By David Wylie/contributor

A Kelowna entrepreneur has his head in the cloud.

Simon Shaw, founder and CEO of Kelowna-based tech company Bean Cruncher, wants to completely revolutionize the way accounting is done.

害羞草研究所淭he idea itself was many years in the making. It害羞草研究所檚 me, it害羞草研究所檚 my experiences,害羞草研究所� says Shaw. 害羞草研究所淗onestly, I was tired of apologizing to people for software that just wasn害羞草研究所檛 working. I thought to myself, 害羞草研究所楬ey, I can build something that will fill the gaps.害羞草研究所�

Bean Cruncher was born.

Shaw害羞草研究所檚 background is at the curious crossroad of commerce and coding. He害羞草研究所檚 a chartered accountant who has been a computer programmer for 35 years. He害羞草研究所檚 merged the two talents and created a unique customizable accounting software that operates in the cloud.

The company has customers all over the world, including Africa and Australia.

Shaw launched version 2.0 at the end of July. It害羞草研究所檚 a complete behind-the-scenes overhaul to the source code.

Shaw says this update pushes Bean Cruncher well beyond the boundaries of what害羞草研究所檚 on the market.

Kelowna business owner Ryan Deacon came to the launch party at the Kelowna Yacht Club to learn more about how the software takes advantage of cloud-based computing. His web design business, Oracast, is spread out across two provinces.

害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e got a business partner in Alberta and we both need access to the books,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e been looking for a cloud-based solution for a while.害羞草研究所�

More and more businesses have locations across different cities, provinces and countries, says Shaw, and keeping accounting available to all in the cloud is the most elegant solution.

害羞草研究所淵ou can use it on any device,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淔or example, you have your employees file field reports from their phone that includes locations, times and photos. One employee could use the software on a business trip across the world, while another uses it back at the office.害羞草研究所�

Chem Tec West, which was Bean Cruncher害羞草研究所檚 first customer, uses the software to track inventory across four warehouses.

害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檙e able to track inventory at all times,害羞草研究所� says Chem Tec West CEO Les Weiss. 害羞草研究所淚 can look at my inventory, I can look at my receivables, I can look at my bottom line any time and see how the company is doing.害羞草研究所�

In a way, Bean Cruncher is a testament to the power of small business.

Some of the pieces of the puzzle came to Shaw after he was asked to create an accounting solution from scratch for a large company. The big business had initially hired a large firm to do the work, but after a year, there still wasn害羞草研究所檛 a workable solution.

Carola Daiber, who worked with Shaw, said within two weeks he had a workable solution in place. Over time, he refined his software.

害羞草研究所淭he savings are huge,害羞草研究所� says Daiber. 害羞草研究所淵ou can take a small company and be very lean. Simon is all about customizing 害羞草研究所� and the big companies say they will, but they can害羞草研究所檛.害羞草研究所�

Visit Bean Cruncher on the web at .