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For years, everybody's been telling professional practices that they need a website and that it is as important, if not more so, than a yellow pages listing or having business cards.
The knee bone's connected to the thighbone, the thighbone's connected to the hipbone, … well, you know the old song.
One of Tony Ganze's little pleasures in life is watching hot air balloons as they drift through the Napa Valley.
In the September issue of this magazine, Brent Goodfellow, in his column, talked about virtualization and its general benefits such as running two operating systems on the same machine (see www.
Intuit recently released the 2008 version of QuickBooks.
WSS (also called SharePoint) helps with all this by giving your employees secure access to company information through their Internet browser on their desktop.
By now, most firms are aware that one of the primary benefits of joining the Microsoft Professional Accountant's Network (MPAN), which is free, is access to the Microsoft Action Pack subscription.
1099 Express and W-2 Express feature a spreadsheet-like user interface with the look and feel of Excel.
The accounting profession has embraced Dell products for servers, workstations and a multitude of peripherals.
Searching for Technology or Services for your Practice or to Help your Clients?
Everyone has heard a story or read about someone who bought a
property without paying a single dime as a down payment. But how
does this work? There are several * classic * methods commonly
used to purchase real estate with no money down. There are an
infinite variety of situations in a real estate transaction that
could lead to a deal with no down payment. But for the sake of
reality, I will focus on those that are most commonly seen in the
current market.
Have you ever watched a squirrel balancing up on the highwires?
He actually makes the balancing act look easy, doesn't he? I
always wonder what will happen to the squirrel should he lose his
balance. You see, the highwires are not part of his natural
habitat. They are manmade, and he has no safety cushion built in
to protect him.
For many modern professionals, finding something you love to do for a living that also allows you time to spend with the ones you love and on other things you do is hard to come by.
Structured settlements were introduced in Canada and the United States in the 1970's. They were introduced as an alternative to lump sum payments, common in insurance settlements and lottery winnings. In the decades since, they have also been accepted as legal financial instruments in England and Australia. In a nutshell, a structured settlement by legal definition is a statutory agreement to pay a specified sum of money over a period of time, on a payment system.
Microsoft developers have been busy, and the upcoming blitz of new versions of both desktop and server products is the result.
In our September 2006 issue, we examined the current field of mid-range accounting programs, a growing market that shows considerable diversity in the available programs.
The AccuFund Accounting Suite offers a series of modules designed specifically for nonprofit and government agencies.
20 PRODUCTS TO CONSIDER
All of the 1099-Etc modules are accessible via a common conventional Windows interface that is pleasant to the eye.
American Riviera Software was founded in 2000, but Magtax has actually been around since the 1980s, first written two years after magnetic media filing began.
Sometimes it's all Boyle Henderson can do to keep his head out of the clouds.
Every business, large and small, has assets that help them perform their work or deliver the services they provide their clients.
An extremely helpful and intuitive Option tab provides users with control of program behavior (a.
As the marketplace of QuickBooks add-ons continues to grow, the quantity and quality of independent developers is blossoming.
When it comes to taking our business operations to the next level, we can all learn a little from Emeril, the Food Channel's very animated chef.
The past 12 months have been the most dynamic period for the professional tax preparation market in several years.
Kim Elliott, CPA, is the accounting manager for the University of South Carolina Foundations, which consists primarily of two separate 501c3 organizations — The University of South Carolina Educational Foundation and The University of South Carolina Development Foundation.
As you know, in this column, I primarily discuss practical business issues observed while working in the streets.
BNA Software offers a wide range of specialty compliance tools, including its Estate & Gift Tax line, which includes separate preparation systems for each compliance task as well as a combined estate and gift tax planning program.
BNA Software offers a variety of fixed asset management solutions, including stand-alone, server-based and web-based versions.
I may be dating myself, but my first job out of school used a computer as large as my home office.
I've spent the last decade bashing America Online as one of the worst facets of the Internet, from its shady accounting to its poor customer service to its sleazy chat rooms.
CaseWare Time and Today 2006 offers accounting firms a thorough practice management software package.
— A little more than a month after announcing the acquisition of another tax software vendor, CCH (www.
On a function-by-function basis, users will likely have no problem doing what needs to be done.
During data entry, selection lists are available for many of the data fields, such as employer, EIN, city, state and ZIP code.
