It’s not just tech. Your app stack is at the core of your business.

It’s how you work, how you think, and how you grow.

Business growth comes with lots of side effects, all familiar to seasoned business owners: longer days, more moving parts, and increasing pressure to make fast but accurate decisions.

There are so many plates to spin, not enough time to spin them, and a million things to do, that it’s often difficult to know what to focus on and priorities.

Suddenly, spreadsheets start to slow you down and confuse you. Paper and physical records get lost or seem to multiply and overwhelm.

Your old accounting software starts feeling like a bad game of Tetris. The blocks are falling more and more, and you can’t treat each as you would like to with more time.

This is the moment many business owners reach for cloud accounting, and other pieces of time saving software. Not because it’s trendy. But because it just works, delivers efficiencies, and improves results.

Let’s talk about why cloud accounting is more than a tool, it’s the new norm, and can completely turn around growing businesses that don’t yet have it. It can  help you feel more in control as you scale, and provide much needed oversight.

What is cloud accounting?

Cloud accounting means storing your financial data securely online, rather than locally on one computer, or an office server. It lets you, your accountant, and your team work from the same up-to-date numbers, from anywhere, at any time.

It’s like online banking but with more features, more insight, and a lot more relevance to your day-to-day business decisions.

Popular platforms like Xero and FreeAgent let you:

• Send invoices instantly
• Reconcile bank transactions automatically
• Share real-time data with your accountant & team
• Track cashflow at a glance
• Access everything from your phone or laptop

No updates to install. No data backups to run. No more asking “Which version is the latest one?”. Just clarity. Simplicity. And control.

Increasingly as well, developers are shifting their focus and road maps more and more towards phones and mobile devices. So it’s now easier than ever to maintain and access your finances whilst you’re on the move! Even this blog article is being edited whilst on a plane to Madrid!

Why cloud accounting is especially helpful when you’re a growing business

Growth is exciting but it’s also messy. There are new hires, new projects, more transactions, and often a few teething problems. You need your financial systems to keep up.

Here’s where cloud accounting shines:

1. You stay in control, even when things move fast

• Dashboards give you a live view of your cash position
• You can see who owes you money and who you owe
• You make faster decisions because the data is always fresh

2. You can collaborate without bottlenecks

• Your accountant can log in and help with anything, without you needing to email spreadsheets or chase missing files
• Everyone sees the same numbers in real time
• Communication becomes easier and more useful
• You can see edits and audit trails to immediately identify issues & responsibilities

3. You reduce errors and admin

• Automated bank feeds cut down on manual input
• OCR tools pull key details from receipts and bills
• Recurring invoices, payroll, and VAT returns can all be automated and reconciliation rules put in place

4. You get better insight, sooner

• Many platforms generate instant reports on cashflow, profit, aged receivables, etc.
• You can drill into data instead of waiting for month-end reports
• You start making decisions with your data, not after it
• There are so many plugins which can help you be proactive, by displaying the future alongside the past

What cloud accounting won’t do

Let’s be clear: cloud accounting isn’t magic.

Cloud Accounting won’t:

• Think for you
• Stop you from overspending
• Replace financial strategy
• Guarantee compliance on its own

But Cloud Accounting will give you the information you need to:

• Make confident decisions
• Catch issues sooner
• Work more efficiently with your accountant
• Free up time and headspace
• Share information more easily
• Work on the move

It’s a straightforward tool. But a powerful one.

And like any tool, the real value comes from how well and how often you use it.

What does this mean in real life?

Let’s say you’re a service-based business doing around £500K turnover. You’ve got a couple of employees, a growing client list, and ambitions to double your revenue in the next 2 years.

Here’s how cloud accounting could change your day-to-day:

• You won’t be waiting for your accountant to send you management reports 6 weeks later, because you can log in and check reports and margins on live projects today.
• You won’t have to keep track of invoice documents or client conversations to manually chase them or identify overdue items, you can have them all centralised with automated reminders set up.
• Instead of carving out time at the weekend to send backup documentation requested by your accountant, you’ll get notified by them when something looks off during their reconciliation.
• Instead of your payroll and employee management being a monthly headache, you can easily find information and run it quickly and smoothly.

Cloud tools don’t replace smart strategy and having a great business mind. But they do make it easier to see where you are, spot where things are going wrong, and take action fast.

They enhance and augment what you’re already capable of.

When should you move to cloud accounting?

Clients often worry about the cost and wonder if the benefits really outweigh just keeping manual records or using an Excel sheet, which is essentially free, other than their time.

If you’re just starting out and have minimal trading activity and transactions, it might be overkill. But if:

• You’re VAT registered
• You employ staff
• You’re processing more than a few transactions per day
• You want real-time access to financials
• You’re planning to grow over the next 6-12 months

It’s highly likely that now is the time to do your research and take the leap.

Common worries (and the truth behind them)

A few common concerns we hear from small business owners:

“Is it safe?” – You are, after all, connecting your business bank account!

Yes. Cloud providers like Xero use bank-level encryption. Your data is often safer online than on a laptop you could leave on the train. Server farms are often in highly secure and remote facilities.

“Will it take ages to set up?” – There are,
after all, a tone of features, plugins and functionality.

Not necessarily. With the right help, you can be set up and running in a few hours, and really rolling after a few days.

“What if I make mistakes?” – An especially legitimate concern if you’re a bit of a technophobe or you’ve never used accounting software before. Or if accounting terminology sounds like a foreign language.

It should be remembered that mistakes are less likely with automation.

And if you do slip up, your accountant can fix it with real time access to the same data.

The audit lot also keeps a track of all edits and changes, so you can identify who was responsible, and where the process can be improved.

But isn’t this only just good for accountants, rather than us?

Honestly? Yes, it’s great for us accountants, but it’s also even better for you!

Here’s why:

• You stop relying on delayed or manual reports
• You spend less time sending information back and forth
• You get real-time advice instead of historical summaries
• You have a better chance of catching problems early
• You have true and comprehensive oversight all in one place without having to switch around between Excel files

We don’t want you to hand everything over and cross your fingers.

We want you to feel at home in your finances. To understand what’s really going on and feel confident making decisions.

That’s why we use cloud tools at RedBrick. Because they help our clients feel more secure, more in control, and more prepared for what’s next in their lives and businesses.

Choosing the right platform

There are a lot of options out there.

Some of the most widely used by UK small businesses are:

• Xero – user-friendly, excellent integrations, great for growing businesses. Used by a large % of UK small businesses.
• FreeAgent – especially good for freelancers and microbusinesses. Free if you have a NatWest business bank account.

The right platform depends on how your business works, what you want it to do, and what support you need.

We help clients identify their needs, pick the right one, which sometimes also means moving away from what they started with. Luckily we are also adept with financial system migration, so also assist them with this.

Our advice?

Don’t wait until you feel overwhelmed. Sooner is usually better than later.

Cloud accounting is like hiring your first employee; it feels like a big step, but it saves you time, stress, and money in the long run.

And once it’s in place, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

So whether you’re just starting to scale or you feel like you’re already behind, there’s a better way to manage your finances.

So for a better home for your business finances:

RedBrick is here. We help UK service-based businesses move to cloud accounting seamlessly.

If you’d like to talk about what that looks like for you, email us at: hello@redbrickaccounting.com

Together we’ll build a better home for your business finances.