The Upcoming Tax Planning Season and SALY

The tax planning season is just around the corner. Most small businesses are more focused on the end of summer and gearing up for the fall season. What they should focus on is getting their ducks in a row for the year end and beyond. Here's a reason why small business owners should avoid the SALY (Same As Last Year) and start planning now.

listen to ‘Why Accountants Hate "SALY"’ on Audioboo

More Bean Spilling - Importing Bank Data

So I have had a little time to play around with BeansBooks, a new cloud accounting product by System 76, that makes small business accounting a bit more manageable. In this video we look at the banking import function and how it can save time during account reconcilations.

Is your mobile device becoming the "New" desktop?

As many know I am a proponent of using cloud technologies/SaaS products and mobile applications to improve small business performance. Recently I was up loading or actually I was updating some of my mobile apps on my mobile devices (and the time it took me to do this) and this got me wondering if with the increased usage of smart phones/tablets and the corresponding usage of apps; Are we just simply turning our smart phones and tablets into desktop extensions?

                                                         

Desktop filled with software apps

One of the main reasons a small business owner would want to consider the cloud/mobile technologies is to keep the amount of software loaded on desktops to a minimum and forget about the days of updating software, dealing with file corruption issues just to name a few things that take away your time.

But,

With all this transferring of information via smart phones and tablets these days, most of it driven by app usage, now your smart phone or tablet is loaded with software that has to be constantly updated, and  you are back into a time drain.

Smart phone also filled with mobile apps

I personally did a comparison of my desktop applications versus my mobile applications and I have more mobile applications on my smart phone/tablets than my desktop. Take a look and see if you are in the same boat. Then ask yourself if those apps are saving or draining your time.

For me, it gave me a chance to do some "summer cleaning" of some mobile apps allowing my mobile devices to run more efficiently and take less time updating. 

Take a look for yourself and let me know how it turns out.

Your Business in Your Pocket - The Mobile Revolution

Everywhere a small business owner turns these days, there is always some talk about the cloud, mobile apps, and how it can improve their operations. From email systems to document management to accounting, the cloud seems to be the great equalizer allowing small firms and entrepreneurs compete with their large counterparts. But, is all this talk just a fad or trend and can it really make a difference to small business owner?

Well the cloud has been around for quite some time (even though much of what small biz owners read says otherwise) and really if you have not embraced the cloud in your small business, you could be operating at a considerable disadvantage. Most cloud offerings allow the small business owner anytime access to critical information they need to run their businesses. The cloud also is more stable and secure than trying to deploy software or save/backup information internally (I know many will disagree, but it is harder to break into a data center than your internal servers). Bottom line is if you want to stay competitive and be abreast with your peers, a venture into the cloud must be in your future.

But what is you want to stay ahead and not abreast of your peers?

If you want to be on the cutting edge then let me put the bug in your ear now about the next big trend…you ready!

It’s mobile, yes mobile.

With the introduction of smart phones, the mobile revolution is upon us and the time to get in is now (please join me it’s kinda lonely). Imagine a world where you can take a snapshot of a document with your smart phone and immediately upload it into your database, or accounting software and your team has immediate access to the information. Would that save time and money for your small business?

In the coming days we will post a few videos on the new mobile revolution and how you can embrace it now. When a small business couples mobile technology with the cloud, efficiency gains above and beyond their current processes can be realized, and you can save a little time and money.

CNBC Town Hall

I had the pleasure of sitting in on the taping of the CNBC Town Hall on small business yesterday and needless to say, it was a great experience. There were entrepreneurs from all kinds of backgrounds and we all shared knowledge with each other.

We had a great panel of speakers (as you can see from the photos) and covered a lot of topics affecting the small business sector. I guess the major takeaways I got from the town hall were to mentor or be a mentor, differentiate, network, learn from trials & blessings, and pursue freedom.



To watch the CNBC Town Hall be sure to tune in to CNBC on Wednesday June 20th 9PM EST.

The Tech Accountant

Mobile App Woes and Social Media

I love to use social media and mobile apps as much as the next guy, but recently I have been having some issues with many of the app updates on some of my mobile devices. One recent update that has me rather concerned is the Google+ (or Google Plus is you say it that way) for iOS devices. Google's apps typically work very well on iOS devices, but for me (and many people leaving review on iTunes) the new Google+ is causing a headache.

