15 Ways Technology Changed the Bookkeeping World

I'm heading down to Christchurch for the ICNZB Conference next week.

I love attending these industry conferences. There’s a general sense of camaraderie and excitement and optimism, and it’s a chance to catch up with fellow bookkeepers, some of whom I’ve known for years and some of who I’m meeting for the first time.

The theme of this year’s conference is Future Focussed, and it’s got me thinking about where we've come from.

It’s mind-blowing to think of the change and the transformation that the internet has brought to our businesses in such a short space of time – a lot of which we now take for granted - and it’s exciting to think of the transformations still to come.

The Jetsons

I remember seeing Telecom (as it was called then) billboards and TV ads back in the 1990s where grandparents were talking to grandchildren on the other side of the world. It was like watching an episode of The Jetsons. I thought it was so far-fetched and would be decades away. But it wasn’t decades away. It was already starting to happen then.

Now we can do all of that and more with a tiny device in our pocket or even on our wrist.

Let’s take a walk down memory lane to really see how far we’ve come.

Here are 15 ways in which our bookkeeping world has changed in the past 20 years or so.

1. Email

If you were born in the 2000s then email has always been a part of your life. Even for those of us born before then it feels like it's been around forever, and so it's easy to forget just how recent of a development email is, and just how much of a difference it has made to our lives and our businesses.

Email was always a part of my bookkeeping business, but just 5 years prior to that the internet was just starting to emerge and was only accessible through slow dial-up.

It's become such a critical piece of our business since then; it's how we communicate with our clients, how we sell our services, and how we capture in writing what needs to be said.

Imagine our businesses without email. It wasn’t that long ago that that’s what business looked like.

2. SaaS - web-based software

Remember when we had no choice but to physically go to our clients’ premises because that’s where the computer was with the accounting software?

Of course, sometimes we still do have to do that but, more often than not, we’re able to work remotely from our own offices.

This is hugely convenient for most of us but it also means that we are providing all of our own tech, stationery, and office furniture which comes at a cost to us and which we can forget to factor into our pricing.

But that tech is also pretty affordable and it's a low barrier to entry to starting a bookkeeping business from home.

Of course, web-based accounting software also means that our clientss business accounts are more up-to-date and can be easily accessed by the client, the bookkeeper and the accountant at the same time.

Working from home isn't for everyone, but since Covid more and more people are making it work. Personally, I love working from home. You really can’t beat the commute.

3. Mobile Phones aka “I’ve got an app for that”

From brick phones, to flip phones to Blackberrys to today’s smartphones – what a ride! Where would we be without our phones these days? 

Mobile phones have been a complete game changer when it comes  to business, and yet we tend to take them for granted these days.

Even texting and instant messaging are new technologies made possible by mobile phones. 

It’s a telephone, camera, music library, encyclopedia, scanner, and mini-computer all rolled into one, and often connected to our wrists via our watches.

Many people don’t even have a landline anymore, they just have their mobile phone.

4. Bank feeds

Another game changer. Bank feeds, coupled with bank rules, has been such an efficiency and accuracy boost when it comes to our work as a bookkeeper. No more printing bank statements, going to the bank for a printout, or waiting for the bank statement to arrive in the mail, and then manually entering and reconciling the transactions.

5. Printers and Scanners

Again, we forget just how radical and recent this technology is. Photocopiers have been around for a relatively long time but they were big and cumbersome.

I used to have a standalone scanner. It was quite edgy technology at the time.

And then they combined printers with scanners and photocopiers and made versions small enough to sit on your desk and cheap enough for them to become a standard office tool that even small businesses and home offices could afford.

6. WiFi

It’s like magic really, isn’t it?

It was cool enough when we had cables connecting our office equipment, but then they made it so that information could be transmitted through the air.

Through. The. Air.

Like, whaaattt?? Mind-blowing.

7. Online File Storage & Backup Services

My bookkeeping business used to own a server to hold all our files, and portable file storage devices to back them up.

Dropbox, Google Drive and One Drive now hold everything we need for a small monthly fee, and we can access those files no matter where we are (as long as there’s internet), even from our phones.

My IT people have also set me up with a subscription backup service that runs in the background without me even having to think about it.

