KriyaGo - Blog #Sample

7 Common Cyber Security Threats to Small Businesses and Accounting Firms

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:07:00 -0400

Security threats are not new in businesses across industries, and these breaches take a major hit on a company's financials. A T ripwire news report on an IBM security study points out that each incident of security breach costs companies about $3.92 million per incident. These cost a lot of money, and it grows a good 15% every year. IT experts believe that it will cost the world $10.5 Trillion annually at this rate.

Any security threat can be catastrophic and even harder for a small or medium business to recover from. So, no matter who your outsourced accounting service provider is, you need to be aware of these cyber security threats to identify them before they wreak havoc on your business. Read on to know more.

Why is security threat a concern in accounting?

The side effects of a security threat are endless. They have a significant effect on accounting because your financials are involved.

Losing your financial information

The most obvious target of any hacker is to get your financial records, tamper with them and drain out your money or conduct unauthorized payments. In such cases, they also get full access to your financial statements and can gain complete control over your business process overview.

Tampering business strategies and trade secrets

Once the hackers have the details of your accounts, they can quickly figure out your transaction history and related customer history, trade secrets and your company’s budgeting and forecasting can go haywire. Your spending becoming public can come in handy to your competitors in figuring out your business strategies and best you in further growth.

Look for for these 7 security threats

With a great selection of technology in project management and business process, all workings now happen on the cloud. They come with their own set of threats. Check them out.

1. Outdated software usage

No matter how much money you put into planning your business process overview, it is redundant without the latest selection of technology. Outdated software used to manage your business can lead to a lot of data threats and cyber security problems. If the software is not timely updated and does not have security layers to fight the latest bugs and viruses, then all of your systems are at risk. That is why you need a software integration partner who ensures periodic software updates take place for top-notch security. According to the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, in a month, more than 4818 websites are attacked by cyber threats, and your software partner needs to take that seriously.

2. Spyware and ransomware attacks

Spyware is a type of malicious software that is camouflaged in the system and becomes a threat when you try to extra sensitive information from your system. It always works in the background without your knowledge and can collect all information about your credentials and financial details.

It is a very threatening virus which blocks your access to your data in no time, and it also stays hidden in the background like Spyware. Health IT Security reports say that 71% of Ransomware attacks primarily target small businesses, and you need to take that into account while setting up your cyber security system. This mostly happens because small businesses hardly spend any money to back up their information on cloud storage, and this ransomware attack can lead to permanent data loss.

3. Phishing attacks

This is one of the most common yet most dangerous security threats. Proof Point market survey reports said that in 2019 more than 88% of all companies across the world faced phishing attacks. These primarily work with fake emails or messages to which fraudulent links and information are attached. Once any of your employees click on these links, they can lead to monetary loss, data loss, financial history tampering, etc.

It is sometimes tough to catch these phishing attacks because these emails and messages are very close copies of the originals, and it takes a very detailed eye to catch them. Phishing scammers can also easily duplicate your financial documents and use them for later purchases and transactions in your names, becoming a long-term threat.

4. Weak passwords and human errors

Trace Security reportshave pointed out that more than 81% of data breaches in companies happen due to weak passwords. This is a matter of concern because companies keep a simple password for it to be easily accessible for all stakeholders, but in the end, it can lead to some real damage to your accounting and business information. Human errors can play a substantial part in generating these weak passwords. So, you can consider using a random password generator to constantly keep changing and updating your password to avoid such incidents.

5. Denial of service (DoS) attacks

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks are ones where cybercriminals gain access to your office system and deny the present users access to their own information. It floods the whole server with endless emails requesting access till the time the website denies access to all stakeholders involved, denying you access to your own financial information. These websites are then taken over by cybercriminals and used for other phishing activities and financial scams.

6. Insider threats from employees

If you have a bring your own device policy at the office, it can be a major threat to your cyber security. They have first-hand access to all your sensitive data and can choose to use them to manipulate your finances at any time. IBM Research also found out that more than 60% of companies suffered at least 20 cyber attacks in a year due to insider threats.

7. Halt and catch fire

There are methods in which sometimes cybercriminals use advanced technology to self destruct your files or information on your system. These are threats that do not lead to any information being leaked, but they are instead destroyed. These threats are not that common, but they still happen nonetheless.

Consult with IT outsourcing service partners

There is a constant increase in the number of cyber security breach issues due to the advancement of technology; these can gravely affect your finances and accounting work. That is why you need to team up with the right IT outsourcing partner who provides the best cyber security and keeps all your data safe.

At KriyaGo, we train our staff with the best security protocols and update our systems with the latest software to ensure the best cyber security in handling your back office accounting work.

Want to find out more about our work? Call us soon!

