Why small businesses need intelligence in the cloud - Nairobi Business Monthly
Why small businesses need intelligence in the cloud
Getting accurate and up-to-date financial reports can be complex for small businesses, but it doesn’t have to be. Cloud-based reporting solutions offer small and large businesses a way to get timely snapshots of information, such as revenue or expenses year-on-year; top customers, products, salespeople; and more. This helps them to react faster and smarter to opportunities, threats, and trends in their businesses. Cloud-based reporting solutions are accessible, easy to use, and don’t require the support of an in-house IT department. Because they are online, SME managers and owners can simply log in from wherever they are, access their information, and start working. As long as they have an Internet connection, they can access reports online, from anywhere, at any time, and from any device. There are Cloud solutions that are available for a low-cost, monthly subscription, and give small business owners access to customised reports to help them make more informed business decisions. One of the advantages of being able to connect to the cloud is mobility. The future is mobile and applications allow controlling of a business from the palm of your hand. Charles Teversham, managing director at Sage Intelligence recommends that small business owners look for the following capabilities from a cloud-based reporting solution: Wide range of reports Ideally, the solution should offer ready-to-use reports that are already formatted for you. To run a report, all you should need to do is select the information you want to report on. Look for an offering that covers basic reports, such as profit and loss, statement of assets and liabilities, monthly and yearly sales trends, and sales by customer. Familiar Excel environment Most small businesses depend heavily on Excel for reporting. A good cloud-based reporting platform will leverage this familiar interface, but automate the process of drawing data that is pulled directly out of the accounting package, and into prebuilt reports. It should present the data in visual and interactive graphs and charts to provide insight into business trends. Ease of customisation With a cloud reporting platform, it should be easy to tweak reports to the needs of the business. You should be able to easily customise a ready-to-use report, or create one from scratch using Excel and Intelligence Reporting tools. “Cloud-based reporting solutions save you time by automating reporting and ensuring you have access to the latest reports wherever you are. You can view your reports from a mobile device when you’re on the road, and you can make decisions with the confidence that you are acting on accurate and up-to-date information,” Teversham says.