The True Cost of the Cloud

Excerpt from article on Intuit Accountants News Central: The True Cost of the Cloud

“Accounting professionals are strongly encouraged to adopt cloud computing models in their practices, and there can be little argument that mobility and access are driving the need. In concert with the messages supporting mobile access to business information – and the value of anytime, anywhere access – cloud service providers are strongly suggesting that the overall cost of purchasing and maintaining information technology (IT) in the business is much lower when a cloud computing approach is used.

Arguments over the total cost of IT and related services become somewhat subjective. Many business owners and managers fail to consider the value of their own time spent dealing with business technology issues, much less the time spent by in-house employees and remote workers. To further complicate the issue, dramatic changes in process support and delivery, connected service and cloud computing approaches are impacting business productivity and profitability in new and dramatic ways. As a result, every business should consider the costs and the benefits of this new connected and collaborative working model.

At the core, cloud computing is really just an outsourced IT service that addresses the various levels of application and computing infrastructure. From IaaS (infrastructure as a service) to SaaS (software as a service) and all things in between, a viable cloud computing approach for a business may encompass little more than co-location of physical server and network resources with a third-infrastructure provider to something much larger scale, such as offloading virtually every aspect of application management and delivery to a SaaS solution.

Because there is no single, correct definition of what makes up a “cloud” service model, attempting to compare costs directly to a more traditional IT approach is quite complicated.”

Read the entire article at Intuit Accountants News Central

http://blog.accountants.intuit.com/ways-to-grow-your-business/the-true-cost-of-the-cloud/

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QuickBooks Hosting Services and Accounting Professionals

The value of applying an application hosting model for your clients

The concept of application hosting is not at all new.  In fact, there are literally millions of business users accessing hosted applications and similar services every day, and adoption didn’t reach those numbers overnight.  For several years now, Intuit (the makers of QuickBooks financial software, among other things) has even had an “Authorized Commercial Host for QuickBooks” program.  If Intuit recognizes the value of a hosted application service model, then there must be something to it, because Intuit rarely does anything unless it’s big.

The value of application hosting services, such as QuickBooks hosting, may differ from business to business, but the underlying benefits are there for all to achieve.  For some, the main value is in being able to access business information and data while traveling.  Using mobile devices, business users are able to get information on customers, orders, payments, and other valuable data – from anywhere they choose to work.  Being able to keep tabs on the business even when they aren’t there is very important to some business owners.

For others, the value of application hosting services is the collaboration that it enables.  With public accounting in particular, the client business and the accounting professional do not work at the same place at the same time.  Being able to work on the same software and data, and doing that work at the same or different times (it doesn’t matter when or where they work) allows business owners and their accounting and bookkeeping professionals to work seamlessly together in support of the business.  This online model allows the business owner to benefit from better financial data in real-time, rather than waiting for the work to be done after the fact, at the end of the month or year.

The underlying benefit that all parties get from a hosted application and online working model is better information technology management and greater predictability in IT service costs and capabilities.  Businesses need to be able to focus on their business and not on the IT which supports it, and outsource professionals such as accountants and bookkeepers need to be able to work with clients efficiently without having to invest in expensive tools and services to make it happen.  A hosted application approach, when applied to the client business, delivers many benefits to the business owners while at the same time providing tangible benefits in efficiency through more effective time management and improved access to information for the professionals who support those businesses.

When developing a working model for outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, or virtual CFO services, it is essential to recognize that businesses need technology to support their operations, and there may be “line of business” solutions in use as well as accounting or financial software.  Too often, outsource bookkeeping and accounting professionals focus only on the accounting or financial systems, and fail to consider the critical aspects of the operational level applications which support the various functions of the business.   With a hosted application approach, the business solutions in use can be “enabled” – from operational solutions to accounting and finance supporting applications – so that accounting professionals may gain access to the complete realm of business data, putting them in a far better position to ensure that the information resulting in the accounting system is of high quality and may be trusted.

