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.

含羞草研究社淭he idea itself was many years in the making. It含羞草研究社檚 me, it含羞草研究社檚 my experiences,含羞草研究社� says Shaw. 含羞草研究社淗onestly, I was tired of apologizing to people for software that just wasn含羞草研究社檛 working. I thought to myself, 含羞草研究社楬ey, I can build something that will fill the gaps.含羞草研究社�

Bean Cruncher was born.

Shaw含羞草研究社檚 background is at the curious crossroad of commerce and coding. He含羞草研究社檚 a chartered accountant who has been a computer programmer for 35 years. He含羞草研究社檚 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含羞草研究社檚 a complete behind-the-scenes overhaul to the source code.

Shaw says this update pushes Bean Cruncher well beyond the boundaries of what含羞草研究社檚 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.

含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝e got a business partner in Alberta and we both need access to the books,含羞草研究社� he says. 含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檝e been looking for a cloud-based solution for a while.含羞草研究社�

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.

含羞草研究社淵ou can use it on any device,含羞草研究社� he says. 含羞草研究社淔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.含羞草研究社�

Chem Tec West, which was Bean Cruncher含羞草研究社檚 first customer, uses the software to track inventory across four warehouses.

含羞草研究社淲e含羞草研究社檙e able to track inventory at all times,含羞草研究社� says Chem Tec West CEO Les Weiss. 含羞草研究社淚 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.含羞草研究社�

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含羞草研究社檛 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.

含羞草研究社淭he savings are huge,含羞草研究社� says Daiber. 含羞草研究社淵ou can take a small company and be very lean. Simon is all about customizing 含羞草研究社� and the big companies say they will, but they can含羞草研究社檛.含羞草研究社�

Visit Bean Cruncher on the web at .