tech and fintech

what the bitcoin phenomenon means for accountants

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it’s time to start to start thinking about the tax and accounting ramifications of digital, virtual currencies.

by hitendra patil
pransform inc.

bitcoin is virtual currency much in the news these days. it’s peer-to-peer so there’s no central bank or government. but, because it necessarily represents income or asset, it needs to be accounted for and hence will have tax ramifications.

accountants, the irs and accounting software developers are starting to take it seriously. but in the absence of irs rules specific to bitcoin taxability, accountants have to draw upon their knowledge of irs rules that govern income, assets, capital gains or losses, and stock and bond transactions, and apply that corollary to bitcoin ownership and transactions. read more →

the 4 dark clouds hovering over cloud accounting software

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and the two professional remedies you already know.

by frank stitely, cpa
stitely & karstetter pllc

cloud accounting software revolutionizes our relationships with our clients, enhancing our ability to provide real-time and forward-looking tax and accounting services. at the recently concluded sleeter conference in las vegas, cloud vendors promised zero data entry, the editing of transactions in spreadsheet format and seamless integration with best of breed third-party applications.

they didn’t mention, however, that their programmers redefine accounting principles by sacrificing sound internal control at the ease of use altar. before launching your clients into the accounting cloud, evaluate the risks currently ignored by many, if not most, cloud vendors. read more →

4 things you don’t need in a start-up’s website

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by sandi smith leyva, cpa
author of “10 keys to doubling your revenues“

you might be happy to hear me say all the things a brand new business does not need when they first start out:

  1. a logo is not necessary
  2. a $5,000 website is not necessary
  3. a bunch of social media accounts is not necessary
  4. a blog is not necessary (although a blog could replace the need for a website)

so what is necessary?  let’s take a look at the big picture first, then we can see what’s needed at each level of business maturity. read more →