In this issue
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of AccountantsWorld – Practice Relief
Practice Relief, from AccountantsWorld can be utilized as a stand-alone product, or used as part of the Power Practice suite of applications designed for accounting firms, which includes client bookkeeping, document management and document storage ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Thomson Reuters – Practice CS
Designed to be used with other Thomson Reuters products, Practice CS is an easily navigated, scalable product that can be customized to suit the needs of all firms. The product offers three deployment options; SaaS, Virtual Office CS, which combines ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of WSG Systems – Empire Suite
Empire Suite, from WSG Systems Corp. offers complete practice management functionality. Available in four versions, small users can start with the Basic version that offers Time and Expense entry and move forward to a more robust version that contains ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Office Tools – Practice Management Workspace
Practice Management Workspace from Office Tools is a time and billing software designed for small to mid-sized firms. The product uses a simplified user entry screen and offers excellent client management tools along with an intuitive time and billing ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Commercial Logic PowerPM Suite
Designed for accountants, PowerPM is a scalable, hosted practice management solution that offers a variety of modules in addition to PowerPM Practice Management, including PowerPM Reporting, Automated Reporting, PowerView/PowerImport, TrakTime Web ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of CCH Axcess Practice
Users can quickly log into the user dashboard to access time entry features as well as access to a weekly calendar, with a list of related reports to the right of the screen. Users can launch the timer function directly from the user dashboard, or ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of ProSystem fx Suite – Practice Management
ProSystem fx Practice Management is part of the ProSystem fx Suite of products designed to manage every aspect of an accounting firm. The product offers time entry capability, AR management, excellent contact management capability and solid reporting func
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of TaxWorkFlow Practice Management
TaxWorkFlow is designed for a Windows platform, and offers firms of all sizes comprehensive work flow management, document management, and time management capabilities, as well as a client portal that facilitates communication between firm and client.
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Xero Practice Manger
Cloud-based, Xero Practice Manager offers easy integration with Xero’s complete line of accounting and related products, but also integrates with over 450 business apps to increase program functionality tremendously.
April 23, 2016
Practice Management Systems Offer Key To Competitiveness
Even the smallest firms have seen the benefits provided by having a solid practice management solution in their office. Time and Expense tracking is the backbone of good practice management software, and the products reviewed in this issue make it ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Commercial Logic Inc. – APS Advance Practice Management
APS Advance Practice Management is an Australian practice management solution that is offered in the United States exclusively by Commercial Logic, Inc. APS is fully customizable and offers excellent analytic functions including pivot tables and ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of TaxAct Professional Preparers’ Editions
TaxAct is more well-known for its consumer, do-it-yourself program, but the company has long offered professional tax compliance packages for small firms. The system is centered around an installed program base, with online access to client reports ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Overview of BNA 706 Preparer & 709 Preparer
Bloomberg BNA offers a variety of tax and financial information tools and resources, as well as software and online services for estate tax compliance, gift tax compliance, and estate planning – BNA 706 Preparer and BNA 709 Preparer.
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Intuit – Intuit Tax Online
Intuit Tax Online offers a completely web-based and app-enhanced solution for professional tax compliance. The system is available via per-return pricing level based on the number of client returns the professional will process.
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Drake Software – Drake Tax
Drake Software is an affordable, all-inclusive professional tax preparation system with unlimited e-filing, including multiple state returns. Firms also have access to a variety of practice resources, such as document management, tax planning, and ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Wolters Kluwer – ATX
The ATX family of professional tax and accounting programs is part of Wolters Kluwer CCH Small Firm Services, and is geared primarily toward small firms looking for a system that simplifies the preparation process, making it easy to get new and ...
April 23, 2016
UltraTax Offers Total Command & Control
When Peter Gurian thinks there’s got to be a better way to do things, he’s usually right. After spending several years with a Big Four firm and with a private company, the CPA decided he’d had enough of the bureaucratic headaches and started his own ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Wolters Kluwer – TaxWise
TaxWise offers several bundled versions that combine tax, accounting, research, payroll, file sharing and firm management functions, plus bank products, with the systems providing user-friendly interfaces and streamlined workflow for small and mid ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Intuit – ProSeries Tax
The ProSeries system offers comprehensive professional tax preparation for traditional tax and accounting firms, with streamlined data entry processes that help maximize efficiency.
