Remember when you used to go to the local office supply store and buy a CD-ROM with software off the shelf? If you’re not quite old enough to remember that, they looked sort of like books lined up on the shelf. You’d take them back to your computer and install them. That was on-premise software.

Now, most software is SaaS — software as a service. If you’re considering SaaS for your sales tax compliance software solution, you may have some concerns.

Are you buying or renting?

One of the common concerns for people who are switching to SaaS after using on-premise software is that SaaS is a subscription. Rather than buying that software package and using it as long as you choose, you pay regularly.

This is a feature, not a bug. You will always have the most current software. For sales tax compliance, that is hugely important. Sales tax rates and regulations change so frequently that you need ongoing updates, not annual upgrades.

Is it secure?

When you own a software package and keep it in your office, on your computer, you can have a completely false sense of security.

First, when you work with SaaS like Sales Tax DataLINK, you are not sending files back and forth via email. You have a secure connection.

Second, but just as important, having physical control over something doesn’t automatically mean it’s secure. Your mental image of cybersecurity breaches may feature Romanian master criminals hacking servers. In fact, the great majority of security issues are caused by someone leaving their dashboard open when they go to lunch, or a password on a Post-It note on the side of the computer.

Actual hackers can of course be a problem. However, they are more likely to be a problem when you’re using outdated software. When hackers figure out a vulnerability in software, the makers of the software quickly work to fix the problem and make sure it can’t happen again. With SaaS, you don’t ever have outdated software. Since the software is always up-to-date, it remains secure.

Other benefits

SaaS allows you to scale up or down to meet your company’s changing needs. Remote workers can log in securely wherever they have an internet connection.

You can also expect integrations with your ERP or POS software. If you don’t have a large IT department — or you don’t want to spend weeks getting all your different software packages to work together — SaaS can be your solution.

Enjoy a free demo

We’ll be happy to show you exactly how Sales Tax DataLINK works — and we can do it with your data. That means you’ll really know just how it will mesh with your workflow. Call 479-715-4275 or fill out our simple form to set up a time.

Image courtesy of Adobe