Users will likely appreciate the simple layout of the program, but the addition of a sortable, on-screen client listing would be helpful.
There is a type of fraud in which an unsuspecting Real Estateinvestor believes he is buying a property worth a certain amount,when in reality the property is worth much less. This places theinvestor in a hopelessly upside down situation, owing more moneythan the property will ever be worth.
This product is not a hosted solution, though Commercial Logic envisions one being made available within the next year.
Banks are putting the squeeze on even their best long term card
holders at a time when other sources of credit, such as home
equity loans for example, are harder to come by. A lot of people
are shocked to receive notices that their credit card rate has
jumped to as high as 28 percent even though they've kept good
credit and an excellent payment history.
Even though the real estate market has slowed down (or perhaps for that very reason), the construction industry remains strong.
1099Convey Desktop Edition is a comprehensive compliance reporting system that supports Form(s) 1098, 1099, 5498, W-2, W-2G and 1042-S.
Cougar Mountain recently released Version 10.
Carla Chumley is a financial analyst for the Stephen F.
Using tools easily available on the Internet, it would take a hacker only minutes to take all of the data off of your laptop.
It's time NOW to plan, strategize and prepare for next year.
The 2008 session of the annual paperless conference sponsored by AIIM was held in Boston again this year.
What's the best choice for your practice?
If you're young enough, think back to the period starting in the early 1980s.
Janice Waldemar uses the BUCS Fund Accounting product along with the vendor's CHIPS payroll system.
We have all come to rely heavily on the productivity applications we know as the Microsoft Office Suite.
The program is available in a basic package that supports printing on preprinted forms.
We live in the present and plan for our futures.
Improving engagement efficiency is a topic of huge importance to accounting firms.
The practice of accounting requires sound business practices to support its operations.
I'd like to share my experience with Exchange 2007.
One of the things that I try to do to keep my knowledge current is to attend vendor-sponsored conferences.
Ryan McCowan pretty much always knew he would be an accountant.
All too often, dealing with money matters within relationships is
much like mixing oil and water. The two simply don't mix.
Whether we're talking about family members, friends or others
close to us, when money concerns enter into the relationship, all
too often things turn out badly.
So with recent news events as a backdrop, I felt it would be especially worthwhile to begin a multi-part series that focuses on the topic of confidentiality — threats to maintaining the confidentiality of our most sensitive information — along with reasonable steps and measures we can take to safeguard this information.
To experience customer service off the charts you need only to visit Connecticut-based Mitchells and Richards clothing store (www.
Tax-Mate Print, the base- level product, is designed for businesses that need to produce and distribute a limited number of 1099 and W-2 forms and submit the data via printed Form(s) 1096 and W3.
Nonprofit organizations continue to grow at an enormous pace.
FUND E-Z Development Corporation has been providing affordable nonprofit software for over 15 years.
The holidays are here and whether you have a large clan with little ones running amok around the house or your shopping list is just a few adults, there are always those people for whom it is difficult to shop.
Tired of paying from your bottomless wallet for gas prices thatcan double in no time? Commuting has grown beyond expensive forthe average American household, leaving many Americansresearching alternative fuel sources. Not only do thesealternatives offer new tax breaks, but they can also save a greatdeal of money at the pump while having a less harsh impact on theenvironment.
Clear communication is so important to me.
Since its surge in popularity a quarter-century ago, the facsimile machine (as it is formally known) has become an office fixture whose presence and use have gone unchallenged for far, far too long.
Valuable business technologies are often overlooked as expensive "toys" when they first debut, only to grow to become indispensable in later years.
WinFiler Plus, the advanced version of WinFiler from Greatland Corporation, provides support for an unlimited number of payers and recipients in preparation of Form(s) W-2, W-2G, W-3, all 1099s, all 1098s, all 5498s, 940, 941, 943, 944, 945 and corrections thereto.
Not everyone can get paid to do something they love, and while more accountants may be so fortunate than those in other professions, few are as lucky as Jason Smith, a CPA in Elberton, Georgia.
I am amazed at how fast time really does fly.
Programs Enhance Accountant Controls, Data Integrity Features
In the Sci-Fi Channel's update to the classic series "Battlestar Galactica," only one of the fleet of human battle ships in space survives the attack of the invading Cylons.
