technology archives - page 32 of 51 - 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

maybe this is your father’s accounting practice

september 13, 2015

too many tech ‘solutions’ don’t solve the real ‘problems.’

by gail perry
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

as a person who still prefers books to e-books, who chooses a landline over her cell phone, who cherishes her collection of vinyl albums and who enjoys writing letters in longhand (btw: i’m writing my first draft of this article in longhand), and (full confession), as a cpa who maintains a small tax practice of her own and who manages her books in excel (in spite of the fact that i know many accounting software programs inside out and have written myriad books about financial software), i can completely relate to the results of the accounting firm operations and technology survey without a trace of the surprise and disappointment expressed by my journalistic colleagues who shared their points of view.

accountants aren’t clueless about technology and they’re not stupid when it comes to making decisions about how to operate their business. what they are is busy.

tech: tipping point? what tipping point?

september 8, 2015

by bob scott

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.

how and why to set optimal scanning practices

september 8, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

also: the differences between back-end, mid-level and front-end scanning. and how to save on an expensive bottleneck.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

for the next few years it is anticipated that accounting firm clients will deliver the majority of their organizers and supporting tax documents to the firm in a physical format. to utilize this information in a paperless environment, it must be effectively scanned and managed at the lowest possible cost.

early paperless adopters scanned the tax return and the supporting documents at the back end of the process when a return was complete. this is still usually the first step when firms transition from a completely manual environment. by doing back-end scanning first, the firm can get used to working with digital files and naming conventions, prior to forcing changes in the preparation and review processes, which can then be transitioned to front-end scanning.

more on tech spending: digital workflow systems make tax season easier | who decides what to keep? | firms need document management standards | how smart accounting firms use intranets to get smarter | unified messaging boosts security | ready for a revolution? your phone is | when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates? | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | laptop-only workers more common | scanners allow data capture at the source

scanning should be done primarily by administrative personnel (81 percent according to the 2009 aaa benchmark survey) to promote adherence to firm standards and so it is done at a lower cost. firms have found that having a dedicated scanner attached to a workstation is the most effective method of capturing these images. the top-rated scanners by firms who use them are the fujitsu fi and canon dr series.

thinking technology? then think beyond average

september 1, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

‘average is where the best of the worst meets the worst of the best.’

by jim boomer
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

the accounting firm operations and technology survey provides some great insights on where firms stack up in both practice management and technology. i encourage you to view this as the starting point, though. strive to be better in all areas regardless of whether you are below, at or above average. after all, average is where the best of the worst meets the worst of the best.

break away from the herd

whether it is technology, processes or new service lines, we, as a profession, have the tendency to follow the herd. large firms look at peers and do what they do. small firms tend to look at other small firms.i challenge you to look beyond the firms of similar size for additional ideas on how to support your firm’s continued improvement and growth. we’ve found that small firms can learn a great deal from those that are larger and vice versa. read more →

digital workflow systems make tax season easier

september 1, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

even without a document management system, there are workflow tools available.

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.

communication: more powerful than any software

august 25, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

‘you can’t get ahead having a heart-to-heart with a spreadsheet.’

by richard j. koreto
the accounting firm operations and technology survey

i once interviewed a cpa who was a partner in a small accounting firm with his father. the father was a “detail guy” who knew every detail of the irc and made sure their clients paid no more than the legal minimum. the son was more “front office.”

he personally delivered every return to their high-net-worth clients in their homes and went over each form and schedule: “what are you unclear about? based on changes in your family situation, there will be some tax implications. let’s discuss what we can do about them…” he realized that handling the numbers was not enough – he had to explain what they meant. and he had to listen.

this type of skill is more important now than ever, and a way for accountants to clearly differentiate themselves from increasingly sophisticated and inexpensive software.

who decides what to keep?

august 25, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

having a document retention policy promotes accountability.

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.

more on tech spending: firms need document management standards | how smart accounting firms use intranets to get smarter | unified messaging boosts security | ready for a revolution? your phone is | when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates? | remote access boosts productivity, requires planning | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | laptop-only workers more common | scanners allow data capture at the source | in pc monitors, more is better

unfortunately as digital files are on the network and “out of sight,” many firms are not really aware of what files are stored, the most current versions and whether or not they should be deleted.
read more →

firms need document management standards

august 18, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

even if you start small, get started.

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: how smart accounting firms use intranets to get smarter | unified messaging boosts security | when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates? | remote access boosts productivity, requires planning | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | scanners allow data capture at the source

unfortunately, there is seldom a firm standard that is adhered to, allowing users to create files with any naming convention 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 →

unified messaging boosts security

july 28, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

productivity? you can have more of that, too.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

firms should strive to capture all data in a digital format at its “root” source. this goes for services such as the firm’s fax and voice mail systems as well. 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 rescanned and emailed to the recipient.

more on tech spending: when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates? | remote access boosts productivity, requires planning | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | laptop-only workers more common | scanners allow data capture at the source | in pc monitors, more is better

ready for a revolution? your phone is

july 21, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

how to make mobile access truly mobile.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

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

it is anticipated that in the next few years, the vast majority of the u.s. and canada will be able to access the internet through the 4g digital cellular network at speeds of 1mpbs or more, which is adequate for remote access to most applications, particularly those hosted by cloud providers.

when is the last time you renegotiated your internet rates?

july 7, 2015

by roman h. kepczyk

how to get the best deals.

by roman h. kepczyk
quantum of paperless

the internet has undoubtedly had a profound impact on firm communications. it has become the primary driver towards the next generation of accounting applications that run entirely on the web through “cloud” computing.

more on tech spending: remote access boosts productivity, requires planning | get ahead of your software updates | blame accounting vendors: accountants stuck with outdated versions of microsoft office | ready or not, here comes windows 10 | back up and check your backup | cloud computing can cost less | laptop-only workers more common | scanners allow data capture at the source | in pc monitors, more is better

before we get ahead of ourselves discussing cloud opportunities, we have to assess how the internet is used within your firm today. read more →

getting new clients: what’s working, what’s not

july 5, 2015

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

referrals remain stalwart. social media weakens. websites advance.

portrait of young businessman with paper airplane. success, creative and startup concept.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

some practices just need more clients. some need a more cost-effective way to find them and sign them up. some are looking for ways to liberate their less profitable or more difficult clients and replace them with others more conducive to getting the job done with minimal hassle and maximum moolah.

the new accounting firm operations and technology survey gives us some insight into what firms across the nation are doing to attract clients.

to no one’s surprise, referrals from current clients remains the most common source of new clients. no fewer than 95.1% of respondents report referrals as a sales channel. that number was close to consistent across all sizes of firms. for solo practitioners, it was 94.2%. it was highest for small firms (1-10 employees) at 96.8%. it was lower for mid-sized firms (11-50 employees) at 93.9%, and lowest of all for large firms, where referrals are the source of 92% of new clients.

what’s interesting, however, is that the overall percent has increased since last year, when 92.6% reported new clients by referral. with all the new and burgeoning sources of information — social media, websites, internet advertising — why are referrals an increasing source of clients? read more →