Over the last couple of weeks I wrote about larger ways to think about your business. Although I love this type of thought exercise, and how it can force me to confront issues in different ways, we cannot always only consider grand ideas. To make those ideas happen, action steps need to be taken.

So let this be a spot for a little public service announcement that may require action: If any of you are currently running QuickBooks 2013, know that this version will ‘sunset’ on May 31. Although that term makes it feel beautiful, peaceful and natural, this means that technical support and some features of the software will no longer work. If you need some help moving on from your older version, and want to do it before June 1, when things could start to feel much more difficult, let us know.

If you are in that spot, an easy solution could be to upgrade to the latest version of your software. There will be a slight learning curve as you incorporate some of QB’s quirks into you workflow, but it wouldn’t be too long until it feels like business as usual.

But is business as usual the best thing for your operation?

Much of traditional accounting occurred pretty much “as needed.” Depending upon the business and/or task, this could mean being done weekly, monthly, quarterly, or even annually. Pushing all that work into a small timeframe obviously isn’t the most efficient way to operate, but when the work involved pencil and paper, compiling spreadsheets and shoeboxes full or receipts, it was a necessary format.

As technology has continued to advance, though, this no longer has to be the case. Even those of you using a QuickBooks version that is about to lose the aforementioned support are enjoying some of the ways the software integrates with bank feeds, payroll, etc., (which are some of the services you could be losing).

Then maybe it is time to think of an online solution. If you feel too avid a fan of Intuit and its QuickBooks products and can’t imagine leaving, there is a QuickBooks online platform that gives small businesses much of the same bookkeeping power, with a continually updated software that ensures these sunset moments will not occur. This also means that you (and those who help you with your accounting work) have constant access to your books. Those old timeframes melt away.

Another benefit of the online format is the ability to have apps that work along with the program. Want to have employee’s timesheets inputted directly into your books? That can happen. Want expense reports sent there as well? That can happen. And who wouldn’t like a little extra power to send out invoices to customers and get paid faster.

There are also options to reduce (and eliminate) that storied shoebox full of receipts. There are multiple programs out there that make it as easy as taking a picture of a receipt with your phone to then having it saved forever.

Business as usual can be inviting, because it is the way that things have been working and succeeding. But if there are ways out there that can let you do the same business in less time – thus opening you up to be able to do more business – aren’t those good things?

Just what technology answers can help a business will very on a case-by-case basis, but chances are there are some changes everyone can implement to make things easier. If you want to explore some, please contact us and we will be happy to help. Next week I’ll be back in your space to give a little more detail on how some of these innovations could work in practice.