Make sense?

J

Read more about Accountants and Bookkeepers Working With QuickBooks Clients: App Hosting Approaches That Work

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Finance and Accounting Support in Franchise Systems

Finance and Accounting Support in Franchise Systems

There has always been somewhat of a love/hate relationship between franchise operators and their franchisees. While many entrepreneurs elect to leverage a known brand, documented operating procedures, and combined purchasing power that is often a benefit of a franchise operation, the reluctance to open the books to the franchisor is sometimes based upon a fear that “big brother” will use the information to take advantage of the business owner. The two sides of the business model aren’t always operating in sync, even though a deeper level of finance and accounting process support might benefit both greatly.

Logic would suggest that both the franchisee and the franchisor would recognize the validity of sharing financial and business performance data for the benefit of the entire system, where benchmark data and performance comparisons can become the basis of tremendous business intelligence. But some franchisors, as their networks expand in size, find that their success in selling units begins to outweigh their concern for individual unit performance, and the brand value creates sufficient momentum to overcome a few bad business experiences. Especially in larger systems, the franchisors don’t often consider the benefits of providing back-office and accounting support for their franchisees, because they simply don’t feel they have to. That is changing to a degree, and reliance on quality accounting and financial data takes on entirely new meanings in an environment where franchising is increasingly more complicated and competitive.

High unemployment and low consumer confidence cause spending decreases which impact even the strongest of established businesses. With credit markets being as tight as they are and without qualify financial information to support the request, business owners are often unable to obtain the financing required to expand their businesses when required, to new locations or with additional personnel. The 2010 Franchise Business Outlook[1] suggested that, even as the economy starts to recover, franchised small businesses will continue to face these financing struggles. The forecast is for “a slow recovery with marginal increases in the number of establishments, jobs and output.”

Looking to Washington for help, a number of small business organizations, along with The International Franchise Association, are “calling upon Senators to include more provisions in new job creation legislation to help small businesses access credit.” [2] The fear is that if credit access for small business isn’t made available now, the best opportunity to create sustainable business and subsequent job growth will be lost. Reliance by small businesses upon credit is unquestionable.

According to the IFA, “the depletion of [SBA loan] funds last fall is proof that the SBA programs were, and continue to be, critically important for our nation’s creditworthy entrepreneurs”. However, without sound business accounting and provable data, even the most business savvy entrepreneur may find their business “unbankable” and must therefore rely upon personal credit guarantees to support business growth.

Possibly the strongest point in the argument for franchisors facilitating accounting and financial management assistance to the franchisee centers on Item 19 of the FTC and state Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDD)/Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC). Item 19 is the Earnings Claim, which are estimates or historical figures detailing sales, expenses, and income a prospective franchisee might realize as the owner of a particular franchise.

The Earnings Claim is often considered to be the single most important factor in buying a franchise. As with purchasing any business, it is critical to have a realistic and supportable projection of sales, expenses, and profits earned. Particularly in a case where a potential new franchisee has no experience running a business, or no applied experience in that particular type of business, the earnings claim becomes the only guidance available. Unfortunately, the only source for this information is the franchisor itself, which often introduces doubt as to the veracity of the data. It is difficult to determine which could raise more doubt about the sincerity of the franchisor: using unverifiable data, or not providing an earnings claim at all.

When a franchisor elects to provide services to their franchisees, such as back-office accounting support or financial management oversight, then the opportunity to obtain data for the earnings claim, performance benchmarking, and royalties verification become realistic goals. Further, the ability to verify and substantiate the data can prove invaluable in a tough franchise market where buyers want good, verifiable information, and Item 19 helps sell units.

Offering accounting support to small business owners isn’t a new concept, but the technology to facilitate a truly seamless relationship has only become available in recent years. As Internet and Web-based application services emerged on the market, businesses flocked to them in order to gain the benefits of anytime, anywhere access to applications and data. However, the poor performance and lack of features left some business users without the tools they needed to handle all their requirements efficiently, so many returned to manual or local PC-based systems.

