The real-time web application could be used as a tool in decision-making. While considering different options or business transactions, an entrepreneur could "try out" different outcomes in the financial statement in advance, before actually committing any one of them. This could be useful at least for a starting entrepreneur and for long term investments. And, of course, mobile user interface would free the user of time and space. I pictured the use of Palkka.fi while imagining the trying out different calculations.
If you're not familiar with Palkka.fi: you'll get an idea in Finnish or Swedish at www.palkka.fi: Choose Siirry palveluun and then Vierailija and accept the terms of use. Choose whether you want to use the service as a business or a household and then pick up one of the case examples (and press the "kopioi" button) and see how employing actually works out!
And of course, accounting itself would be performed straight from the phase of ordering. Should there be cause for corrections, the eInvoice would then more or less automatically add or substract those entries.
If I understood your idea correctly it is a forecasting tool for an entrepreneur? Large corporates have their own dedicated software for internal forecasting but usually small companies have to do all forecasting manually on paper or with excel if they can. And my experience is that most entrepreneurs are not able to do these things themselves. They are typically professional in their own field but not in finance and accounting.. So easy-to-use visually clear on-line tool would definatelly be needed.
salaries is of course a major expense item. I think the tool should also contain all the other expense items as well as incomes to give full picture of the financial situation.
I think there is a clear demand for this kind of service but it seems that no one is offering or planning to offer it. Who would like to catch the ball?
Great - you did, just right!
For a second I thought I blew it.. Was just wondering: if I were an entrepreneur, how could I financially "see forward" in these complicated areas of accounting and taxation.. -> Sure hope there is someone who can see HOW the trick could be done.
I have seen how the trick can be done and there are companies that are already offering this kind of service.
In my experience of practice with e-accounting for example the combination of professional accountant/controller and the Controller tool of Netvisor eAccounting can provide SME:s the service ,you refered to, in a manner that is usable even for non-finance and accounting professional.
However I would like to emphasize that the technical tools are not the issue, in practice it is the human factor that is the crucial success factor in the diffusion and deployment of e-accounting or real time accounting.
Therefore the discussion of e-accounting is currently too much technically oriented. The focus of the discussion should be in the x-factor (the human factor) if we want to achieve true progress in real time accounting.
