Disrupting complacency in the Irish cloud accounting space

Iplicit represents a powerful alternative for organisations struggling with outdated server-based on-premise solutions in a world of remote connectivity

Pro

Alan Connor, iplicit

In association with iplicit Ireland

Cloud accounting software iplicit provides enhanced levels of analysis with real-time reporting capabilities, exceptional functionality, automated data migration, rapid implementation, and a public API to link to a plethora of third-party solutions.

Since it was launched in 2019 by the founders of the multi-award-winning accounting solution Exchequer Software, iplicit has helped more than 300 organisations from across various sectors to take advantage of its true-cloud innovative platform.

“For three decades, we’ve been delivering and distributing accounting software in Ireland under the Exchequer banner,” says Alan Connor, managing director, iplicit Ireland. “We’ve gone from DOS-based accounting through to Windows accounting software exploiting all that this technology had to offer and delivering the best functionality and customer service throughout. 

“Over the last few years, we’ve come together with our counterparts in the UK to harness our decades of experience to develop the most innovative and disruptive cloud accounting software.”

Iplicit represents a powerful alternative for organisations struggling with outdated server-based on-premise solutions and who require seamless remote connectivity, extensive reporting, configurable workflows, authorisation functionality, and seamless integration with other cloud-based systems.

“Cloud is definitely the future,” says Connor. “We didn’t want to do cloud for the sake of doing cloud. We had to be able to deliver the functionality that real businesses need. We wanted to offer the complexity of the most mature server-based systems in a wonderful new cloud environment.”

Challenging complacency 

Those decades spent delivering accounting software enabled the team to identify the real gaps in cloud technology and accounting functionality. From there, they developed their signature true-cloud solution. “We wanted to challenge some of the complacency that we were seeing in the cloud-based accounting system space,” says Connor. “We knew something was missing and we wanted to change things. 

“The mid-range sector has several entry-level cloud solutions and a number of hybrid solutions which are basically server-based applications but run on a hosted server. There is a difference between being on the cloud and having true-cloud software. You can’t take a diesel car and retrofit it to become electric. An electric car needs to be conceived and built from the ground up. That’s what we did with iplicit, and clients will genuinely appreciate the amazing difference when they see the product.”

While some businesses and accountants were initially hesitant to embrace cloud, often due to a lack of familiarity with the technology, the paradigm is shifting and today cloud is seen as the way forward. 

“It was not long ago that the idea of your business being reliant on a broadband link that could potentially waver made the thought of investing in cloud seem too risky,” says Connor. “That’s changed now. Mast-based internet, never mind fibre to the house or to the business, has become much more adept and, with our collective experiences from remote working during Covid, businesses have found that there is success outside of the four office walls. They now need the tools to help grow even more.”

Business benefits

For those who are looking for less of an IT headache, and to move to more functional cloud accounting systems – whether they are coming from entry level accountancy software or from a mid-range server-based system –Connor says iplicit is a sustainable and logical choice: “The business benefits are quite varied, but extremely persuasive. There’s far greater uptime, far less disruption, no capital expenditure, no IT to maintain, no connectivity issues, no risk of hardware failure. 

“Our cloud system is on a Microsoft Azure platform,” continues Connor. “Last year, Microsoft invested over a billion dollars on security for the Azure platform alone. We can provide fully secure multitenant hosting within Microsoft Azure which gives access to all the strengths that government departments, banks, militaries, and other huge institutions around the world are taking advantage of.

Connor says his Irish customers also appreciate that iplicit uses a Microsoft Irish data centre, meaning their data is stored locally. 

“Accountants are often very prudent. They like to know where their data is. They like ensuring business continuity. They often just need to find the right software backed by the right customer-focused teams before making the transition to cloud. We don’t expect clients to jump instantly as their move to cloud could be a long-term plan, but when it comes to cost, functionality and efficiency, cloud is unmatched.”

Functionality and versatility

When business systems make assumptions about the needs that organisations in specific sectors have, it can be limiting, says Connor: “From the outside, it might appear that businesses in the same sector essentially operate in the same way. That’s not the case. Their needs, the way they treat funds, process transactions, approve workflows or even transact with their own customers are all unique to them.

“Our software was designed with that in mind. With iplicit, our clients can choose to record the data that is important to them, without any inbuilt restrictions or cumbersome workflow. What that means is that businesses are not pigeonholed. If a customer needs extra analysis, functionality and versatility, we can provide that. It was designed to be as complex or as simple as they need it to be. The phenomenal power of iplicit is that it was designed to provide a tailorable experience and make your life easier.”

The technology was also built to integrate to third-party solutions. “Integration is a necessity, so we’ve made it simple for our clients. From bank statement feeds to payroll imports, to other third-party integrations, the solution is readily available to link to any disparate systems that you wish to run alongside iplicit.

“The expectation is that a company will grow and thereafter require various aspects to seamlessly link to different solutions, all in the cloud. It’s much easier now to integrate and customise than it used to be in server-based solutions. Modern cloud software is designed to be API first.”

Award-winning 

In its second year, iplicit was named the UK’s best mid-market & enterprise accounting software at the Annual Accounting Excellence Awards thanks to its attentive customer service and innovative design. “That really blew us away,” says Connor. “It was pretty unheralded to win an award like that, which was voted on by real users, so early on. We were genuinely humbled by the accolade.

“At the end of the day, we like to do what we do well. It’s not just the about product for us. It’s about the people, the customer service, we try to anticipate what our clients will need going forward. We have the right tools backed up by the right people.

“The pairing of exceptional functionality in software with a genuine interest in helping clients succeed has carried us through the last 30 years in this industry, and that’s what will keep us going in the years ahead.

“We love to show our software,” Connor continues. “If you would like to see what we can offer and have just 30 minutes for a no-obligation web demo and a chat over your specific business needs, please visit www.iplicit.ie to book a web demo with one of our experts and see the difference for yourself.”