Secure remote access and application hosting services are a technology approach which adapts trusted and proven software and systems to a cloud-based, collaborative online working model. The server-based application model, which is essentially a hosting approach delivered from on-premises computers or offsite hosting infrastructure) allows the businesses to continue use of applications with the functionality required to support the business, but improves the IT environment by managing and securing the applications and data within the confines of the host. This eliminates the need to install or maintain applications on different computers and eliminates the need to have data copied or sync’d to different computers and devices.

A valuable aspect of providing secure remote access and centralized access to applications and data is the ability to then integrate with reporting systems designed to assist in the translation, analysis, and comparison of data from a single business to an entire franchise system.

Deploying server-based (hosted) computing models with remote and mobile capability means owners are able to retain their investments in software applications and processes while introducing new efficiencies and flexibility in their working models. The evident benefits are the ability to access information from any location, to have multiple locations work seamlessly together, and to allow outside accountants or other service providers to work seamlessly in the organization. Adding commercial hosting of the server expands on centralized management and administration with professionally-secured systems, greater predictability in ongoing IT costs and an improved ability for the business owner to focus on the business.

In summary, the franchisor market must look more closely at the fiscal management and reporting systems of their franchisees, and provide avenues to better-address access and support for accounting and bookkeeping responsibilities in order to gain credible performance data and useful benchmark metrics. Only through the ongoing participation of accredited accounting and financial personnel can the business financial data provide the information – and the insight – required to support aggressive business growth in this difficult economy.

The key is seamless integration, and the technology solution is the cloud-enabled model.

Make Sense?

J

[1] Report that measures the economic impact of franchising in the United States, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and commissioned by the International Franchise Association Educational Foundation. http://franchise.org/uploadedFiles/Franchise_Industry/Resources/Education_Foundation/2010%20Franchise%20Business%20Outlook%20Report_Final%202009.12.21.pdf

[2] Franchise.org Press Release http://www.franchise.org/Franchise-News-Detail.aspx?id=49246

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Accountants and Bookkeepers Working With QuickBooks Clients: App Hosting Approaches That Work

Accountants and Bookkeepers Working With QuickBooks Clients: App Hosting Approaches That Work

Ever since the first application service providers began offering hosting services for Intuit QuickBooks desktop products, the idea of running desktop editions of QuickBooks in the cloud has created both intrigue and confusion among accounting professionals and their clients alike.  Part of the problem is the term “cloud”, which seems to equate the hosted QuickBooks desktop editions with the true cloud app QuickBooks Online Edition.  But hosted QuickBooks isn’t QBOE, it’s a service model developed around the actual desktop versions of QuickBooks: Pro, Premier and Enterprise.

While it is true that both solutions – hosted QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online Edition – offer centrally managed and accessible online accounting functionality, the underlying services are very different and operate under completely different “rules”.  One of the rules, or conditions, which differs between the two solutions is that with hosted QuickBooks service, you may also be able to run other business applications and manage other business data, not just QB apps and data.  This is an essential capability when you consider that QuickBooks desktop software integrates with and takes advantage of functionality found in other popular business solutions, such as Microsoft Office.

In many QuickBooks hosting services, the inclusion of Office app hosting is typical due to the reliance upon functionality in those solutions (Excel reporting, Word letter-writing, and Outlook emailing).  When it comes to other tools or application integrations, however, customized hosting service becomes necessary.   When the need for additional applications or integrations arises, consideration should be given to the best way to orient and implement those add-ons.

For example, if a client business has a heavy reliance upon a solution which integrates with QuickBooks, and uses the solution to handle daily tasks in the business, then it makes a lot of sense to create a hosting environment specifically for that client.  The client would be able to access their unique set of solutions, and the accounting/bookkeeping professionals can be invited to participate in that system.  This keeps the data in one place, managed and controlled, yet allows all parties who need access to get access.

