Today at least 2.4 million Britons are "teleworkers". Cost reduction, staff desire for better work-life balance and the rise of globalisation are just some of the drivers for this growing phenomenon. But the big enabler is technology, and it's getting better all the time - take web-based accounting software for example.



Online accounting software, like Xero's web-based accounting system, make it possible for anyone to access the same set of information in real time. No more multiple versions. It's just like being in the office and accessing information off a central server. Except that you can be anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

For businesses, the advantages are enormous. As long as a person has the right skills it doesn't matter where they are located. Overheads can be reduced. And the work doesn't suffer.

With many web-based accounting systems on the market, Xero is one that's winning praise for being attractive and simple-to-use while still having all the power you need to prepare end of year financials.

In the case of Good Food Village, the shift to Xero's online accounting software has delivered huge benefits for their dispersed executives and advisors. Not only does the web-based accounting system deliver more up-to-date information than the previous accounting system, the web-based accounting software is so user-friendly that board members and investors no longer ring the office with queries. They just drill into the data and find the answers for themselves.

Says Good Food Village's Giscard Rutten, "To have online access to the same data as me is fantastic from my point of view. I just email instructions over to our accountant, and I can sit at my desk and see them happening live in the accounts.

"Having the company accounts available in real-time, on the internet, means that our team being in different places is irrelevant."