The Surprising Truth about Outsourcing Property Management Accounting

Wed, 23 Feb 2022 09:00:01 -0500

Managing a property is no easy task. You have to take care of endless responsibilities that include maintenance, coordinating with vendors, paying staff on time, and more.

Each property you manage brings more tasks to the table and can soon overwhelm your time. The situation is more common than you think and haunts countless businesses in real estate.

On top of that, agencies have to attend to back office duties and accounting.

As a result, things can go out of control and leave you in the lurch!

Outsourcing your property management accounting

Outsourcing has remained a top solution to achieve business growth. Over 1/3rd of small US businesses outsource a range of functions to chosen partners in different countries.

Real estate agencies can also outsource their back office tasks like property management accounting. It can free up your staff and help you deal with your priorities.

Best of all, accounting is one of the top functions to be outsourced. According to the US Small Business Administration (SBA), it is a perfect option for bridging a talent gap.

That means you don’t have to be a financial expert or even handle your books. In addition, you don’t need to invest time to learn accounting standards or tax rules.

Instead, you can outsource your accounting process and enjoy more efficiency. Moreover, you can take advantage of several perks that are mentioned below.

Ensure business continuity without exception

Businesses can experience a range of disruptions. We don’t have to look far to find an example for what we are saying.

All of us have gone through the pandemic that strained supply chains around the world. As a result, several businesses downed their shutters and stopped operating.

Those who survived were still dealing with inconsistent orders and increasing costs. The matter became so worse that many companies feared their existence.

Outsourcing can be a great option to sail the troubled waters during difficult times. It can take the load off your shoulders and give you space to focus on what’s important.

Therefore, you can delegate your property management accounting and free up your resources. Maybe it’s the reason business continuity was central to outsourcing in 2021.

Lower costs and operating expenses

Cost has always been a top priority for outsourcing back office accounting. Real estate agencies can save a whole range of expenses just by working with an adept outsourcing partner.

What type of costs can you curtail by delegating your accounting?

The first major expense you can save is on recruiting new employees. You don’t have to spend any resources to hire, screen, or interview accountants or bookkeepers.

In addition, you don’t need to pay any regular wages, bonuses, or incentives. There is also no need to offer retirement plans or any type of benefits.

Moreover, you don’t have to rent or lease office space or provide supplies. You can also save on overheads and paying utility bills.

As a result, a business can save 60% of overall costs by choosing to outsource.

Scale your business without restrictions

The demand for real estate is expected to surge in 2022 as we get back to normal. As per Deloitte, 80% of real estate agencies expect to earn more revenues next year than in 2021.

As a result, experts are predicting more demand for commercial spaces in the coming days. Firms can add more offerings to their portfolio to grow their business.

However, many firms are afraid to take advantage of the situation due to a lack of manpower. They don’t have the additional staff to take care of the accounting that comes with each new building.

Yet, there is a simple way to address the whole scenario, i.e., outsourcing. It can eliminate the need to hire additional staff by delegating any extra workload.

In addition, you also don’t have to spend time training your staff.

Instead, you can work with a reliable partner like KriyaGo to access expert accountants. We can provide you additional workforce as you grow your portfolio.

There is no need to wait as you can scale instantly to meet increased demand.

Boost productivity of existing employees

Your back office handles a wide range of tasks every day. The list includes coordinating with third-party service providers, maintaining records, assessing customer feedback, and more.

Along with that, they have to work on administrative tasks and property management accounting. Back in 2017, businesses spent 120 days per year on average working on such tasks.

Now, we have automation to save time, but many firms still rely on paper processes. As a result, they lose out on productivity by wasting countless hours every week.

Outsourcing can be an excellent technique to reduce workload for your existing employees. You can free up essential hours for each employee to be spent more productively.

For example, your back office can coordinate between your sales and marketing departments to convert more leads.

In addition, you will be able to streamline your processes and save more effort.

Choose your property management accounting outsourcing partner wisely

Outsourcing your accounting process is a proven way to boost productivity and efficiency. However, you need to join hands with a proficient partner for the best outcome.

KriyaGo is a leading choice of real estate agencies worldwide to outsource property management accounting. We have a team of adept accountants who have years of experience in working in residential and commercial real estate.

Therefore, you can access top expertise and take advantage of our proven processes. We can help you improve the accuracy of your books, lower costs, and gain more control over your expenses.

Final thoughts

Outsourcing is a proven method to reduce your workload and focus on your core activities. Real estate agencies can outsource their project management accounting to free up time and resources. It can also boost productivity and help you achieve efficiency in your processes. Best of all, you can stay free to scale your business up or down based on market demand.