In other situations, there may be a tool or utility necessary to help get data from one place to another, and this tool or utility is not something the client uses in their daily work.  In this type of scenario, it may make sense for the accountant/bookkeeper to have a customized environment which allows them to use the tools and solutions which assist in data integration, organization, validation or review.  In many cases, the accountant or bookkeeper may perform these data integrations or sync operations directly in the client data file, so that the client (using “generic” service with just QuickBooks hosted) is able to then access and view the integrated data.  In this scenario, only the accounting professional has the additional tools necessary, allowing the cost of hosting for the client to remain lower.  Approaching a hosting environment in this manner might allow the accounting professional to develop a niche or customized approach to serving a specific type of client, incorporating behind-the-scenes data aggregation or integration and other types of process support as part of the overall service delivered.

The key to developing the right application hosting and outsourced accounting service model is to focus on how the practice will use the hosting solutions to improve service and process efficiency, serve client needs better and more fully, and differentiate themselves from their competitors in the market.  By applying the hosting service and online solution properly, business clients and the accounting professionals who support them will both benefit by getting the information and the application functionality they need, when they need it.

Make sense?

J

read more about the confusion over hosted licensing on The Progressive Accountant http://www.theprogressiveaccountant.com/tech-tips/confusion-over-hosted-licensing.html

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Knowing Your Options: Hosting QuickBooks for Shared and Remote Access

Intuit’s QuickBooks financial applications, the desktop editions in particular, are the most popular small business accounting solutions on the market.  The QuickBooks Online Edition, Intuit’s cloud-based contender, is not quite as accepted among accountants and advisors for a variety of reasons.  Being in the cloud isn’t necessarily one of those reasons, if you consider the growing demand for access to multi-user cloud-hosted QuickBooks desktop editions.  Mostly it comes down to functionality and how the application operates.  QBO just isn’t like good old desktop QuickBooks and isn’t the preferred solution for many financial professionals or their clients.  Yet these users still want and need remote access and mobility.  This is where hosting comes in.

QuickBooks hosting and creating the ability to access QuickBooks applications and data remotely is something that a lot of businesses can benefit from.  Whether it’s to outsource the management and maintenance of servers and systems to a 3rd party, or to create the ability for remote workers or contractors to collaborate with real-time applications and data, there may be a need for a hosted application approach.  Business owners and IT managers need to give consideration to the level of service and support they and their users will need before selecting their provider.  Knowing what the provider will handle and what the subscribers are responsible for might make all the difference in determining the right approach.

In-House DIY Hosting

Local networks and PCs allow users in the same location to share resources, like printers and data storage locations.  Typically, desktop computers have application software installed on them, and use the network to access shared data.  When users work outside of the network, getting access to applications and data might not be so easy.  Even extending the network via VPN access doesn’t solve the problem when the desktop applications are not designed to access data over remote connections (desktop applications like QuickBooks).  It used to be that the only reasonable way to allow remote users to access and run QuickBooks as if they were inside the LAN was to set up remote desktop or application servers (terminal servers).  MyQuickCloud is a product that addresses this need very gracefully, providing in-house personnel with the tools necessary to establish a secure cloud for QuickBooks access directly from existing on-premises systems.

Co-location and Outsourced Infrastructure (IaaS)

Instead of setting up remote access solutions in the office, many IT departments find that co-location with a 3rd party addresses a number of issues.  Leasing equipment, operating system and virtualization tools may be more cost-efficient than purchasing them directly, and the security and redundancy in most hosting facilities far exceeds what most businesses are able to afford to implement by themselves.  Co-location provides managed service for infrastructure elements, but doesn’t necessarily address business needs in terms of user security or application and data management.  These elements are traditionally left up to the subscriber; installing and configuring software applications, establishing user and application permissions, and managing updates and software upgrades.  For this reason, co-location may be a good option for a business with internal IT staff, but not necessarily for businesses seeking “full service” application hosting.

