What is your current backup method for your cloud accounting system?
--
Many people still manually backup their cloud accounting system files but not everyone is backing up. The accountants and bookkeepers who don’t backup their files usually fall into one or two mindsets;
1. They don’t know the provider is not responsible for backing up their own files.
2. They trust the cloud to work perfectly.
You might think that when the cloud provider recommends the bookkeeper or accountant back up their cloud files, they would… That’s the problem, the cloud provider hides this advice in their terms of service, you know that document that no one reads.
Many accountants and bookkeepers today enjoy the massive benefits of cloud accounting. From cost savings to time savings, to ease of collaboration, it’s just better! When you have all of those benefits you also have some risks and the risks aren’t the same as when you used to use desktop software. Risks include:
1. Hackers.
2. System failure.
3. Data loss or corruption.
4. Non-compliance.
Let’s talk about Hackers… “I’ve never been hacked.” This is the most common mindset for accountants and bookkeepers, you may not even know anyone who’s ever been hacked. Let me assure you, accountants are being hacked, and many are not reporting it due to the loss in reputation and customer confidence. A recent study by Telus Canada found that 83% of businesses experienced an attack, and 64% were hacked. There must be a hush around the information, or it’s too embarrassing to tell but if you know 100 business owners, 64 of them have probably been hacked.
How about system failure… “It’s the cloud, it’s always working.” This statement is so far off the mark, it’s bordering on delusional. Most of the cloud providers have active website pages to notify you of a system failure, some even track multiple months of failures. For example, Xero lists all the failures every month as they happen, 18 in June and 15 in July of 2022. QBO only shows the last 3 days… hmm I wonder…