Why You Should Use VoIP For Your Business Calls

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 15:26:48 -0500

If you are looking for a reliable communication system for your business, you have probably heard about VoIP systems. As the name suggests, VoIP or Voice Over Internet Protocol uses the internet to make phone calls. More than one-third of businesses already use VoIP due to its cost-effectiveness and productivity.

Regardless of the size and type of your business, VoIP systems can be an excellent choice for their numerous benefits. If you are considering VoIP systems for your office, read on to know about how they can help your business.

Greater savings

The primary benefit of implementing VoIP is the low cost as compared to other phones. Traditional phone systems require wires to relay phone data from the caller to the receiver. As the number of wires increases, the calls also get more expensive. The price of each call also increases along with the distance.

But VoIP needs minimal equipment as the service provider hosts most of the infrastructure. This means you will have to set up little to no hardware, especially if you choose cloud-based VoIP. Usually, your mobile phones and computers act as softphones through a VoIP application. You can also use your old desk phones for VoIP, which adds to the cost savings.

Additionally, VoIP calls are independent of distance. You can place a call within your area or outside your country, the charges will be the same. This is because VoIP uses the internet instead of a wired network to make those calls. Telzio estimates that companies can save over 50% of their telecom costs by switching to VoIP.

Ideal for remote work

Recently, many employees have started working remotely due to the pandemic. A Nextiva survey found that 1 in 3 companies have teams that work remotely. Communication over the phone and the internet has been key to managing remote teams. But, is it possible to make your company communication system for all your remote employees?

Traditional phone systems have limited mobility. It was almost impossible to use the same business numbers at remote locations without services like call forwarding. But businesses that used VoIP could easily make this transition.

VoIP works mostly through phone apps which makes it accessible from anywhere. These apps display your business number regardless of the device it is used from. For example, consider using your phone for business calls during remote work. By placing your calls through the VoIP app, the receiver will see your office number instead of your personal one.

More than just a call

VoIP systems come with extensive features that are suitable for small and large businesses. One such feature that is commonly used is the conference call. VoIP comes with built-in features that allow you to call multiple people at once. In addition to video conferencing, it also lets participants share documents and files within the call, making the discussions easier and fruitful. This feature is especially beneficial as more businesses are relying on video calls for office communication.

Another popular feature used by over 77% of businesses is the find me/follow me feature. Through this, you can ensure that your business calls always reach you, no matter where you are. The find-me/ follow-me service directs business phone calls to a single device or location.

For example, if you are away on a vacation, you can direct the calls to your personal phone without purchasing additional equipment. All you need to do is set up the VoIP app on your phone and choose to take calls on your device. You can also direct calls to multiple devices, which is helpful if you often work from different locations.

Better call quality

A common misconception is that calls over VoIP have poor voice quality. This might be true if your only VoIP experience is through free calling services. These services are only meant for personal use and cannot provide the quality required to make professional calls.

But paid VoIP systems are different. They are built to support business calls which means longer distances and better quality. As long as you have a reliable internet connection, you can sail through both video and voice calls with minimal disturbances.

Additionally, VoIP systems also come with features such as noise suppression and voice activity recognition. This ensures that any background noise does not interfere with your call, making it a better experience overall.

Higher scalability

Growing businesses need to ensure that their business systems can adapt and grow with them. But traditional phone lines are simply very difficult to scale. If your company has additional communication requirements, you will need to add more devices and lines. Scaling such systems not only costs more but also requires additional space.

VoIP systems provide hassle-free scaling options. Adding more devices is as simple as installing an app and completing the registration process. This can be done within a few minutes at little to no additional cost. Moreover, you can scale across several geographical locations using the same number.

Efficient data usage

VoIP uses features like voice detection to save data during calls. About 50% of every telephonic conversation is silent, which lets VoIP systems save about half the amount of data used by traditional phone lines. Voice detection activates data transfer only when someone speaks into the line. This means better use of bandwidth and higher savings.

Highly reliable

Unlike traditional phone lines, VoIP systems come with many alternate options in case your primary communication system fails. For example, if your desk phones fail due to an internet outage, the calls can be directed to personal phones so you never miss an important call. VoIP poses a lower risk of communication failure by reducing the dependency on a single system.

Next steps

Using VoIP aids in clear and crisp business communication. If you want to upgrade to VoIP for your business, then finding the right service provider is essential. KriyaGo can help you implement VoIP systems by providing every resource that you require. Our experts have already helped several clients successfully implement VoIP for their businesses.

We assess your requirements to find the most suitable solution for you. Our experienced staff will provide you with the required assistance to make the most out of your VoIP systems. Our unique strategy helps clients make the necessary improvements to reach their target goals through VoIP.

Want to implement VoIP at your office? Book a free consultation with KriyaGo!