Application Service Providers (ASP) and Managed Application Hosting

Application hosting service providers handle software installation and management, user and security administration, and ongoing technical support as part of the subscription service.  Customers need only to provide their software licenses, name users and upload data in order to use the service.  The service provider does the software installation and configuration, sets up the users and establishes permissions, and connects users and applications to managed data storage.  This model allows businesses to enjoy many of the benefits of a cloud-based or SaaS solution model while also allowing them to continue to use software solutions they are already invested in, in terms of both software licensing and process development.  On the other hand, these models can be extremely restrictive in terms of the applications or integrations they will support, and can be quite costly as the number of users or applications hosted increase.

Whether you roll your own (DIY hosting) or work with a full service QuickBooks host, accessing business applications and data from anywhere is an option every business can take advantage of.

Make sense?

J

Read about the race to find the secret sauce of hosted application services for small businesses

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Cloud Hold-Out No More: QuickBooks Desktop Editions in the Cloud

When most people hear the words “QuickBooks” and “online” together, they think of the web-based solution from Intuit called QuickBooks Online Edition.  And why wouldn’t they?  With the media, industry talking heads, and everyone in information technology discussing cloud this and cloud that, all the attention is going to web-based applications, Software-as-a-Service models, and cloud platforms.  While these approaches to business software distribution and delivery are working for a lot of software vendors and their customers, there are a few hold-outs that may be keeping a lot of folks from considering that move to running their businesses “in the cloud”.  Intuit QuickBooks desktop editions used to be among this list of applications securely anchored to your local PC, but not anymore.

The desire to have remote and mobile access to business applications and data goes beyond simply getting email or syncing contacts to a mobile phone these days.   Business people in all industries are seeing the benefits of using wireless and mobile laptops, tablet computers and smartphones to handle tasks in real-time rather than accumulating paperwork, spending a bunch of time organizing and keying in data, and then submitting the information for batch-processing after the fact.  And, with services being seamlessly connected and information being shared and integrated for a variety of reasons, internet connectivity has become almost as essential to most businesses as telephone service. (Actually, in many cases, telephone service IS delivered via the IP network, so maybe that statement doesn’t make as much sense as it used to.)  Payroll isn’t calculated in the software, it’s calculated by a service online and delivered through your software.  Same with banking, accepting payments, and paying bills – many are processes handled through the software but perhaps not actually happening WITHIN the software on your PC.

As users have begun to realize that, whether they mean to or not, they are essentially “on line” with their business applications and data at some level, the consideration for outsourcing more of their IT operations and working more fully in an online model might not be so bad as long as they don’t have to give up the functionality, usability, and cost-efficiency they have come to expect with their beloved business applications – like QuickBooks.

Service providers recognized this opportunity and developed business models which would give users their desired desktop applications (like QuickBooks!), but in way that seems more like a cloud service.  As platform and virtualization technologies have evolved, businesses are finding that there are numerous options, and numerous providers, for getting their desktop and network applications installed in the “cloud”, and delivered back to them as a managed subscription service.  It is a model which is growing in popularity and demand, and it makes sense.

Small businesses in particular are moving to the cloud not because they are generally dissatisfied with the products they currently have (there’s a reason Intuit has market share with QuickBooks; there are a LOT of QuickBooks desktop lovers out there).  Small businesses are making the move to online and “cloud” models because of the business benefits of getting information when and where they need it.  Mobility is driving the cloud, and the cloud is driving software makers to change how they do things.

It will be a while before all the investments are made and man-hours are spent to rewrite or redevelop applications to run on these new platforms and in this new cloud-based service model.   In the meantime, ISVs will look to hosting providers of various sorts to help breathe longevity into their solutions while securely embracing their customers and market in preparation for a cloud-based service delivery, and customers will engage with service providers who can supply them with the legacy application hosting and management they require to achieve the level of freedom, access, and mobility they demand.

Make sense?

J