software

survey: the new software scramble

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server rack floating on a cloudfirms switching programs more often than ever. but is that a good thing?

sample finding: the number of firms subscribing to office 365 is increasing 20% a year.

by randolph p. johnston and leslie garrett
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

we are seeing a high level of dissatisfaction among most firms with their software, and more firms have been changing software in the last three years than all of the switching we have seen in the previous three decades combined.

more from the survey: operating system updates cause headaches | accounting firms add new service lines | why every cpa firm is a tech company at heart
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we are concerned that many firms are signing long-term contracts for desktop solutions at the same time that some software is migrating to being hosted online.
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stay on top of software updates

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beetle crawling toward the word "update"for servers, don’t automate the process. that’s right, don’t.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

every firm has concerns about their systems being hacked or getting attacked by a virus or malware. the 2016 cpafma it survey found that 15 percent of firms had been infected with malware that caused significant downtime in the past 12 months.

more on tech spending: server vs. cloud | desktops vs. laptops | right to the root, or why scanners rule | size matters: in desktop monitors

the vast majority of issues can be effectively negated with one simple process: keep your software updated.
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you don’t think technology helps get new clients?

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"good vs. evil in technology" illustration using laptopsturn “necessary evil” into “welcome angel.”

by hitendra patil

“new clients do not come to me because i have an accounting software and/or a tax software. they hire me because i am a cpa.” a small firm owner from los angeles recently expressed this, on the condition of anonymity.

does that summarize how accountants view technology spending? the new accounting firm operations and technology survey gives us a surprising insight into how primary technology purchasing decision-makers view technology spending.

more on entrepreneurial strategy: do you want a practice … or a business? | tax season management: multi-tasking is a myth | re-learning the lingo of the accounting business | top 10 entrepreneurial traits of successful accountants | six steps for a better tax season | 8 seconds into the future: meet generation z | get more done, make more money: stop doing these 17 things

key findings from this survey indicate:
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soloists, small firms must take software seriously

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johnston, garrett, tankersley
johnston, garrett, tankersley

subscriptions and the cloud may not work for everyone. but proper licensing does.

by randolph p. johnston, leslie garrett, and brian f. tankersley
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

software is the reason that firms make investments in computer hardware, yet many firms seem to avoid upgrades until they are forced to make a change. for example, when asked to identify their preferred word processing application,

  • more than 50 percent of respondents in both groups are using a version of the software that is over five years old (e.g. office 2010 or earlier), and
  • a significant number of solo practitioners are using word 2007, which is eight years old as of june 2015.

related: soloists, small firms need tech update plans | soloists, small firms cite tech challenges | an it department of 1? soloists, small firms relate

while we do not think that practitioners should jump the newest version of a product immediately, we also do not think they should be more than two releases behind the current version of their applications for an extended period of time.

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tech: tipping point? what tipping point?

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tax software vendors need to step up for cloud solutions.

by bob scott
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

in much of the business world, a substantial part of the market has passed the tipping point in terms of cloud-based software. even if they don’t own business applications that work via the internet, they are considering them. that is not the case with accounting firms.

it is pretty much the same story as last year. a majority of respondents do not use workflow applications, tablets of any size or have a replacement cycle for technology.

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8 ways to wrestle software subscriptions into submission

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one question leads to another.

by donny c. shimamoto
intraprisetechknowlogies

budget talks between accounting and information technology departments can get pretty complicated. accountants know budgets; it folks know it. not many people know both.

related: it hardware gets even more complex (great!) | how accounting geeks and techie nerds can play nicely together

but you don’t have to know both if you know the right questions. one area of special concern is budgeting for subscriptions to software.

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