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27 May 2011
CLOUD COMPUTING is being used as an excuse to "ratchet" up prices for accounting technology, said the chairman of Accountz.
Quentin Pain, founder of on-premise accounting software Accountz, said the monthly subscription rate charged by cloud vendors is "alarming"
Small business owners hate recurring charges and would rather pay once for software. He also hit out at vendors that previously charged a £200 one off fee were now pricing their cloud option at £15 - £20 a month.
"Over a decade, what looks like a cheap option easily ends up costing £2,000.
"Bookkeeping is something they'd really rather not be doing and they need cheque books, folders of receipts, credit-card statements and red-ink paid stamps laid out in front of them.
"And those who do want to send an invoice out while on the move can do it more quickly and reliably with software installed on their laptops than with cloud services that require 100% permanent internet connections."
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Briefings
By looking at the reasons supplier statements became unfashionable, and the reasons why it is different today, this paper delves into the many benefits that can be obtained by automating the process.
Having a real and true view of your organisation’s current financial position, and having the right systems and processes in place, will ensure that you can make strong choices and are ready to capitalise on opportunities
AccountancyAgeInsight is a frequently updated resource centre for finance professionals, offering a free and easy-to-use digital library of briefings, white papers and other information resources. 
Visitor comments Add your comment
Happy to pay
I like the flexibility of not having to install software and carry around my laptop. Software updates are automatic and painless, I can log in anywhere and share access with my colleagues.
Posted by: Andy, 27 May 2011 | 10:48
Cloud Computing
I spend well over £2,000 on beer in a decade so spending that on a business service seems like a bargain!
Posted by: Drayman, 27 May 2011 | 11:48
Fellow luddite
I must say that cost aside I am also unconvinced by could computing. All very good when the system is working, but if the vendor goes bust, or the system goes down for a month (a la Playstation Network) then you are left seriously in the lurch.
Posted by: Jon Griffey, 27 May 2011 | 12:07
That's not what I've found
As an independent business management specialist that supplies both cloud and on-premise software (including accounts and ERP solutions), at Concentrix TSG we’re actually finding a lot of organisations prefer cloud and SaaS options to on-premise deployments. By no means all, there’s certainly a great deal of interest.
The monthly payment options of cloud based solutions suit many businesses more than the up-front capital costs of on-premise. Plus many smaller companies are attracted to cloud because there’s usually no additional hardware costs, no specialist internal IT resource required , you can usually increase or decrease user numbers as required every month (so you only pay for what you actually use) and everything technical is looked after for you.
With respect to the Cloud being used as an excuse to ramp up prices, I don’t see that either. In fact the opposite tends to be true with low entry prices available on many applications. Also, with an increasing number of traditionally on-premise business management software applications now, or soon to be available in the cloud, there’s a choice of deployments. So why would a vendor ramp up the price of their cloud option against on-premise? We can all do the sums and if they did it simply wouldn’t sell.
The only queries we’ve had about internet connections have been from businesses in areas where internet connections were notoriously unreliable. In most of the UK, internet connections are OK (not great everywhere, but in most towns and cities not a problem) and this rarely gets raised as an issue.
Cloud computing in accounting and ERP does seem to be slower to catch on than say, cloud computing in CRM. There are reasons for this, for example concerns over data security (where in fact cloud solutions are often more secure than many on-premise deployments, and certainly more secure than the average laptop). Even so the potential for cloud-based accounting and ERP is massive.
As technology develops further I can see cloud computing catching on in accounting and ERP applications just like it has with CRM and other areas, and taking a significant part of the market.
Cloud accounting solutions aren’t the right choice for every business. It depends on your processes, objectives, strategy and requirements. For some it makes sense to go on-premise, and for others cloud is the best way forward.
Posted by: Peter Elgar, 27 May 2011 | 15:37
Protesting too much?
Sorry Quentin but you're sounding a bit desperate on this one.
You really think companies would buy 1 server/pc and buy the software once and expect it to be around for 10 years? At least compare apples with apples and take into account, software upgrades, hardware replacement & management costs. £2,100 is then an incredibly good deal.
My company (The CRM Business) do both on-premise CRM & Cloud CRM - but 90% of new business this year is Cloud-based.
Posted by: Roger, 27 May 2011 | 18:15
Wrong for 36 Billion reasons
http://blog.xero.com/2011/05/36-billion/
Sorry Quentin, the world has already changed
Rod
Posted by: Rod Drury, 28 May 2011 | 00:43
The Good Old Days
Yes, and horses were more efficient than cars and sliderules were better than calculators
Posted by: David Moore, 28 May 2011 | 09:33
I DONT THINK SO
Really this website should not be giving this article web space never mind the prominence it has got !! Erm wonder why ?
Must see if I can buy a black and white TV on the way home !
Posted by: Paul Cartwright, 31 May 2011 | 14:13
Will the last Luddite please switch off the lights...
We are a cloud-based practice, proud to serve leading edge businesses who welcome SAAS and cloud-based solutions. Modern businesses see the massive opportunities in the cloud, not the issues.
Posted by: Alexander Rosse, 31 May 2011 | 23:07
Really?
"Cloud computing unsuitable for bookkeeping" is the sort of nonsense only someone with a vested interest in old technologies would float... oh hang on a second...
Posted by: alanbagnall, 01 Jun 2011 | 10:09