COLUMN HIGHLIGHTS
Accountant Tech-Talk
A New Exchange
By Brent Goodfellow, CPA.CITP, MCSE, MST, MCT
Learn what the new version of Exchange has in store for users.
From The Trenches: Real-life solutions for real-life accountants
Facts and Messages from Conferences
By Randy Johnston
Read about some of Microsoft's new product offerings and strategies for the coming year and beyond.
Tricks & Tips
Time for a PDA?
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Technology Editor
Read about the real benefits of PDAs.
The Bleeding Edge
Buh-Bye, AOL!
By Dave McClure
See what business planning lessons you can learn from AOL.
Technology in Practice
Transition to Digital Tax
By Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA.CITP
Find out what steps you'll need to take in order to move toward digital automation.
The QuickBooks Advisor
Legrand CRM For You And Your Clients
By Doug Sleeter
Learn how this CRM product can help you and your QuickBooks clients.
Better Technology For Better Clients
Understanding Your Audience: The Key To Technology Adoption
By Lisa Kianoff, CPA.CITP
Learn more about how you can help your clients become better adopters of technology.
The eSecurity Advisor
The Fight Against Spam
By David Cieslak, CPA.CITP
Find out what you need to know about spam, SPIM and SPIT and how you can take advantage of the latest technology tools to product your identity and personal information.
Final Thoughts
He's Learning To Sleep Faster!
By Gregory L. LaFollette, CPA.CITP, Executive Editor
Read more about CCH's move into the small firm market.
DON'T MISS OUR UPCOMING WEBCASTS
where you can earn free CPE credits.
October 24, 2006 — How Technology is Helping Accountants See The Future: The Advantages of Optical Character Recognition.
Register at www.CPATechAdvisor.com/webcast/sureprep.
(All registrants for this webcast will be entered in a drawing to receive a free Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 scanner.)
November 14, 2006 — Emerging Technologies For Accounting Firms And Their Clients
Register at www.CPATechAdvisor.com/webcast .
(All registrants for this webcast will be entered in a drawing to receive a free 19-inch Dual Screen LCD Monitor from DoubleSight Displays.) |
Voting for the inaugural Accountants and Tax Professionals Readers' Choice Awards starts on October 1, 2006, allowing any tax or accounting professional to vote for the programs, services, online systems, hardware and gadgets they have come to rely on in their practices. Vote now at http://www.cpatechnologyadvisor.com
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REVIEWS
Practice Management
Spring Rain in a Drought of Inspiration
By Matt Altman
The plain of software production is showing signs of rain and fertility. Many products have seen accelerated growth since last year's reviews. This year's entries have added integration to new products, improved document management techniques, and utilized better designs for Internet-based record-keeping. This year's showing of practice management products provides a glimpse of the software-as-a-service market and next-generation full-suite approach that will soon empower firms large and small.
W-2/1099 Tax
On Coming Out Of The (Tax) Closet
By Mark Weinstein, CPA
Accountants should be thankful for the depth and quality of coverage offered by W-2/1099 software vendors. Offering standalone programs, they deliver important reporting and filing services to an ever-changing environment where the underlying tasks are constantly changing and evolving … where the time constraints only become shorter.
Not-For-Profit
From Featherweight to Heavyweight And Everywhere In Between
By Mary Girsch-Bock
Nonprofit organizations continue to grow at an enormous pace. The time frame of 1996 to 2004 saw a 53.5 percent increase in public charities and a 75 percent increase in private foundations. According to the IRS, at the end of 2004, there were close to 1.4 million nonprofit organizations in the United States . The products reviewed here vary widely, from entry-level to enterprise-level products. Whether you are running a nonprofit out of your home or have offices in a dozen cities, one of these products will work for you. Look beyond the ratings and find your own five-star product.
Your Productivity Score is calculated using a proprietary algorithm that reveals a correlation between technology adaptation and overall productivity. The Productivity Survey is FREE and available to all tax and accounting firms nationwide. It includes a series of questions relating to professional practice standards, office processes, backup procedures, paperless office technologies, connectivity and general technology utilization. You can get your Productivity Score for free at www.CPATechAdvisor.com/productivity.
Can you improve your score?
You can, by improving your implementation and utilization of various technologies. Answers to the survey questions in four major categories are scored by awarding (or subtracting) points based on the relative importance of the specific question. Some answers are additive only, while others are subtractive. Some answers result in very small changes to a score while others change the overall score quite significantly. Certain questions are paired and their answers scored based on their combined answers. Each firm taking the Productivity Survey will receive an individualized report that includes suggestions for improving the productivity in your firm based on recognized "best practice" processes. Firms are encouraged to re-take the survey (up to three times per year) to see if their results have improved after implementing the suggested changes.
The Productivity Survey and Score are sponsored by Thomson Tax & Accounting.
Take the survey now.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Adding Value to Your Practice: 20 Products To Consider
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Technology Editor
Whether it's your client base that has driven you to offer specialty services or a particular interest and skill, every firm varies, sometimes more than others, in the services it offers. And just as the expertise in niche fields varies by practitioner, so too do the capabilities of the various programs on the market that are designed to fill the niche voids that the all-in-one accounting suites often miss. Hundreds of specialty applications offer solutions for these core special services, from in-depth financial analysis to proactive tax planning and business valuation. This special section identifies several products on the market that are designed to provide professional accountants with the tools to assist their clients in these matters.
August 15:
What did you do?
See what one of your peers did on the first annual Accounting & Tax Professionals' Day Out.
Productivity In Practice
The Specialist
By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Technology Editor
See how one firm has scored on The CPA Technology Advisor 's Productivity Survey and learn more about what practices have worked and not worked for this firm. We hope you'll see your firm in these pages... or at least a firm very much like yours.
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THIS IS YOUR INDUSTRY - WE INVITE YOU TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD |
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OCTOBER 2006 SURVEY:
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SEPTEMBER 2006 SURVEY RESULTS
How much of your firm's revenue is generated by payroll services (including payroll tax compliance)?
0% — 75% or more
0% — 50% to 74%
4% — 24% to 49%
29% — 10% to 24%
46% — 1% to 9%
21% — None |
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Don't miss our special section on Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Planning in our November 2006 issue.
In addition to the special section in the November 2006 special section, we will also provide a complete online toolbox of articles, checklists, spreadsheets, whitepapers, podcasts and webcasts — all centered around the topic of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning. |
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EDITORIAL CALENDAR |
| November 2006: |
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Time & Billing |
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Retail/POS |
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The Role of Technology on Employee Attraction & Retention |
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Special Section on Disaster Recovery |
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| December 2006: |
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Fixed Assets |
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Website Builders & Web-Based Tools |
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High-End Accounting |
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Emerging Technologies |
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Evaluating Technology When Buying or Selling a Practice |
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VAR Programs for Accountants |
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MEDIA INFORMATION |
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No matter what your current marketing plan, custom reprints enhance your efforts. Among other applications, reprints are excellent tools for marketing presentations, trade shows and media kits. To discuss details on how you may obtain reprint information contact:
Mary Mullen Cygnus Reprint Services
Phone:
800-456-0864 ext.2104
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Advertisers: Plan to include this magazine or our website in your media schedule. To request a copy of the The CPA Technology Advisor media kit, click here . |
To request online advertising information, contact: Susan Douglas by e-mail or at 800-456-0864 ext. 2103.
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Newsletter Archives
The CPA Technology Advisor, The NSA Technology Advisor
& The CSEA Technology Advisor
110 North Bell, Suite 300 , Shawnee, OK 74801
Phone: (800) 456-0864 or Fax: (405) 275-3101
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