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Six reasons why going paperless benefits your business – especially with an audit

Moe Tabesh writes about communicating with the CRA

Let’s face it, hearing the word audit makes everyone nervous, scared, anxious, … however, all the audit is asking for is proving evidence/documents to substantiate your expenses and claims.

We helped a client one time with his audit, one of the disputes with CRA was that they wanted to see the receipt. The client did not have the receipt for his phone bill since he made the payment with his bank account and throw the receipt in the garbage.

The client and our defence were, look the bank clearly says Bell Canada $XXX. CRA disallowed it and asked where the receipt is. I know!

Lesson learned, save a copy, I agree, that is a lot of paper even more when you add seven years to it.

Here comes to the solution, Dext app. It’s superpower is that it keeps the receipt for 10 years, three more years than CRA recommendation.

How does it work, either email receipts to it or scan receipts with its app, or even tell it to go to your supplier and “Fetch” it for you. Just like a loyal dog!

This is one of revolutionary superpowers of cloud accounting. I can go on an on and talk about its greatness, but we’ll leave it at this. Trust me get this app and you are way ahead of your competition.

Here are benefits of using Dext:

1. Document management and storage

Pain. Storing financial records physically in your office?

This usually means you have to save all your receipts and invoices, store them up in shoeboxes or binders, then deliver them to us in person. Too often, this means lost documents, wasted space in the office and too much time spent organising paperwork. Plus, it’s a nightmare to find anything.

The benefit of going paperless?  You can now submit your business expenses, receipts and invoices on the go, by taking a photo as soon as you receive it. Dext’s document management means they you access data all in one place, at any time. 

2. Mobile business data

Pain: We are now accustomed to working on document delivery and on the move.

Having to physically deliver paperwork to get an up-to-date view of your business health wastes a lot of your time. Don’t wise people say time is money.

The benefit of going paperless? You can send your data in real time, wherever they may be, so you are always up to date. It’s quick, simple and convenient. Plus, you can track an accurate view of your business finances anywhere.

3. Expense tracking

Pain: Traditionally, you may not have visibility of your expenses until documents are delivered and entered to the accounting system.

You might need to wait until the end of the month to look at your spending. This makes tracking cash flow a huge headache.

What’s more, reimbursements then rest on everyone remembering to save their receipts in a legible format for 28 days.

The benefit of going paperless? You can track expenses more effectively and efficiently.

Thanks to the document management and mobile business data, the business can claim back HST more accurately and your team members can be reimbursed for their expenses on time.

4. Disaster protection

Pain: If your records are just in paper format, you’re liable for damages should a fire, flood or break-in occur.

The benefit of going paperless? Going paperless means all your documents are backed up in the cloud. While this does not mean your documents are risk-free, it means they can be restored.

5. Audit protection

Pain: Any claimed expense needs to be backed up with corresponding documentation.

Any claim missing its receipt or invoice could result in a fine. A full audit might take as many as four days, leading to overwork or delays on your work.

The benefit of going paperless? With complete digital records, you have a clear breadcrumb trail of all transactions and documents. This makes it quick and easy to search for the relevant audit documents without the worry of sticky questions.

6. Fraud protection

Pain: Without full visibility of invoices and business expenses, incidents of fraud or overspending might slip unnoticed and cost businesses thousands.

The benefit of going paperless? By displaying transactions all in one place, it is easier than ever to identify overspending and fraud. We have a few great stories to tell.

EVENT ALERT: Mayor's Breakfast with Ontario Finance Minister on Wednesday, Dec. 4 @ City Hall