September 2012

Time Management is Essential to Productivity, Whether Billing by the Hour or Not The past decade has seen monumental changes in the way accounting practices run. What initially started as the ideal of the paperless office, evolved into a workflow revolution that has seen increasing use of electronic communication with clients, online collaboration, automated workpapers […]

ImagineTime, Inc. — ImagineTime Practice Management877-520-1525 www.imaginetime.com Best Fit: Small and mid-sized professional practices looking for integration of time and billing with their tax compliance system. Strengths Integration with many professional tax systems and QuickBooks Interface and navigation similar to Microsoft Office programs Calendar and appointment synching with Outlook Multi-staff calendar views Potential Limitations No […]

The “Cloud” and hosted solutions continue to garner interest amongst accounting firms, but there is a lot of confusion about the types of hosting, available applications, and the overall reasons for firms to consider hosted solutions.

You need to be thinking about your clients, firm and the technology you use to serve those clients. Hardware, software, data, procedures and people all work together to transform data into information.

This month, we cover major changes to standard mobile plans by AT&T and Verizon, a data speed testing utility, the Flipboard visual social media app, and the Confirmation.com audit inquiry mobile tracking tool.

Proper planning and follow-up support effective, long-lasting marketing,

From the September 2012 Issue. Let’s face it, payroll isn’t sexy. It isn’t a task that most small business owners get excited about. Most consider it a “time-suck” – something that sucks up an entrepreneur’s time when they should be focused on growing their business. And it certainly hasn’t been something that small to mid-size […]

Client accounting services. Outsourced accounting department. Whatever name you want to call it, is going to change the way entrepreneurs handle their accounting initiatives in the next two to three years because of the benefits it brings to the table. So what are they and how is it going to affect those who are involved? […]

TPS Software Inc — TPS Time & Billing888-877-2231 www.tpssoftware.com Best Fit: Small and mid-size professional accounting practices with fixed rate or hourly billing, and seeking the customization functions offered by integration with Microsoft Office. Strengths Intuitive navigation and processes designed by accountants Extensive integration with Microsoft Office and QuickBooks Graphical views of daily time per […]

Sage North America — Sage Timeslips 2012800-285-0999 http://na.sage.com/Sage-Timeslips/ www.sagetimeslips.com Best Fit: Small and mid-sized professional services firms (accountants and other professions) seeking a time management and invoicing solution that integrates with accounting, practice management solutions and Microsoft Office products. Strengths Integration with several professional programs Easy to use Sage Timeslips eCenter for remote entry of […]

Abak Software – Abak 7.5 888-849-8059 www.abaksoftware.com Best Fit Professional services firms of any size, including the accounting, legal, engineering and consulting professions, who either use time-based billing or track time for productivity management. Strengths Three-level approval system for time & expenses Web-based interface time and expense entry Broad integration capabilities Automated alerts Mobile app […]

BQE Software — BillQuick 2012855-687-1024 www.bqe.com Best Fit Small and mid-sized accounting firms or other professional services businesses with a need for time, billing, and project management. Strengths Industry-specific versions, including for accounting firms Optional online version of program Optional HR and various add-ons Mobile apps Integration with virtually all small business accounting systems Potential […]

Chrometa 888-340-6425 www.Chrometa.com Best Fit: Professionals and firms seeking automated time keeping, whether for time-based billing or productivity management. Strengths Automatically tracks tasks a user performs on a computer and assigns to projects Multiple integration options for online accounting systems and other programs Completely web-based allows anywhere access and no IT requirements New apps for […]

Most successful accountants have to be somewhat tech savvy. Dealing with a multitude of tax and accounting programs in their firm, as well as with the various bookkeeping and business management systems their clients use, is a core component of the job.

Your guide to making the cloud work for your firm.

From the September 2012 Issue Recently, accounting firms gained a variety of ways to change the display of their listings on search engines. While search engines were once solely a list of uniform links, the evolving Internet has forced Google, Bing, and other search engines to create richer media experiences. These richer media experiences can […]

From the September 2012 Issue. This issue is all about cloud technologies and how they can help you grow your practice while making your customers more satisfied and successful. There is no denying that this is the platform for technology going forward and yet I am often surprised to learn that many firms have yet […]

Broadway Billing Systems — Bill4Time877-245-5484 www.Bill4Time.com From the September 2012 review of time and billing systems. Best Fit: Professional accounting practices seeking a cloud-based solution for time and expense tracking and billing. Strengths Integration with QuickBooks Group calendaring with Outlook and Google synch and project management Mobile apps for Apple, Android & Blackberry devices Online […]

AccountantsWorld — Practice Relief866-999-1366 www.accountantsworld.com  From the September 2012 review of time and billing systems. Best Fit: Small practices seeking a fully web-based suite that includes time and billing functions, along with optional add-ons for write-up, client bookkeeping, payroll, document management and their firm’s website. Strengths Full integration with other programs in the AccountantsWorld suite […]

Power Steering Software – Timesheet.com877-483-6769 www.Timesheet.com From the September 2012 review of time and billing systems. Best Fit: Medium and large firms and businesses seeking a cloud-based time and expense tracking, management and invoicing solution. Strengths Web-based solution allows remote access and lessens IT burdens Highly customizable user interface and reporting options Strong project management […]