The knee bone's connected to the thighbone, the thighbone's connected to the hipbone, … well, you know the old song.
With these types of headlines filling our newspapers this year and in years past, you would think the entire country should be named a national disaster area.
Account Ability is a comprehensive, industrial-strength software solution for preparation and filing of annual wage statements and information returns.
By now, you've surely been flooded with information on Apple's iPhone (www.
Virtually every week there is another headline about a major security breach of digital data.
For the past 18 years, the AICPA Top Technologies task force has surveyed members of the accounting community to identify those technologies that they feel will impact our profession in the year ahead.
Firms rely on information technology to manage every part of their practice, making them more effective and efficient.
Tax and accounting professionals have long been the "Information Communicators" of the business world as they take the data they receive from their clients and transition it to useful business information in the form of budgets, tax returns, financial reports and analysis.
Fall is upon us, and this time of year affords firms a prime opportunity to update their information technology infrastructure and implement new processes to roll into the 2007 busy season.
In a continuing effort to educate my readers on the upcoming new software blitz coming out of Redmond, a.
Information technology is integral to every aspect of production within tax and accounting firms, and to help practitioners understand and benefit from current technology opportunities, the AICPA created the Top Technologies initiative beginning in 1989 to deliver a list and resources for members.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, PRODUCT RELEASES AND ASSOCIATION UPDATES FOR THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION
Most tax and accounting firms and other businesses I visit have mechanical issues that need attention and correction.
Back in 2005, I wrote an article on this same topic for this magazine.
As one of the leaders in the mid- to upper-end tax preparation market, Intuit's Lacerte Tax system has not sat idly by, but rather has continued to evolve into one of the most fully featured programs on the market, offering support for every entity with year-end reporting requirements, as well as many productivity-enhancing professional tools and features like an integrated document management system, tax planner, tax analyzer, research and bank products.
ProSeries is one of the most widely used professional tax preparation programs on the market, geared primarily for tax-focused practices and with users in all types of firms, from small, primarily 1040 offices, to mid-sized and larger full-service accounting and tax consultancies.
Since branching off into specialty editions, QuickBooks has increased its customer base quite effectively.
One of your employees at home is browsing the Internet and finds a cool video on YouTube.
It's no wonder that many small business owners have outsourced their payroll responsibilities for years.
Since 1976, FundWare has provided nonprofit organizations with a quality financial product.
You'd agree, right? The more comfortable you are with your office colleagues, the more effective you are working together.
To Find The Right Results, Ask The Right Questions
Once in a while, I find a QuickBooks add-on product that just hits the mark right in the center of the bullseye.
Time Matters with Billing Matters Plus 7 from LexisNexis encases the entire business process, with timekeeping, customer relations, billings, employee scheduling, project management, communications, research tools and document management.
Collaboration Using Microsoft Small Business Server Sharepoint Services
We all know the old adage about making assumptions.
The property management industry, like the real estate industry in general, has suffered its ups and downs this past year.
Most of you should remember the movie with Keanu Reeves where he played Thomas A.
I was recently asked a question by a consultant in the field who attempted to repair her client's files by merging inventory items.
Many, many thousands of people in the third world have achieved
economic independence through the pioneering work of
internationally revered Nobel prizewinner Muhammad Yunus. As the
founder of the Grameen Bank, the world's first lending
institution to focus solely on providing unsecured start-up
capital for the working poor, Professor Yunus has gained
world-wide recognition and a slew of awards for his
extraordinarily effective efforts.
The opening months of 2007 have seen more interest in mid-range accounting than we have seen in some years.
Survey Shows VAR/Recommender Attitudes Toward Leading Accounting Vendors
One of Tony Ganze's little pleasures in life is watching hot air balloons as they drift through the Napa Valley.
Key among the system's new capabilities was the introduction of SuiteFlex, which allows users or resellers of the on-demand accounting suite to easily customize the system for vertical industry groups.
Office Tools Pro 2006 is a versatile office management suite with a target audience of tax and accounting firms and law firms with fewer than 20 active timekeepers.
I would be the first to admit that in the past, when it came to fixed asset accounting and related deprecation, I was a mountain man.
Mind you, it's not because there are too many tax returns that need to be prepared, nor is it because of the long hours to be worked each week.
