Software as a Service — The Future For Accountants, Bookkeepers & Clients

With its new product, NetSuite created a whole new software category called
Software as a Service (SaaS). Other companies had been providing remote hosting
of software for some time, but, in 1999, no other company had the small business
accounting focus that NetSuite did, so it was NetSuite who introduced this idea
to most accounting professionals.

In 2002, Intuit entered this market with the release of QuickBooks Online
Edition, which has dominated the small business segment of this market while
NetSuite has moved up market and now dominates the mid-range market for online
applications. Meanwhile, as these web-based applications from NetSuite, QuickBooks
Online and a few others have been growing in popularity, there has been a parallel
market developing in “Hosted Desktop Applications.” Since the late
90s, several ASPs (Application Service Providers) such as Citrix, ProPalms (formerly
Tarentella), InsynQ (cpaasp.com) and several others have been providing remote
hosting of desktop applications. These companies rent access to a server that
runs Windows (loaded with applications such as QuickBooks, Microsoft Office,
and others) via an Internet connection. Just as NetSuite paved the road for
web-based applications, InsynQ was the company that paved the road for the Hosted
Desktop Applications market for small business accounting.

So here we are in 2007 with two similar approaches to the same problem. One
group of SaaS vendors provides web-based applications, while the other group
provides Hosted Desktop Applications. Both provide many of the same benefits,
but each has its own tradeoffs of performance, features, scalability and security.
The reason these technologies are so important to accountants is that we need
to access client data in order to provide services. If the data is locked up
on the client’s LAN or hard drive, providing services is difficult and
inefficient. But that is the reality for most QuickBooks consultants. We have
solutions for transferring data files and remotely logging into the client’s
office, but all of these are extra steps and costs that shouldn’t be necessary.
Also, clients who have multiple locations or traveling employees can really
benefit from online software because of its anywhere, anytime access, and because
of the always-available information access features.

Although the adoption rate for these technologies was sluggish at first, we’re
finally seeing a dramatic increase in interest and adoption. Until recently,
accountants and small business owners were fearful of putting data on the Internet.
They didn’t want to bear the risks of client data being compromised by
unscrupulous hackers. The irony is that people are now accepting the fact that
data is much safer when stored on secure Internet hosts than it is on local
hard drives or LANs where people can get at it with hacking tools or even a
cheap thumb drive plugged into the USB port. With proper safeguards, your data
is probably less likely to be lost or stolen when you use a web-based application
versus your own servers and LANs.

Another factor that has prevented users from switching to web-based applications
is that most web applications perform slower and have fewer features than similar
desktop applications. This continues to be an issue, but performance and features
are catching up with desktop applications. Although the performance of online
applications may never match that of local applications on a dedicated desktop
computer, users are beginning to accept the tradeoffs of slight speed penalty
for the benefits of having their data online.

Even if you’re unfamiliar with these new online applications, your clients
are probably already using one or more SaaS products. For example, if your clients
use QuickBooks payroll or any of the online banking, bill pay or credit card
download services, they are already using SaaS products. And as you help your
clients plan future upgrades of products, services, software and workflows,
SaaS technologies should be some of the first products you consider. Whether
you want to jump all the way to web-based applications or use hosted desktop
application services, or a combination of both, you will see a huge gain from
employing these technologies.

Here is a short list of providers of SaaS products and services. In the pure
web-based application market, here are a few providers:

• NetSuite (www.netsuite.com)
  — Mid-market solution with accounting, Customer Relationship Management
  (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and
  e-commerce solutions.
• QuickBooks Online Edition (http://oe.quickbooks.com)
  — Small business solution with accounting, payroll and most of the features
  of QuickBooks desktop.
• PayCycle (www.paycycle.com)
  — Online payroll solution for small businesses and accounting professionals.
• Corecon (www.corecon.com)
  — Construction solutions for Estimating, Project Management, Job Costing,
  Scheduling and Document Management.
• Oasis CRM (www.oasiscrm.com)
  — CRM, e-commerce and SFA that integrates with QuickBooks and Sage BusinessVision.
• BillQuick Web Suite (www.bqe.com)
  — Allows remote users or satellite offices to enter timesheets and billable
  expenses into the BillQuick application.
• Online Banking from nearly every bank. For example Bank of America’s
  online banking (www.bankofamerica.com)
  is a complete, web-based application that provides online access to your bank
  account, bill paying, imaging of cleared checks, and reconciliation of your
  bank account.
• Innovative Merchant Solutions (www.innovativemerchant.com),
  an Intuit company that provides merchant account solutions that are integrated
  with QuickBooks.

If you’re looking for Hosted Desktop Application providers, here are
some providers worth looking at:

• InsynQ eAccounting (www.cpaasp.com)
  — Virtual desktop, QuickBooks Desktop hosting (licensed from Intuit)
  and most other desktop applications.
• Realtime Bookkeeping (www.realtimebookkeeping.com)
  — A complete bookkeeping system for accountants and their clients. Hosted
  QuickBooks, integrated document management, dashboard-based access to multiple
  applications, and full support for bookkeepers and clients.
• Right Networks (www.rightnetworks.com)
  — Application hosting, QuickBooks Desktop Hosting (licensed from Intuit)
  and many other desktop applications.