Top Reasons Why ERP Integrations Fail

Wed, 30 Jun 2021 14:36:18 -0400

ERP systems integrate all business processes. However, companies choosing ERP have their share of doubts and questions. While ERP systems can streamline your business process, these projects do not come without challenges. Nearly 11% of ERP implementations fail to go live in the allotted time. A few of these failures are due to the software itself. But a majority of them are due to other avoidable reasons.

You can prevent these failures by taking the required steps. If you are considering ERP integration for your business, this article can help you identify the risks and also prevent them.

Common causes for ERP integration failure

Inadequate testing

Inadequate testing was one of the two significant problems noted during integration. Testing ensures that all data is accurate. While off-shelf ERPs are tested, customized ERPs usually lack rigorous testing.

And most testing is done under ideal conditions, which leads to ERP failure during stressful situations. A commonly known example is National Grid’s ERP implementation failure due to the lack of disaster testing.

What You Can Do: Test your software under various conditions, such as high volumes of data input and prolonged running.

Poor project planning and management

ERP integration projects contain several steps. Whether it is design, testing, or deployment, each step has some crucial tasks which need to be unified. To handle all these steps, you need an organized approach. Even if each step works individually, it may fail as a unified process. ERP projects can also fail due to lack of planning, inadequate management, or lack of coordination among various departments.

What You Can Do: Plan your integrations at the start and stick to the plan. Involve testing in each step and make sure you test the final project adequately.

Incorrect data import methods

If you are newly implementing ERP, you need to transfer all the old data into the new system. Often, migrating data from an outdated system has many challenges. For example, the older system might contain insufficient or bad data. Feeding this without proper conversion can lead to ERP failure. Therefore, every system requires specific procedures and lots of testing before data conversion is complete.

What You Can Do: Eliminate bad data from older systems. Change your data according to how it is utilized in the new system.

Not changing business processes

ERP integration is not just about the software. As a company, you need to adjust your business processes to include the new technology. Whether it is a different data entry method or a new procedure for managing finances, every employee should be aware of it. By resisting technology change, you won’t be able to reap all the benefits of the integration.

What You Can Do: Accommodate the software by changing certain business processes. Get the most out of your integration by building a business strategy around it.

Improper customization

ERP customizations require the right expertise. Many companies want customized software but are skeptical due to the risks involved. Improper customization can lead to data loss and software failure. You need to start with minor customizations and test them to look for errors. Customizing many things at once can break down your ERP systems.

What You Can Do: Hire professionals who can handle ERP customizations. A standard ERP may not have the required features. You need to be specific about your requirements so experts can plan the new features.

Lack of training

New software requires new skill sets. If you do not train your staff on using the integration, your integration will not achieve any results. From designers to deployers, you need to prepare everyone involved in the process. If inexperienced staff handle the software, it can make the integration appear “failed.”

What You Can Do: Involve your staff during software implementations. Make sure all of them understand how the software functions and how they can use it. Organize training sessions, so your employees get hands-on experience with the ERP software.

Impact of ERP failure

A single software failure can have irreparable consequences. We have seen top companies losing millions because of a faulty ERP integration. For your business, ERP failure can mean:

Loss of clients

Most companies use ERP software to deal with client data. Some companies also make digital products that they sell to clients. Your clients rely on you to provide them quality products or services. A single failure in such a product can cause a considerable loss to you and your client.

Cost of rectification

Rectifying ERP failures can cost much more than your decided budget. Determining the cause, remaking the strategy, and implementing the software again will also take a lot of time. This means more downtime and lesser revenue. Depending on the cause, you might also require restarting the whole implementation process.

Company reputation

A failed integration is a burden not just to you but also to your staff and clients. Rectifying the errors can take a while, so clients won’t be able to use your services. In addition, it can taint your company’s reputation due to inconvenience caused by the failure.

Despite all the risks, 95% of companies who opted for ERP implementation have seen business improvement. If done the right way, ERP implementations can be highly beneficial to your business.

A company specializing in software integration can help you avoid ERP failures by avoiding everyday challenges. They have the expertise and experience to build the right software integration for you.

Get reliable ERP integration through KriyaGo

Worried about ERP integration? Want the best integration services? Try KriyaGo!

We specialize in software integration for the real estate industry. Our services include software support, consultancy, and implementation. Many big and small enterprises are completely satisfied with KriyaGo’s software integration services. While the market has different software, we can help you customize them to suit your requirements.

At KriyaGo, we understand your company’s unique needs. If you require additional tools and features, we can integrate them for you! You can get the advantages of multiple property management systems such as Yardi, Procore and SAP concur - all in a single platform!

Book your free consultation to know more about our services!