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Mobile Accounting Tips: Communicate Securely with Your Clients

Updated on by in Cyber Security

Pedaling on the might of technology, accounting has left the pen and paper based accounting years behind to meet the computerized solutions. Among them, cloud-based hosting of accounting software has earned praiseworthy favoritism from SMBs and CPAs. One of the major reasons of the praise is the mobile-friendly feature of cloud accounting. Cloud technology has positively influenced the unforeseen rise in the mobile device (laptop, tablet, smartphones, etc.) technology with device-independency and multi-user collaboration being its most profitable earnings.

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On the other hand, the traditional security measures have altered for accounting operations with accounting and hence, its security measures have changed. The following are very crucial security tips that every CPA must remember while handling accounting operations on mobile devices.

Smart Hosting Choice

Almost every leading accounting software maker is offering third-party hosting option with their package, which can deliver the optimized accounting experience with the software. Various hosting-related factors, ranging from the choice of hosting vendor to the server choice, have a role to play with the accounting security.

The service providers that you choose should be trustable with its security practices. Though the hosting services providers are always under the scanner for their privacy policies, it is important for users to check how secure they are from external threats. Additionally, it is always recommended to opt for a dedicated server for secure cloud operations.

Secure Your Device

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Once the reliable hosting service is chosen, the threat could still make its ways via loopholes in user’s device. That means the user-end mobile devices from which accounting operations are being executed can help the attackers if not secured.

Device security requires some simple, but crucial, steps. Installation of effective antivirus software, proper security settings, etc. are usually enough to save the device from illegitimate actions. Most users like to stay logged into the mobile devices to access quickly. In case of device theft, this can be dangerous. So, be sure that proper theft protection measures are in action.

Connect to Clean Network

After securing the device and hosting service, it is essential to tighten the connectivity between them. Working on mobile devices means the user is expected to switch between the various networks at various locations.

It is always recommended not to connect your device on a public network that is not trustable. A trustable network should have a firewall installed to guard against the unwanted intrusions. In case you have to connect with the new network, you can test the network security using the software. Most of the modern antivirus applications for mobile devices are offering this feature, so it does not require a major doing for the user.

End-user Grounding

Multi-user collaboration is one of the biggest advantages of the mobile accounting. But it can easily turn into a nightmare if any of the users let the doors ajar. Thus, it is essential to maintain the authentication for various user permissions.

At the same time, training the users about basic security methods is also important. Training the users is not a tough ask, but usually ignored. This does not involve any vigorous training, but simply basic training about the device and network security. Importance of a complex password, 2-Step Verification, timely logout, etc. are the learning that users should be thought about.

Stay Updated

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The ecosphere of computing hosts some flaws, which are regularly fixed at various ends. From the application itself to the device operating system, the developers offer updates and security fixes to keep all the operations clean and protected. Installing these updates may follow different procedures as some of them are automated and the rest of them manually driven.

As more and more developers are working towards allowing a better and simpler technology ambiance, one can hope updating devices will become easier. CPA should also be updated with the security news related to the application they are working on.

Regular Drills

When you feel you have got all the guards up with your mobile devices, test them out with drills. Drills (or mock tests) are ways of testing the security and preparedness of the device. The level of drills can go from amateur to professional. A user may perform basic drills on their own, but there are dedicated services also available. They can test the complete ‘device to cloud’ system and report the error, if any. Drills services are usually preferred by enterprises. However, they can support individual CPAs as well.

Summing It All

Accounting can neither be compromised on the efficiency, nor on security. Mobile accounting has induced a great energy for the accounting professionals to better the scale of operations. In this uplifting, the modulus operandi has taken a noticeable change and same is the case with security factors. With mobile accounting, the standards of security and privacy have not fallen any bit but changed in some ways. In fact, mobile accounting is believed to have better security techniques available than the traditional ones. All it takes is some precautions.

Author: Renuka Rana

Renuka Rana, editor at Ace Cloud Hosting spends considerable part of her time in writing about technology including cloud computing, QuickBooks cloud and smartphones. When not writing, she loves to dig deeper into knowing the best and the latest technology in industry.

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