tech

four untapped profit streams locked inside your practice management data

by

drew west
drew west

how to control costs, maximize profits, and focus on your real money-makers.

by drew west
deltek solution consultant
@deltekdrew

new services offerings or fee increases are obvious tactics for earning more – but service expansion brings with it more expense, and rate hikes risk client defection.

so what about other ways? why not reflect on a few ways to drive higher profits?

the answers are deep within – deep inside your firm’s practice-management systems. reflecting on all the engagement data in those systems might expose opportunities for greater efficiency, less risk, and more control – all drivers of higher profits.

so look to your practice management system to find four places where higher profits might be hiding. read more →

six money-making strategies to take you beyond quickbooks

by

how to give clients real solutions, options and opportunities they’ll love.

by sandi smith leyva, cpa
accountant’s accelerator

many accountants are quickbooks proadvisors who offer quickbooks consulting to their clients; you may be one of them.

more at 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 for soloists and small firms: proactive ways to get more referrals   |  the three biggest money leaks in your practice   |  new client opportunities with mobile apps   |  six questions to launch your summer strategy sessions   |  what most accountants miss in the five simple steps to get more clients   |  10 ways to add a “money maker” hour to your day   |  11 sources of wealth we can celebrate   |  nine value-adds to command a higher fee   |  how to design your business around your strengths

here are the opportunities i see to expand your client services in the area of quickbooks consulting, or for that matter, any accounting software consulting. read more →

will zero data entry end your tax practice?

by

five things you need to know and three things you need to do.

by frank stitely, cpa
stitely and karstetter 

get ready for a transformation in the tax business unlike anything we have experienced since turbotax.  the transformation will force many of your colleagues to sell, retire, or go out of business.  it will force many of your staff out of the profession.  it will change the way you serve clients.  and, it will either result in tremendous opportunity for you or end your practice.  this transformation is zero data entry.

more stitely: three trends that will transform your tax practice or eliminate it  |  value, billem & dunn: a value billing case study  |  why value billing won’t transform your life  |  the problem with frank stitely? we need more frank stitelys!  |  the problem with timesheets? not enough timesheets!   |  who’s missing in action from your workflow processing system?   |   how to make an extra $72,000 by working smarter read more →

new client opportunities with mobile apps

by

sandi smith leyva
sandi smith leyva

the top apps accountants need to know

by sandi smith leyva

mobile accounting has definitely arrived. a great first question to ask clients who are asking for mobile accounting is to just double-check to see if they have already downloaded their bank apps. if not, that may be something you can help them get set up.

but don’t just think about the core accounting system. get them hooked up with their bank, credit card accounts, paypal, payroll, and any other peripheral support that has an app, like timesheets, field services, and project management. when you do, they will be ecstatic at your resourcefulness and you will be their latest mobile genius.

there are some great new apps that extend core accounting systems’ functionality into our mobile devices. let’s take a look at a few of them for accountants, from quickbooks to adp and a host of new applications: read more →

business clients tell accountants: evolve or die

by

is your accountant ahead of the curve on technology, or behind?

source: sleeter group
 clients find accountants’ tech skills lacking.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

as small and medium-sized businesses move increasingly online and adopt technologically integrated accounting systems, many tax and accounting firms will need to evolve or face extinction, according to a new survey obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. read more →

the newest top ten tech trends in tax and accounting

by

beyond paperless: cpa firms launch a new arms race for cloud and mobile technologies.

by rick telberg
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

leading cpa firms have clearly broken the going-paperless barrier and are adopting cloud and mobile technologies at a record pace, according to new data obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research.

indeed, the question for practitioners is no longer “have you gone paperless yet?” or even “how paperless have you gone?” it is now “how much of your workflows have you moved to the cloud and made mobile and accessible everywhere and any time?” and the rest of the firms are asking themselves, “can i catch up?”

the trend is, of course, a daily challenge for the profession, which 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 covers in depth: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis: 40% of firms going to the cloud  |  how apple is changing your business  | accounting firm leaders agree: the cloud is here  |  11 things you take for granted today that technology will kill within six years  |  top 10 tech predictions for your business clients  |  cloud & mobile technologies drive change in tax and accounting  |    five questions to ask before going to the cloud  |   “the cloud is real”  |  the powerful mega-trends behind the upheaval at sage software  |   cpas in top 100 accounting firms get an “a” for adoption of cloud, portable document scanners and workflow management technologies    |    top tech habits of high-performing firms  |  seven tech lessons for busy season   |

but the pace is astonishing. a new survey of 115 of some of the best-managed firms in the business shows:

