Blog Archives
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New iPhone and iPad App from SurePayroll—Mobile Paycheck
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Friday September 17, 2010Mobile Paycheck represents the only employee paycheck application for the iPhone. It is also available for the iPad and iPod Touch®. The free app offers employees online access to their pay stubs the instant they are paid. With Mobile Paycheck, employees can: · View paycheck details, including earnings, taxes, deductions, and YTD totals · Review used, available, and earned vacation, sick, and personal time · Access a history of paycheck stubs · View multiple paychecks distributed in a single pay period · Check wage rate and retirement deduction contribution rates Mobile Paycheck is available for download in the iTunes app store. -
Thomson Reuters Releases iPhone App…Cool
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Thursday September 9, 2010Mobile CS marks the first iPhone app released by the tax and accounting business of Thomson Reuters. The app extends the reach of Practice CS from desktop to smart phone, allowing more than 60,000 users to access firm, staff, and client data remotely. The initial release of Mobile CS offers on-the-go Practice CS content, such as helpful client and staff data, as well as key firm data like WIP and AR. Users have the ability to view key data and make smart business decisions on the spot, review client interactions before an important meeting, check staff availability, view the status of a project, and much more. Mobile CS is available for download from the Apple iTunes App Store free of charge. Trial data is automatically downloaded with... -
Are You Ready to E-File?
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday August 2, 2010This is the year…the year that e-filing of 1040s is not just a suggestion by the IRS, but mandatory. Are you ready? Effective January 1, 2011, preparers who expect to file 100 or more federal individual or trust tax returns during the year will be required to start using e-file. Preparers who expect to file 11 or more returns will be required to e-file beginning January 1, 2012. What you don't want to do is wait for IRS or state mandates to force you to scramble—be prepared before the busy season rolls around. Whether you're already e-filing, just getting started, or want to know more about available tax workflow tools, Thomson users are covered. Thomson is offering a selection of training options that will help users of... -
Thomson Reuters Launches New Accounting Platform—Accounting CS
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Tuesday May 25, 2010Thomson Reuters announced the new Accounting CS platform today, which combines write-up, live and after-the-fact payroll, trial balance, financial reporting, and client accounting into a single unified platform. Among the many improvements reported, the new architecture allows firm staff and clients to collaborate in real time and eliminates the need for importing, uploading, and other forms of client data transfer that can hinder efficiency. Accounting CS was designed from the ground up and takes full advantage of Internet technology. Thomson reports that the enhanced platform offers: Ability to divide work by task, not just by client—Staff can perform accounting tasks and apply them to multiple clients in just a few steps. It also... -
iPad Ideal for Accountants Working Remotely
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday May 17, 2010I had some doubts whether I really needed an iPad, but after buying the new 3G version I am completely sold on its advantages—and see some great applicability to the accounting profession. By now, most everyone knows the iPad is Apple’s latest technology—a larger version of the iPhone, yet not really up to the flexibility and power of a MacBook. While most of the accounting software vendors still aren’t on the bandwagon to design their programs for the Mac operating system, I still see some real advantages to accountants carrying an iPad. True, you won’t run Sage ERP X3 on the iPad, but you can use it in the field to work with clients and customers. The best way to think of the iPad is to think of it as a really large iPhone. As... -
Tools that Make a Difference…BNA Gets My Attention This Month!
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Tuesday May 4, 2010Like most accounting professionals, I am always on the lookout for tools that make a positive difference in my working life. That is, those that elevate convenience and efficiency for me. I recently downloaded BNA’s Quick Tax Reference Guide for my i-Phone—ever so conveniently from Apple’s App Store (my fellow i-Phoners know what I mean). The app offers a single source to access disparate information that I can never seem to remember, like the standard mileage rate, corporate and individual tax rates, the standard deduction, section 179 limits, pension and retirement plan limitations, and so many others. BNA’s new app aggregates all this much-needed data and puts it at my fingertips. Big props go out to BNA for the very smart... -
Do not miss our first issue of 2010!
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Thursday April 22, 2010The April/May issue of The CPA Technology Advisor should be in mailboxes this week. Following busy season, I’m sure everyone will enjoy the new issue. Based on our team’s strategic planning sessions this past winter, we have made a few changes. This issue highlights our annual tax compliance software review, but we realize that not every firm is looking for the same things in their software. Some firms are interested in just processing tax returns, doing it efficiently and with accuracy, where a full suite of products from document management to portal integration are not important to their workflow. Other firms are only interested in reading about products that keep them on the cutting edge of technology with a full suite of... -
2010 Tax Season…Coming to a close
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday April 5, 2010As the 2010 busy season comes to a close in a little over a week, I’m sure many of my fellow colleagues will take a few days to rest and relax. As for me, I’m planning a quiet trip with my wife to see our son in the Air Force. The weeks following busy season is a good time to reflect on what went well and what could have gone better for your firm. Incremental improvements are really what it’s all about. I’m gearing up for a busy seminar season, putting the finishing touches on a few of my presentations and spending some time coordinating some design changes to our firm’s website. So far 2010 is shaping up to be a year of change, as many firms are showing a true dedication to moving forward. We often hear that the accounting... -
Firms Go Paperless, but are Slow to Automate Tax Docs
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Monday March 15, 2010You may have participated in the recent CPA Technology Advisor survey – we received well over 1,000 responses to our readership survey. Based on your feedback, we are adjusting our content and many of our focuses to meet your needs. Baby steps are better than no steps at all – and sometimes, we take great BIG steps when it comes to technology. It turns out that the vast majority of respondents – some 65 percent – indicated their firms and companies are either “Completely paperless and happy with their chosen solution,” or “Somewhat paperless and working with their existing solution.” Sounds great, but bringing best-of-breed technologies to the accounting firm isn’t complete without also paying attention to... -
Accounting Ranks High in Best/Worst Jobs for 2010
By M. Darren Root, CPA.CITP; Executive Editor - Tuesday February 9, 2010Validation is a good thing; I’ve talked about how accounting is a great profession for quite a long time – and even blogged about it when I met with the business students at Indiana University. CareerCast recently published its annual ranking of the 200 Best and Worst Jobs for 2010. Accounting came in at a cool #9! Interestingly, “Actuary,” another analysis-oriented profession, came in at #1. Although the study was commissioned by a company whose main interest is to broker available jobs, I do think the results are significant. Firms should use this kind of information when they recruit students on campuses to serve in intern positions or when they conduct interviews within firms. Any time you can say a profession like...
