Online accounts technology is putting real-time financial controls and visibility within reach of small and microbusinesses, says Xero UK managing director Gary Turner

Just like web mail or consumer-oriented sites, online accounting software is fast, simple and user-oriented, especially when compared with traditional, desktop accounts software.

Whether a small business is just starting out or enjoying rapid growth, the easy-to-use, affordable technology brings a welcome opportunity to cut down on time-consuming bookkeeping processes, as well as gain greater visibility of incomings, outgoings and cash flow forecasting.

The cloud aspect of the technology is particularly crucial: by moving to online accounts software, small business users no longer need to spend hours adding transaction data manually to benefit from a real-time view of their accounts. Instead, it is possible for them to automatically download bank statement data via automatic bank feeds.

As well as taking back financial control and keeping up-to-date with …