The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) eBusiness Awards are held annually to spur innovative initiatives in the domain of eBusiness and spread awareness about the potential of emerging technologies to drive economic growth and social development.

 

The winner of the Best eBusiness Idea of the Year at the 2013 Malta Communications Authority eBusiness Awards is an online accounting package the exploits the benefits of software accessible as a service in the cloud.

 

Clever Accounting, by Clever Solutions Ltd, which provides small business owners with more control over their company’s finances. This is achieved as accounting data and functionality become more accessible, thus enabling the business owner to take decisions in line with actual business financial data.  It is ideal for small business owners and accountants to record their accounts, bank reconciliation, invoicing, tax, and to generate accounting reports and financial statements. It is a fully-featured accounting system that is easy to use, secure, and affordable, according to its developers, Clever Solutions Ltd. 

 

“We were confident that we had done all that we could do to further our chances of doing well. The other nominees were much larger companies so winning was a nice surprise,” admits Jeffrey Romano, marketing manager at Clever Solutions Ltd. 

 

“There aren't many Maltese companies that enter the global market with a software-as-a-service product. The fact that we put together an innovative product and introduced it locally and abroad helped us stand out. Showing significant growth in external markets provided further validation of the potential of Clever Accounting.”

 

The company explains that one of the innovative aspects behind Clever Accounting is that it brings together cloud technology and accounting software to produce an ideal local solution for small businesses. One of the advantages of being on the cloud is the possibility to carry out regular backups for clients, something which traditionally gets out of the busy minds of small business owners. Clever Accounting removes that risk.

 

Another advantage of running on the cloud is accessibility, and Clever Accounting can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection. This access can be managed and different privileges can be set for different kinds of users.

 

An important feature developed specifically for the Maltese market was the way VAT is automatically calculated and placed in different categories to match the VAT Tax Return, thus making it easy and efficient to report VAT transactions. This has also lowered the threshold in terms of knowledge and experience for those businessmen who want to fill in the VAT form themselves.

 

Clever Accounting was developed with the non-technical user in mind, both in terms of the interface and the support provided, including online support.

 

Clever Accounting was the winner of just one category, the Best eBusiness Idea of the Year, from several ones that together constitute the showcase that the MCA eBusiness Awards are. The Authority has launched the 2014 edition and full details are available from its website www.mca.org.mt/ebiz-awards 

 

“I'd like to praise the MCA for their initiative in organising these awards, which encourage companies to push the envelope and be innovative,” concluded Mr Romano.