  • smart phones for handling email, contacts and schedules are all but universal.
  • email now dominates client communications, not the phone call.
  • paper w2’s and 1099’s are practically extinct, having been scanned at first touch.
  • and if you’re using only two monitors on your desk, you’re getting left behind. most of the advanced firms are now using three per person. and that’s not counting the smartphones or ipads that are always nearby.

the survey shows, for instance: read more →

what your liability policy probably doesn’t cover

by

 

insurance company beats accountant in court over lost client data. how to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

in yet another warning to firms about safeguarding client databases, insurance policies won’t necessarily protect you if the data gets lost or stolen, according to a 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 reading of a new legal case.

the highly influential u.s. court of appeals for the seventh has ruled that nationwide insurance co. has no duty to defend or indemnify an accountant who lost sensitive personal information from client files.

here’s the case, analysis and comment: read more →

top 10 tech predictions for your business clients

by

and why you need to be more demanding of your it vendors.

with technology constantly changing the rules of the game, it’s almost impossible to keep up. let alone to stay a step ahead. but here, from the analysts at smb group, are a few trends to watch with your small-business and mid-size-business clients and stakeholders. some also apply to accounting firms. many of these trends will need more investment and evangelism from vendors for cpas and their clients to obtain maximum benefits.

— rick telberg
president / ceo 

1. be prepared for the most progessive-thinking clients to sprint ahead of their peers. and watch out for the accounting firms that are doing the same.

last year we identified a distinct correlation between investments in technology and business performance. progressive companies and firms are more growth driven, invest more in technology and use technology for competitive advantage. they are also much more likely to anticipate revenue gains than peers whose tech investments are flat or declining—and the gap is widening. read more →

ask the geek: a couple great gadgets for saving money on all your other gadgets

by

two inexpensive gadgets that could save you big money.

more from ed mendlowitz, author of “implementing fee increases,” plus: three and a half ways to get your own cpa practice | novice manager needs to know: how to do it all? | why no one listens to you | fun reads for busy season  |  when not to offer a free initial consultation | measuring growth in yourself, staff and partners  |  what do you think you’re doing?  | can you teach judgment?  |  clients’ calls at home  | what you need to know before expanding into business valuation |

question: i’m having a long-standing ‘disagreement’ with my husband about whether we should turn off our home computer when we leave for the day. i like to be as green as we can, but he’s read somewhere that it causes more ‘wear and tear’ and energy use to be constantly turning things on and off. i think he just doesn’t like to wait for it to start up! what’s your take?

answer: i’d rather not take sides in a domestic (ahem) power struggle, but as your husband may have found when googling around on the topic, pc power saving can be a complicated business. still, i have some tips that may result in a household compromise. i went to a geek colleague, scott dare, for his suggestions. read more →

three strategies to improve buy-in for change

by

feeling the frustration?

by dustin hostetler
flowtivity

dustin hostetler

how many times has your cpa firm implemented a process change or new technology, only to find out on the back-end after implementation, that only a fraction of the firm is following the new process or using all the features?

related: the coming storm in staff turnover (video)

if you answered something along the lines of “all the time” don’t worry, you are not alone. obtaining the much needed buy-in for process and technology improvements within firms is a concern i hear regularly. read more →

hackers show how to break into major accounting software systems

by

the hacker transfers receivables credit balances to payables in gp dynamics (from the white paper)

pro members: get the details in an instant download.

by rick telberg

when finance and accounting professionals worry about computer security, they may think about stolen laptops, purloined passwords, or lost backup drives.

but few worry about hacker attacks against their accounting system software, the kind of attacks that could bring down an entire business or even up-end part of the global accounting system.

well, start worrying.

a pair of computer science security experts has unveiled new research that shows just how easy it might be to crack into such commonly used software systems as sap, oracle, or even quickbooks, sage or microsoft’s dynamics.

get the details in an instant download. click here…

read more →

卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis: 40% of firms going to the cloud

by


new data and analysis cited in cch cloud technology report.

accounting, tax and audit leaders are using cloud computing to improve speed, agility and collaboration, while also increasing productivity and profits, according to a new report on technology trends.

rick telberg
rick telberg

nearly 40 percent of accounting and tax firms plan to migrate some systems to the cloud within the next 12 to 18 months, and about one-third plan to do so this year, according to market research and consulting firm bay street group, which publishes 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. as recently as two years ago, the adoption rate was in the single digits. “the environment is changing rapidly,” ceo rick telberg points out. the research is cited in the latest edition of partners magazine, published by cch.

the report also cites data and case studies from tribridge it services in tampa, fla.; stambaugh ness cpas of york, pa.; steven brewer & co. cpas of salem, ind.; gamble & livingston cpas of myrtle beach, s.c.; and david bergstein, cpa, citp, director of strategic relations for wolters kluwer.

instant download: click here to get the full report (pdf). read more →