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Thomson Reuters – GoSystem Tax RS
GoSystem Tax RS offers a comprehensive, web-based tax compliance system for professionals. The program, which has been totally cloud-based since 1998, is generally designed for mid-sized and larger firms, but can fit the needs of any practice that ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Wolters Kluwer – ProSystem fx Tax
CCH ProSystem fx Tax is a professional tax preparation and management program that can be used as a stand-alone system or as part of a broad suite of professional tax, engagement and firm management tools and resources. The desktop-based system can be ins
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Thomson Reuters – UltraTax CS
The UltraTax CS system from Thomson Reuters offers extensive tax compliance and practice management tools that enhance firm workflow. It can be used independently but is at its most productive and efficient when used as a central component of the CS ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Intuit – Lacerte Tax
For nearly 35 years, the Lacerte Tax professional tax system has provided tax professionals with compliance and practice management tools and features that streamline tax production and workflow. The comprehensive system is available in packages that ...
April 23, 2016
2016 Review of Wolters Kluwer – CCH Axcess Tax
CCH Axcess offers a comprehensive, cloud-based suite of professional accounting and tax systems that utilize a singular database and can enhance firm productivity across multiple engagement types, and help firms standardize their workflow processes.
April 23, 2016
2016 Reviews of Professional Tax Compliance Systems
For our reviews of tax preparation systems, we divide products into two categories: Advanced Workflow and Traditional Workflow. In general, smaller firms would be best served using a “traditional workflow” system, which are designed for more typical ...
April 20, 2016
Equal Pay Becomes More Complicated for Employers
Although federal anti-discrimination laws have long required that women and men are paid equally for the same work, the new law in California not only expands what may constitute a similar job, but also places the burden of demonstrating that any ...
April 18, 2016
How to Turn Post Tax Season Into Business Valuation Season
A thorough “business cleaning” much like a seasonal housecleaning can provide a business owner with a more efficient operation, a better sense of risk and a plan for the future, whether it’s oriented toward aggressive growth or a four-day workweek.
April 18, 2016
Accounting Firms and the Art of Marketing
Understanding your firm, your people, your proficiencies will prepare you to understand who are the best fits for your offerings and capabilities.
April 18, 2016
Sales Tax Record Keeping Requirements for Retailers
Clients who don’t adhere to state record keeping requirements run the risk of being penalized by auditors. The exact rules and penalties vary from state to state, but it is definitely in your clients’ best interests to stick to the letter of the law.
April 18, 2016
Advocating for Small Businesses Everywhere
Intuit’s Small Business Segment Leader Talks about Why She Pushes for Small Business Success
April 18, 2016
Collaboration + Leadership = Success
The greatest leaders surround themselves with tremendous talent on their leadership team. They understand their own unique abilities and the areas where they fall short. They look for individuals who can complement their strengths and minimize their ...
April 14, 2016
Successfully Navigating Workplace Safety Issues in 2016
For employers, any increase in OSHA fines could be a costly problem, underscoring the importance of a robust and effective workplace safety policy. However, OSHA’s recent enforcement positions only create confusion over how to implement an effective ...
April 14, 2016
What to Do When Employee Withholding Is Incorrect
It's not hard to miscalculate employee tax withholding, especially if you do the calculations without the help of a software program. The rates may have changed without your knowledge – rates change at the first of every year, but there have been ...
April 13, 2016
How to Maintain Internal Controls for Sales and Use Taxes
Many of your small business clients, especially those in retail operations, have struggled with responsibilities for collecting and remitting sales and use taxes to the appropriate jurisdictions. This includes issues relating to sales transactions and ...
April 13, 2016
6 Employee Motivation Tips To Close Tax Season Strong
The home stretch of tax season means heavy workloads and long hours for accountants. This time of year, nerves are frayed and tensions are high. It’s no walk in the park for managers either. In addition to your client load, you’ve got to keep your ...
April 12, 2016
How To Grow Your Bottom Line Without Growing Your Client Roster
You can make the services you currently offer more profitable by plugging holes that drain your firm’s resources. Chances are many of your business clients still write manual checks, meaning you perform their after-the-fact write-up work.
April 12, 2016
3 Income Tax Surprises and Their Warning Signs
Wouldn’t it be nice if our clients contacted us before making any type of financial transaction with a tax consequence? Unfortunately, many of us as tax advisors are out of sight, out of mind, and out of the loop most of the year, leaving our ...
April 7, 2016
Marketing to the New Boom
Millennials…Millions strong, big spenders, and all about the selfie…so how do you market to them?
April 5, 2016
Practice Management – An Opportunity to Grow
Probably more important than the tool is the culture of business development, discovery meetings, referral clients and omni-channel marketing. Since many accounting professionals have not been trained in marketing, this leads to common errors and ...