Check out my Google+ woes here: The Tech Accountant

Travel Receipts Got You Sour as a Lemon??? Make Lemonade

I hope everyone had a great holiday this past week. If you were one of the many people traveling this past week, I am sure you have quite a few receipts from your trip that you may want to organize to see how much you spent over the holiday.

Or maybe you are a constant business traveler that is tired of trying to keep up with all of your receipts when you travel for business.

If this describes you, I am sure that the time it takes to organize and tally up what you spent, and where has you as sour as a lemon.

Here's a quick video on a new web-based product with a corresponding smart phone app that can make lemonade out of those receipts. Let me know what you think.



The Tech Accountant

Update: Lifelock has acquired Lemon to expand in the the mobile arena. A new app to play with on Andriod and iOS.

Kids Say the Wildest Things

Here's a cool video that explains what it is like to be a tax accountant....well maybe in the "old" world of accounting. Personally I could only relate my past experiences to what the kids describe in the video. The "new" world of accounting is so much more exciting.

So check out the video, send it to your accountant and see if they can relate.



The Tech Accountant

Warren Buffet and Jay-Z preach financial literacy

Here's a coolcartoon video of rapper Jay-Z and Warren Buffet teaching kids good money management. Enjoy.



The Tech Accountant

Let Technology Wear Some of Your Hats

Small business owners and entrepreneurs all know that starting and operating your own business is a rewarding but tough experience. Typically when a small business is in the start-up or growth stage, the owners will attempt to wear all the hats from being the sales manager to the bookkeeper. Although this will give a small business owner a wealth of experience in operations and processes, could their time be better spent doing what they do best?

Many small business owners want to know how they can break away from doing the back office functions and most times the solution is to hire someone to do the work or outsource. Sometimes when this solution is implemented, the costs are more than the benefit and the small business owner is back at square one.

The new way to get operational tasks done is to use technology in conjunction with and employee or contractor. This way a small business owner can continue to the be the backbone of the economy and cut their operational and overhead costs considerably.

Let's take marketing and public relations for example. In the past small business owners could not compete with their larger counterparts due to the high cost of websites, customer relationship management and public relations companies, tv, and radio, etc. Nowadays a small business owner can build their own website (or outsource) with WordPress, use social media sites and apps like Facebook and Twitter for public relations and CRM, broadcast themselves on YouTube, and podcasts, and get paid instantly with PayPal, Google Checkout and others.

These are just a few ways technology can help a small business owner cut costs and focus on what they do best. Feel free to post your ideas too.

The Tech Accountant

3 Cool Apps for Small Biz's

The web and social media are definitely changing the way we do business and it would appear that the government does not want to be left behind. First the IRS introduced their informational videos for small biz owners and the self employed, then followed suit with a Facebook page (also a FB page for tax professionals). Now the IRS and other governmental agencies continue to throw their hats into the social media scene, with some rather neat apps lately.


The IRS, U.S. Department of Labor and the Small Business Administration all have introduced smart phone apps that allow small biz owners, and their employees access to governmental services while on the go. Here's is a quick video about their new apps.



Do you think that the new apps will provide small biz owners and taxpayers with faster more efficient access to governmental resources? Feel free to let us know your thoughts.

The Tech Accountant

DOL Timesheet App for iPhone

Travelers RMplusonline

Good ole Uncle Sam is at it again.

There's a new app for the iPhone that many small biz owners may not be to thrilled about. The DOL has recently released an iPhone app that will allow hourly employees to track their own hours to ensure that they are paid the correct amount. This may open up a can of worms for many small biz owners who may not have accurate employment records and may also increase the amount of fraudulent wage compliants filed with the DOL.

Take a look at the article and let me know your thoughts about this new app. Also if you have an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad be sure to download the app and try it out for yourself and let us know what you think of it.

The Tech Accountant

15 Tech Factors to Watch For

Small biz owners and consumers both will like this quick (about 7mins or so) video that provides 15 tech factors to watch for and a look into the future of the internet and how we all will use it. Much of the video confirms the information that I heard recently at a social media seminar regarding the growth of social networks and how consumers use the internet.

