Last week in this space, I included a passing reference to Pokemon GO, because how could one not? One can argue about the game’s merits (and pretending to come to any definite conclusion isn’t necessary here), but either way it makes for an easy joke.

Imagine my surprise then when shortly after writing that, an article showed up that actually spoke of the financial and tax aspects of the phenomenon.

The financial picture occupies an odd place because the game is nominally free. If you have a compatible device, you can play. Purchasing add-ons are key to how the game will make money, though, and if you are a parent with a kid who is obsessed with Pokeballs, this is a good time to have a talk about money; it can be difficult for children to grasp the concept of a financial transaction taking place when they never see the actual money involved.

I recommend reading the above-mentioned article for a discussion how sales tax can be collected on those purchases. The digital world, after all, opens up lots of questions about exactly where transactions take place and who can collect taxes on them.

I also want to mention another recent report. As a warning, clicking through will lead you to an article about how utilizing accounting professionals is linked to better business performance. And sure, you can then understand that my linking to it is a little self-serving, but it speaks to things in which I fervently believe.

Just as how the current technological world allows access to a wild fad of gameplay taking place in the real world, that same world allows more opportunities for business owners to tackle a greater amount of their accounting load.

This is already taking a firm hold in the tax industry, as affordable over-the-counter options look like great financial deals when compared to the price of a professionally prepared tax return. Tax professionals, however, are aware of more deductions (and any software probably will not lead you to, well, catch them all) and that knowledge could more than pay for the price difference.

Now there are ever-growing bookkeeping and accounting options, too, especially with the increasing prevalence of cloud-based systems. We use many of them ourselves and they do contain great power and possibility.

That is they do if you are confident that all the numbers inputted into them are placed in the right places.

Beyond needing that level of competence to trust that what you have done is correct, there can still be a large time element involved, and that is an area I think many business owners need to make a key concern.

Yes, I can’t deny that do-it-yourself options are cheaper than professional accounting services. But did you start your business because you really wanted to spend a lot of time with your books and bank account statements?

No, that’s what we did.

You started a business because you had some other service that you wanted to offer. And if you are spending hours a week on your finances, then your efforts are being taken away from where you wanted to put them when you started. By putting those efforts back in that primary spot, you can reap greater profits and make it worth paying someone else to handle the accounting aspects of your endeavor.

And it could open enough free time to catch yourself a Pikachu.