making digital tax process easier is all about the workflow

process touch screen showing workflow design4 ways the new breed of workflow application can simplify your tax season.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

the most important aspect of transitioning the firm’s tax process to a digital environment is managing electronic files that are no longer physically viewable in assorted stacks around the office. this requires a digital tax workflow system that lets everyone know the status of every return and easily connects that person to digital copies of the return and the source documents. under traditional manual tax systems, firms utilized due date tracking databases that identified when a return was due, but not what information was missing, or the preparation, review or extension status.

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why firms need document retention standards

composite image of hand writing with markertwo steps can set your firm on the right path.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

managing digital files is in many ways similar to managing paper files in that the firm must have standards for who can create a document, add to or edit a document, file it and eventually purge the file. unfortunately as digital files are on the network and “out of sight,” many firms are not really aware of: read more →

is your network drive a disaster waiting to happen?

big pile of wires on the floorcloud systems can ease the burden at upgrade time.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

the network drive in most firms is not very well organized and needs the most cleanup. this happens because it is usually managed with windows explorer, which allows almost anyone to create or access a file anywhere on the drive.

more on tech spending: digital fax has benefits you may be ignoring | wireless is hot, and here’s how to handle it | how safe is your internet lifeline? | new tech tools for the 24/7 accounting firm | the single best defense against computer viruses | when to adopt microsoft’s new office apps | how to choose the right backup system | how to know it’s time to scrap your old server | step 1 in building the paperless firm: scanners | how many computer monitors do you need?

unfortunately, there is seldom a firm standard that is adhered to, allowing users to create files with any name they want and store it anywhere they please. the result can be files that are hard to find and slow to search across the network. read more →

intranet is the best place for firm knowledge

computer tech lock istock_000011879042smallintranets are the best way to capture and centralize firm knowledge.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

firm knowledge and information is usually stored in one of four “buckets.”

  1. the most obvious is within the accounting applications themselves where tax, audit and accounting programs store client files in a format that can only be accessed with that program. files are usually indexed and accessed in designated directories so there is not much the firm can do about moving these files. read more →

digital fax has benefits you may be ignoring

fax machine in office on table closeup on a background of office cabinet3 ways to maximize your system.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

accounting firms striving to capture all data in a digital format need to go beyond paper and include fax and voicemail systems as well.

at leading firms today, 66 percent of firms have a digital fax system that integrates with email for digital delivery, 37 percent are using video calling, and 27 percent use instant messaging.

kepczyk
kepczyk

more on tech spending: wireless is hot, and here’s how to handle it | how safe is your internet lifeline? | new tech tools for the 24/7 accounting firm | the single best defense against computer viruses | when to adopt microsoft’s new office apps | what windows 8 means for how accountants will work in the future | how to choose the right backup system | how to know it’s time to scrap your old server | where laptops rule at cpa firms today | step 1 in building the paperless firm: scanners | how many computer monitors do you need?

traditional inbound faxes are usually printed from a fax machine and then hand delivered to the recipient’s desk. in some cases this image is actually re-scanned and emailed to the recipient. while this is a step toward digital delivery, today’s digital fax systems deliver a digital image to the recipient via email so they can access them within their email.

to maximize your systems, consider: read more →

wireless is hot, and here’s how to handle it

novatel wireless mifi 4510l

what you need to know to go from wi-fi to mi-fi.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

one of the revolutions in remote connectivity is happening within your cellphone, as digital cellular providers have beefed up and expanded their networks to provide reliable internet access to remote devices.

about 94 percent of firms utilize smartphones for access to email, calendar and contacts, and 33 percent provide tablets or netbooks to senior management, according to the association for accounting administration.

kepczyk
kepczyk

more on tech spending: how safe is your internet lifeline? | new tech tools for the 24/7 accounting firm | the single best defense against computer viruses | when to adopt microsoft’s new office apps | what windows 8 means for how accountants will work in the future | how to choose the right backup system | how to know it’s time to scrap your old server | where laptops rule at cpa firms today | step 1 in building the paperless firm: scanners | how many computer monitors do you need?

the first step is to determine which telecom provider is the best in your firm’s area of operations. consider: read more →

nine big tech trends at cpa firms

the all-digital firm comes into view.

the 2011 association for accounting administration’s 2011 paperless benchmarking survey shows digitalization accelerating at cpa firms.

the survey, conducted biannually by cpa tech consultant roman kepczyk since 2003, this year included 196 firms, each averaging about 55 persons.

“the latest iteration of this survey expanded the number of questions to encompass evolving technologies in scanning and archival, as well as to identify changes in tools and applications impacting administrative workflows,” kepczyk says. “while there was a stronger focus on tax and administrative topics, audit, practice management, communications, and technology topics were also addressed for their paperless impact.”

the survey shows at least nine big advances in:

  1. firm-wide document management programs
  2. firms instructing personnel to primarily utilize email for communicating with tax clients for additional information requests
  3. portals or ftp sites to deliver digital tax returns/information to clients
  4. organizing or bookmarking scanned client source documents into a standardized pdfs
  5. digital fax systems
  6. virtualized servers
  7. email invoices
  8. management dashboards
  9. dual monitors

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details:

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