Watch the video here

What does this mean for a small biz owner? Technology will be an important and integral part of your marketing, operational, and long term strategy. Small biz's will look more to social networks for customers and clients, using cloud services can keep the small biz owner connected and by embracing technology your small biz will be better positioned for growth.

So what do you think small biz owner's? Are you currently using technology (social media, smart phones, cloud computing) in your small business?

Look forward to hearing from you.

The Tech Accountant

SBA Offers iPhone App for Small Businesses

SBA Offers iPhone App for Small Businesses

Here's a cool way to stay interacted with the SBA and help get your small biz up and running. I just downloaded it and will play around with it today. Should be a great app since Palo Alto is know for there great business plan software.

The Tech Accountant

3 Steps to a Smoother Tax Season

Now that tax season is over, many small biz owners are getting back into the groove of running their operations and focusing on the rest of the year. As tax season was winding down, I had a great deal of small biz owners approach me and ask what they can do to make tax season move a bit more smoothly next year. The majority of the problems that small biz owners are facing are closing their books on time, organizing their important documents for tax season, and getting those documents to their tax professional for tax preparation.


Usually the answer is better organization and proactive tax planning throughout the year, but after I make that comment, most small biz owners look at me with a blank stare. Now I would like to provide a bit more detail regarding how to streamline their business operations and stay on top of everything before tax season comes back around. Here are three steps to getting your small biz ready for next tax season:

1. Use a computerized accounting system
2. Scan important documents
3. Use a file storing system

Listen here for more details on getting your biz ready for next filing season.



These are just a few of the things that a small business owner can use to streamline their business operations and get them ready for a smooth tax season next year. With a little assistance, a small biz owner can have a less taxing season next year.

The Tech Accountant

Your data is safer in the clouds

Many small biz owners are still on the fence about taking their biz operations to the clouds. In a recent interview with Michal Lev-Ram for CnnMoney.com, Google’s enterprise chief Dave Girouard provides some compelling reasons for small biz owners to reconsider their stance. Most small biz owners cite security and uptime as their biggest resistance to the cloud here’s what Girouard had to say about both issues:


“Our belief is that your data is safer inside Google than it is inside your own computers. But we are doing all sorts of things to make sure our user data is protected.”

In regards to cloud system’s uptime, Girouard stated:

“There's no system that's prefect and no company that's perfect and we certainly aren't. In 2010 Gmail had 99.984% uptime.”

His statements got me wondering if those small biz owners that were resisting the cloud had procedures in place to protect their data and if their procedures had a 100% uptime. I posed the question of the cloud in one of my accounting discussion boards to get small biz accountants’ take on the matter and many of them were still resisting the cloud. One accountant even said that she used a portable hard drive that she took back and forth with her to the office.

Although the portable drive is a great way to save and backup your mission critical data, it should only be a small step in your backup and data warehousing plan. Which brings me to another point Girouard made in the article that cloud based companies are more agile than their “old school” counterparts. When asked about the advantages of Google’s cloud services versus those of other major software vendors, Girouard stated that since they are a 100% web company it is easier for them to adapt to the changes in the marketplace as they happen.

This is true for any business. Even a small business can be more nimble than their competitors if they build their business infrastructure in the cloud. Feel free to read the CNNMoney.com article and draw your own conclusions and opinions and post them as a response to this blog post. Would love to hear your thoughts.

The Tech Accountant

3 Ways Small Biz Owners Can Use Tablets

Up until recently, the sign that a small biz owner was upwardly mobile was a laptop or even a netbook. You would go to the local coffee shop and see everyone deeply engaged in their work or online meetings via their portable computers. Fast forward a few years to the present and laptop and netbooks in the coffee shop are a thing of the past like Starbucks “secret menu” items.


Now when you go into a coffee establishment, everyone is swiping away multi-tasking on their tablets. Tablets are making quite an impression in the consumer market and many larger biz’s are using them in some very interesting ways. Small biz owners can also enjoy the benefits of using a tablet instead of your clunky laptop. Here are three ways:

1. Remote Desktop – Need access to your laptop or desktop back in the office? With a tablet and remote desktop app (Like GoToMyPC) you can access your PC or Mac back in the office and remain fully connected.

