You sound like you are starting to get the picture regarding what it’s like in the “trenches.”

The biggest issue with security is not really the technology, but the perception. Many, many typical small business people still feel it is “safer” to have all their financial information on their desktop computer, or physical paperwork in their own office. They are uneasy about having their financial information “out there” somewhere on the web. When, in fact, as you describe, there is often much more security with the SaaS products and virtual desktops. It just doesn’t feel that way to most of us (even when intellectually we know better). It’s a perceived control issue.

Document management IS catching on, but it has been slow. And scanning lots of documents, in itself, can be time consuming. As freelance bookkeepers, no, we do not need to have physical documentation if we already have digital documentation. But often, our clients are not necessarily keen on taking the time to put physical documents into digital form if it is just as easy for them to give us the physical ones. But it’s happening, as the benefits of storing information digitally becomes more convenient and easier to manipulate. It’s just not as encompassing as so many software companies and others who live in the high tech world imagine.

You are wise to be reaching blogs such as this one where you can better understand what is really needed in the small business, mom and pop market. I’m glad you’ve asked these questions. Thanks for contributing your perspective.

To further cultivate your suggestion, the biggest problem we face is sharing documents by e-mail and/or other digital formats that do not provide such a security?

Now, when we are focusing on web based document sharing software, excluding actual desktop accounting software, do you think that the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), provided by some online service providers, could help to solve this problem? In case you’re not familiar with SSL (here’s a Wikipedia link for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSL_certificate), what it basically does, is that it secures the connection between your web browser and the server your web software uses to store data. It means that whenever you are in a SSL secured environment, everything you do, every file you up or download, is fully secured. It is a special licence that could be included in a software you use to share and organize your documents on the web. However, this is not the same when people are exchanging files by e-mail. Then, it’s usually up to every party to decide whether to crypt the data or not. In most cases, people either don’t pay any attention to it, or it is not provided by the email client server they use.

Your other comment about getting not only digital, but physical documents from your clients, seems more challenging, but definitely also possible to solve. There are already some applications on the web that could help you do that. One web site, that I recently came upon, was Shoeboxed.com. I think that what they do is that they ask their customers to mail them all their documents, which are then converted into a digital format. Then you can store or use the data however you want it. Does this apply to what you question? Again, I have no idea about the security issues when it comes to sending original documents by post or regular mail.

This raises another question I have – do you always need a physical document when you already have a digital copy? Would it be enough, if the document is just faxed, or scanned? The numbers etc. should always be traceable and it’s just so much easier to organize this data in a digital format than on paper. You are also able to print it out whenever you might need it. Or do you always need an actual physical original document for every digital copy? In this case, how often do you need to collect these documents and are you converting them into a digital format right now or do you just store them in your library?

Gosh, this came pretty long. I am sorry to shower you with all these questions. Hope you don’t mind By the way, you are correct, I am working on a project similar to your description, but I really do not want to use your blog space to promote something that is not even ready. I’d rather listen and learn to create something people like you and other bookkeeping specialists could really use to add value to their business and service. It feels pointless to develop something that does not actually benefit your customer. I find your feedback very valuable. I wish I’d get more of it Thank you.

Runno

The bigger issue in everyone’s mind when you’re dealing with financial information is not so much keeping it organized (although, as bookkeepers we know how important that is), it is security. We, as the service provider, need to make sure that we are providing a secure environment for sensitive financial information sharing for our clients (the IRS and some states now have new stringent rules about that too for CPAs).

Sounds like you are working on some new software application development. Both with virtual desktop situations and with document management software, the #1 consideration is security, then it is ease of use and automation. And no, I don’t know of a program that fits your description. What we are facing more is being able to get not only digital information from our clients (that’s actually the easy stuff), but also the physical documents from them all in one place.

I understand that there’s still some bookkeepers that are bound to do it the “old-fashion way”, as you describe it. Still, even then, isn’t it safer to at least have a backup of all your customer files and documents in a digital format? Now, if you’re already saving your documents in a digital format, why not automate the whole process and share data directly with your customers in order to keep everything organized from the beginning?

Is there currently any software available online that you could recommend for this?

The quick answer is that you work off of a retainer. That means the client pays you up front, or at least part of your fee is paid up front. You can do this online using PayPal, among other solutions. I also HIGHLY recommend that you do not take on any clients without a signed engagement letter, so everyone is clear on expectations all around, including when you expect to be paid, and that all work will stop when an invoice has gone past due. All of that should be agreed upon BEFORE any work begins.

You are absolutely correct. Even with many small businesses that are moving forward with technology, you will also find many small businesses that prefer to keep it low-tech. I just think we will start to see more and more either on one side or the other of technology, with a widening gap.

But ALL businesses need bookkeepers! So it just means that we need to be clear about which type of clients we like serving most! And then capitalize on that area. In other words, I do not think we should attempt to be all things to all businesses, since that will actually slow us down.

Good for you! Excellent! You are on the right path in how your thinking about your virtual team. There are many companies working exactly as you describe. It’s just the way many small businesses are headed, and the Internet it making it easy to work from virtually anywhere (where there’s a good Internet connection)

Yes, I agree with you! Overall, I think the opportunities are much greater for those who are embracing the new technology and run with it, because it’s moving fast!

If you didn’t hear about it, Intuit (the makers of QuickBooks) and Microsoft just teamed up to build buisenss applications “in the clouds” for small businesses. So this is something we really do need to pay attention to if we plan to provide virtual bookkeeping services using web-based software.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2010/jan10/1-20intuitdeveloperspr.mspx