Okay, so I'm no economist, but in my view, the evidence is overwhelming that we must be in the midst of a boom (hopefully not a short-lived bubble) in the SME (small to medium enterprise) accounting software marketplace.
Orange Door is fairly new to the professional tax market, having made its debut for the 2006 filing year with Orange Tax Suite Pro, a fully web-based application that offers compliance for 1040, 1065, 1120 and 1120S, and for TY 2007 will include 706, 709 and 990, with e-filing support for all allowable entities, making it a comprehensive option for tax and accounting professionals.
If you're like me, the vast amount of paper that appears in all areas of your life is just overwhelming.
To do paperless right, certain key features that have a higher return to the business should be considered.
Point of Sale software is proficient, which can make it difficult to determine which system will work best for your business.
Last year's submissions for the practice management review were wide and varied.
Deep-Penetration, a hacker's nom de plume, had been to this network address before and she knew it well.
It was Friday, March 14, and it had been an extremely bad week for Mr.
California Snow
This year's group of high-end accounting packages represents some of the very best, most adaptable and customizable solutions available for mid-market companies requiring systems capable of growing alongside their own businesses.
I'll confess that I was never a fan of QuickBooks.
I wrote about the idea of providing data file analysis services a couple years ago, but it continues to be a topic of discussion among professional consultants, so I thought I would give the topic another spin here and repeat my recommendation that EVERY consultant provide data file analysis services for their QuickBooks clients.
Using 'Zero-Dollar Checks' to Record Payroll Costs by Job and Class
Taking the time to apply for a mortgage before beginning your home search and being able to make offers based on a pre-approval can speed the buying process and give you additional negotiating power.
Computers and the Internet have obviously revolutionized the way most Americans do their jobs, and this is especially so for tax and accounting professionals, whose modern practices are now completely reliant upon technologies to operate.
Newly released from Sage Software, Peachtree Premium Accounting for Nonprofits 2007 is the latest nonprofit industry-specific version of this popular entry level accounting program.
Since 1982, Sage Software has been providing fund accounting software for small to midsize nonprofit organizations, including state and local government agencies, through Sage MIP Fund Accounting.
It's supposed to be the next generation of American medicine, but, at the moment, telemedicine seems more like a bad case of the dismals.
Ever so often, I upgrade my WinZip license.
In the September issue of this magazine, Brent Goodfellow, in his column, talked about virtualization and its general benefits such as running two operating systems on the same machine (see www.
Accountants are often the first to poke fun at their own profession, citing the long hours often spent researching tax code or determining proper depreciation treatments.
Serenic Navigator is a high-end integrated financial and fund management product from Serenic Corporation.
From the perspective of setup and amount of training time necessary to get started, ThinMind presents one of the best products.
I have worked on an enormous array of software products over the years, including standard accounting programs, products for nonprofits and property managers, and specialty products for the music industry.
My three year-old daughter was having hamburgers for lunch the other day with my husband and asked him what kind of seeds were on top of the bun.
The Trickle Down Effect
The evolution of technology over the past 20 years has been fascinating.
Roxanne Olsen of Tracy Bressler, CPA, in Lemoore, California, says her firm selected MAG-FILER because of its electronic filing abilities and its ease of use with QuickBooks.
Have you ever lost a critical file? How about a whole hard drive? We have content management or paperless documents, Microsoft Office documents from productivity applications, tax and audit files, e-mail, business management solution or accounting files, pictures, music, and more.
As the accounting profession ages, the gap in experience that resulted from increased education requirements in the early 1990s is growing more and more obvious.
Under this year's new tax rules it's possible to have a Roth
401(k) in addition to a Roth IRA for Tax Free Retirement Income.
Every year, millions of Americans collectively groan when confronted with their taxes.
TaxWorks offers a full tax suite for mid-sized and smaller firms, providing comprehensive compliance for all entities for federal, state and municipal compliance reporting.
The universe of accounting and accountants continues to undergo major shifts.
To many small business owners, accounting can seem like a foreign language and can be as hard to comprehend as the hypotheses of Dr.
The Best Consultants Take Control Of The Whole System
For small businesses with only one location and no catalog or Internet sales, preparing and submitting sales tax returns and the funds collected is usually fairly non-complex.