2. Presentations – Need to watch or join a web conference or presentation? Use a web conferencing app like Webex or GoToMeeting to join online meetings while away from your office.

3. Accepting Payments – Need to improve your cash flow by accepting payments away from the office? There are quite a few apps out there that can assist with this task. A few that come to mind are PayPal, Sage Mobile Payments and Intuit GoPayment.

These are just three reasons I came up with for using a tablet from my own business processes (Feel free to add more). The beauty is most of the apps mentioned are free and coupled with the fact that you don’t have to carry around that cumbersome laptop, a tablet may be a wise choice for your small biz.

The Tech Accountant

4 Ways Cloud Computing Can Improve Your Small Biz

Recently I had the pleasure of reading a survey by Gartner Inc. regarding the future of cloud computing for large scale businesses. According to the survey, by 2015 around 50% of the Global 1000 businesses will use cloud computing for many of their revenue generating processes. That got me to thinking, “How can the small biz owner benefit from the cloud?”I came up with four ways that I think the cloud can improve a small biz’s operations. Here are four reasons that I could think of that make cloud computing a viable option for a small biz owner:


1. Cloud computing make a small business more agile because the owner can utilize IT resources in a faster more efficient manner. Gone are the days of setup and implementation of on premise software. A small biz owner can sign up for a cloud service and be up and running that same day.

2. Cloud computing allows small biz owners scaled economies providing them better use of the resources that they pay for. Small biz owners can have better control over their resources because the features that they pay for are the only ones that they need. In the current small biz environment, many software resources are being underutilized or not used at all.

3. Cloud computing makes small biz owners more productive. With anywhere anytime access, cloud resources allow small biz owners the ability to work from anywhere and be “open” virtually anytime.

4. Cloud computing will improve a small biz owner’s bottom line. With cloud computing being at the forefront of the new way of doing business, there will be a great deal of entrants into the market all competing for the small biz dollar. Vendors will also add more benefits to their cloud offerings expanding the growth of cloud computing making the current model of operations a thing of the past.

These are just a few reasons that I came up with that make operating your small biz in the cloud an option that a small biz owner may want to investigate. Feel free to post your opinions regarding cloud computing and small biz. Would love to hear your thoughts.

The Tech Accountant

3 Steps to Digitize your Documents

I am always looking for better ways to accomplish everyday tasks for small biz owners and individuals. One problem that many face is how to keep, and organize important documents so that they are readily available when needed. Thanks to technology, we can now digitize our documents and keep them in the clouds thus making our desk space clean and clear of clutter. Here are three steps to take the documents from your desk to the clouds:


1. Start using or purchase a scanner – Scanners have come a long way since the days of the basic flat bed (although one of those would still work). Scanners have better image quality, are faster, and come with more features than the early years. Scanning your documents allows you to keep a digital image of the documents and save it for later use. Depending on your needs, there are multi-purpose machines, or scan only machines for those who will have larger paper workloads.

2. Save documents to the cloud – By saving your documents in the cloud, you have another level of protection in the case that your hard drive is stolen, corrupted or destroyed due to a disaster. Again depending on your needs, there are quite a few vendors that offer low-cost or even free cloud storage services.

3. Use Smartphone apps – If you are a small business owner or individual that is away from your office a great deal, Smartphone apps are one of the best ways to track your expense receipts and make digital copies of important documents. With these apps your can save digital copies of your receipts and convert them to PDF’s for later use. Check your app store for these apps.

These are just a few ways to digitize your important documents. Be sure to do a needs assessment before digitizing your documents and taking them into the clouds to ensure that your current and future needs will be meet with the technology that you choose.

The Tech Accountant

Form 1099's are EZ with Peachtree

It's that time of year again. The wonderful tax filing time for small biz's and this year is the start of some of the many changes that will affect processing of Form 1099's for payments to vendors. One way for a small biz owner to make the process a bit less stressful is to use small biz accounting software in their business. Here is a quick video on how easy it is to file and complete your Form 1099's using accounting software.



The Tech Accountant