This came in really handy when I bought a new computer as files were able to be easily transferred, and also that time I had a virus come in through a Dropbox file and had to restore everything from a backup!

8. Video Calling

That Telecom ad that I mentioned? Now commonplace. Family, clients, or suppliers on the other side of the world? No problem.

It used to cost so much money to phone them that most people really couldn’t afford to call that frequently.

My 85-year-old father is continuously amazed and delighted at how my brother can video call him even if he’s in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (he’s a superyacht captain) and it’s “as clear as day.”

This really is phenomenal when you think about it, right?

I have built my coaching business on this technology. It enables me to coach bookkeepers from all over the world and that is something that I am very grateful and in awe of.

9. Remote computer access

I use Zoom to offer remote tech support and training by taking control of the other person’s computer screen (with their permission of course). This is incredibly valuable.

My IT guys use TeamViewer to help me with my IT issues without stepping foot out of their door.

The ability to be able to look at what someone else is looking at while still sitting at my desk is an incredible technology that has enabled us bookkeepers to offer more services to our clients in a more timely manner than when we would have to jump in our car and travel to the premises to sort something out.

10. SaaS Integrations, apps and add-ons

Accounting software like Xero now forms a foundational piece in a business’s tech stack, and you bolt on, and only pay for, extra functionality but only if you need it.

The days of one-size-fits-all software as the standard, with annual upgrades, is dead and gone. Now, software is much more modular and integrative.

This has opened businesses to so much more opportunity, and efficiency, and is easily affordable for most.

11. Websites

Websites used to be technologically challenging to create and maintain. You couldn’t do it yourself without training.

I paid someone to manage my website for me and it was a good use of funds. After all, I'm not a website expert.

But these days the tech exists to make this relatively simple and easy to the point that many people now build their own websites, and they are a cost-effective and mostly necessary marketing tool.

In 1996 only 1 in 5 New Zealanders had even heard of the internet, let alone websites. In fact, New Zealand’s first website was only created in 1992, a mere 30 years ago. The internet itself was created only 9 years earlier in 1983.

With an estimated well over 1 billion websites in the world today, it’s easy to think that they’ve been around for longer than they have.

12. Social Media

 I think we all know how impactful social media has become. There are plenty of pros and cons.

I have connected with friends I long ago lost contact with, and that has been amazing. But there's no doubt that it can be addictive.

That said, in the same vein as websites, they are a pivotal piece in many bookkeeping business's marketing stack, and for good reason. 

13. Community

This follows nicely from social media in many respects as that's where many online communities reside. Facebook groups are a free tool and enable businesses to collect people with similar interests, and also to connect with industry colleagues. Similarly with LinkedIn.

Reddit and Circle are also amongst the other places where online communities are gathering and thriving as well.

Online communities have allowed us to connect with people and businesses that we would never otherwise be able to. 

14. CPD and education

 If you're anything like me, you want to know something, you pick up your phone and google for the answer.

Online webinars and education, courses and coaching designed and delivered by experts (like me :) )in their fields, are widely available and commonplace. 

Want to read a book on a subject? Download the Kindle version and read it immediately or order it to be delivered

The knowledge market, as it's called, is booming. 

Education, in all its forms, has long been a measure of success and opportunity and it's important not to underestimate just what a privilege this accessibility is. 

15. Internet Shopping

Almost anything you need for your business can be purchased online and delivered to your door. 

Desks, stationery, computers, software, even cars can be researched and purchased online and then delivered to you.

You can build a bookkeeping business without leaving the house if you really want to.

(I don't advise you do, mind you...live interactions with real people, networking, meeting with friends, are still hugely important.)

The upshot

Those of us that have been around a while have seen some changes and most of us have taken them in our stride and grown with them. You can’t be a good bookkeeper these days without also being tech and system savvy.

The bookkeeping business of today looks vastly different from the bookkeeping business of yesteryear, and it’s certain that future bookkeeping businesses will look vastly different from today.

These advancements have also made it possible for us bookkeepers to expand our services and move into software consulting and training, business advisory, and tax.

One of the things that I love about our industry is this innovation and the tech. It keeps things interesting, and it keeps us in growth mode.

I’m excited to see what’s still to come.

😃Stephanie 

PS: Interested in working with me as your bookkeeping business coach? Send me an email  or Message me to start the conversation.