"And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and everything that is in the earth shall die.
In January 2004, a senior executive from a well-known technology company boldly proclaimed that "spam will soon be a thing of the past.
With all the recent talk about the generation-wide gap in the tax and accounting profession, some might come to the conclusion that a monumental change is on the horizon.
As our readers will attest, this magazine has changed considerably over the past few years.
I reached out to touch the beige edge of the monolith.
I frequently meet accounting professionals who are either starting a new practice or looking to update their office with the technology trends that have exploded over the past few years.
Read more on The Paperless Journey Continues ...
I left my job working on the Space Shuttle Program for BFGoodrich a few months after the Challenger disaster, eventually ending up as a technical writer and network engineer for an advertising agency out of Cleveland.
Microsoft recently released Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7), the latest version of the world's most popular (or at least most used) web browser.
In a time when many accounting practices are rethinking the services they offer to stay competitive, Scott Price and his staff of 26 professionals have found a very successful niche that puts his firm against competition that many practitioners might be intimidated by.
In today's tough and changing business world, it is often our professionalism that separates us from the others who interact with our clients.
Installation was smooth, and the program immediately recognized my Outlook profile.
— Thomson Creative Solutions has announced that the company's CS suite of professional accounting software now includes the ability to generate scanner-readable two-dimensional barcodes on W-2 forms.
The system is offered in various bundles or each of the specific modules can be purchased separately.
The Creative Solutions name has now been phased out and replaced by the Thomson Tax & Accounting brand, but don't be alarmed, this process has been in the works for several years and the uber-comprehensive CS line of integrated professional tax, accounting and business management programs is still going strong.
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Are you one of the majority of CPAs who still are without a handheld computer or PDA (personal digital assistant)? Perhaps you tried one in the past but never really clicked with it, and so it found its way into the pile of antiquated tech devices in your office, or perhaps the junk drawer at home.
For many accounting firms, time is often one of the most valuable assets.
If you use QuickBooks 2006 or higher on a network, here are some tips for "tuning" your environment to provide the best performance.
Understanding what will happen during the process of applying for a mortgage through closing can remove some of the anxiety of an already stressful venture. This is a brief, but useful overview that was created from real-world situations.
Today's greatest business fear when taking on a technology project is the fear of failure.
The ATX MAX system opens to a client return list called the Return Manager, which provides a searchable and sortable spreadsheet with various client data in columns and includes tabs for viewing AR or the Tax Warehouse, which lets the preparer or manager access return summaries without wading through client forms.
TaxWise has retained its primary workspace, with the system opening to the master work window, which initially provides a login panel.
Technology can either be a competitive advantage or an overhead expense.
I realize you've come to expect some sort of review or opinions related to Microsoft software in this column, and with the significant number of new releases of the vendor's various products slated for 2007, there will be no shortage of material.
When it comes to marriage, a woman never dreams of the worst case scenarios. The dream-like qualities of a 'Happily Ever After' life keep all the negative outcomes pushed well back in her mind. However, divorce is becoming much more common as the years pass. It isn't unusual for a woman to find herself 5 years, 10 years or even 15 years into a marriage, only to be faced with separation and, eventually, divorce.
I also defined each of the forms of advertising and discussed how each is distributed.
The evolution of automated website building tools is astounding.
The owner of a small distribution company dreaded payday.
Intuit recently released the 2007 version of QuickBooks.
Intuit recently released the 2008 version of QuickBooks.
In today's hectic and rushed business environment, many of us find ourselves jumping from one urgent task to another just trying to get it all done.
While you were off preparing tax returns and meeting with clients, we did a complete spring makeover on our magazine to make the information easier to consume and cross-reference.
These days there is literally too much information for first time homebuyers to make a decision sometimes. Fear can prevent first time home buyers from ever acting on their dream of home ownership. When you look at facts, though, buying a home makes as much sense now as it ever has.
With little flair, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer kicked off the official launch of Windows Server 2008 on February 28, 2008.
And the winners are … announced on page 18.
Service Makes a Comeback as Technologies Improve Productivity
Contracts With SEC for $5.5 Million to Develop U.S. GAAP Taxonomies
For years, everybody's been telling professional practices that they need a website and that it is as important, if not more so, than a yellow pages listing or having business cards.