March 2017 - CPA Practice Advisor

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Firm Management

How to Increase Process Visibility Through an Accounting Firm

To grow your accounting practice, or even just to operate at your most efficient, visibility is pivotal. You need systems and processes in place that allow everyone in your team to know who is working on what, with who, at any given time.

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Payroll

March 2017 Payroll Channel

Top Payroll Social Media Posts Employers: Follow your processes to avoid FMLA liability – Lexology: http://bit.ly/2lYXaeh Focus on the FMLA Part III – JDSupra Business Advisor: http://bit.ly/2n2a2l6 5 Benefits of Using HR Software – Oxgadgets blog: http://bit.ly/2lYYDBm The Rise of the Chief Learning Officer in the War for Talent – Bloomberg BNA HR blog: http://bit.ly/2mxKJcT […]

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Accounting

March 2017 Accounting & Auditing Channel

Top Social Media A&A Posts Internal audit has an integral role to play in improving the organization’s strategic performance – The Institute of Internal Auditors blog: https://iaonline.theiia.org/2017/Pages/Auditing-Organizational-Governance.aspx?utm_campaign=February+2017&utm_medium=social&utm_postdate=03%2F02%2F17&utm_source=twitter Beyond the Spreadsheet: Technological Changes Mean Industry Innovation for CPAs – NYSSCPA The Trusted Professional: http://www.nysscpa.org/news/publications/the-trusted-professional/article/beyond-the-spreadsheet-technological-changes-mean-industry-innovations-for-cpas?linkId=35081587#sthash.yj77QV8e.Y2IuyRTU.dpbs Take control of Your Debt Collection Efforts by Partnering with a Collection […]

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March 2017 Tax Channel

Top Tax Social Media Posts: Your Guide to Claiming the R&D Tax Credit – CFO.com: http://bit.ly/2n3BmPK Construction and Sales Tax – Wolters Kluwer SalesTax.com blog: http://bit.ly/2n3uHVT How Does Your Tax Refund Compare? – Kelly Phillips Erb TaxGirl blog: http://bit.ly/2lVxL4n How to Handle Gambling Wins and Losses This Tax Season – TheStreet blog: http://bit.ly/2nbWvq7 How High […]

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Firm Management

March 2017 Firm Management Channel

Top Firm Management Social Media Posts: 5 Time Management Mistakes You’re Making Without Even Realizing It – Clients A.R.M. (Accounts Receivable Management) blog: https://www.clientsarm.com/5-time-management-mistakes-youre-making-without-even-realizing/ How Can You Make the SHIFT to Trusted Advisor? – Accountext Report blog: https://www.sleeter.com/blog/2017/03/can-make-shift-trusted-advisor/ How to Write a Social Media Policy for Your Company – Hootsuite blog: https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-policy-for-employees/ Simple Twitter Analytics […]

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Small Business

March 2017 Small Business Channel

Starting a Small Business? Here’s What the Experts Want You to Know How to be a risk taker: What separates the risk takers – be they people or organizations – from the rest of us? These are the conclusions offered by the editors and writers of Fast Company in The Rules of Business: Not overly […]

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Firm Management

Three Marketing Strategies for CPAs With Medical Practice Clients

If your firm specializes in medical or dental practice clients, addressing their pain points is just as important to them as them addressing their patients’ pain points. But how do you do it? Begin by knowing who your target market is. Is it small, family practices, large organizations, such as hospitals, or is it specialists […]

Accounting

4 Elements of a Winning Compensation Package

Above-average salaries are often the key to attracting and retaining top performers. But that’s not all. A robust package also includes the top perks many accountants have come to expect — and perhaps even some they haven’t thought of yet.

accounts receivable

Accounting

7 Best Practices Tips for Managing Accounts Receivable

To get a firm grasp on receivables, a business must establish firm processes for inputting invoices, ensure correct contact information for customers or clients, and establish payment terms that may include incentives that can prompt early payment by ...

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Firm Management

How To Forge A Better Working World For Women

While challenging conscious and unconscious bias and creating inclusive and flexible workplace cultures is everyone’s responsibility, throughout my career, I’ve learned some of the ways for women to continually boost and rebuild their confidence.

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Accounting

2017 Review of Accounts Receivable Systems

Everyone wants to get paid – as quickly as possible, or at least, on time. An effective accounts receivable system helps businesses ensure that their customers are paying. But it’s not only about cash receipts, but also about the customers.

Accounting

Collbox App Simplifies Collections for QuickBooks Online

Collbox is a collections app that integrates with QuickBooks Online. Designed to simplify the collection process for small business owners, Collbox services are free, with users only paying a fee when a collection agency collects on an invoice.

Accounting

2017 Overview of PaySimple – Accounts Receivable Functions

PaySimple is a payment processing solution that is designed to process payments of all types, including credit and debit cards, eChecks, and ACH transfers, with payments processed on a one-time or recurring basis. PaySimple tracks invoices ...

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Accounting

Specialized Services for the Medical Practices Accountant

Even the idea of serving the medical profession can be daunting – medical professionals often seem exalted in our minds. And doctors are not always the easiest people to work with. “Sometimes they can be really high maintenance,” said Kristy Monahan ...

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Firm Management

Apps We Love – Sowing Your Garden

Are you planning a major landscaping overhaul? Consider iScape – there is a free version you can play with that lets you take a picture of the area you want to landscape, then experiment with adding shrubs, trees, flowers, decks and other construction ...

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Firm Management

6 PR Tips for Accounting Firms

A public relations effort is one of the best ways to build your firm’s brand as well as to gain thought leadership status for your partners and firm owners. Here’s a few steps, tips, and apps that can get your PR launch off to a great start.

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Accounting

Third Party Debt Collection: The Basics

The general rule is that you should only hire a collection agency when a debtor is ignoring the debt. When this is the case, don’t hesitate to hire a collector because the probability of collections decrease 12% each month an invoice remains outstanding.

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Taxes

Tax Tips for the Sharing Economy

Freelancers and contract workers have been around pretty much forever, but the collaborative workspace is suddenly finding itself front and center. Whether you call it the sharing economy, the peer economy, the gig economy, or just “This is how I ...

Accounting

2017 Overview of Centreviews AR – Accounts Receivable Functions

Centreviews offers AP, AR, and Document Management delivered via the cloud. Centreviews is designed to link all business invoices with their supporting documents. The linked documents are then stored in a centralized, searchable archive, where users ...

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Sales Tax

Recouping Sales Tax on Bad Debts: Help Your Retail Clients Reduce the Pain of Bad Debts

For accrual method clients chalking up bad debts, a claim for refund of transactional taxes previously remitted can be a worthwhile engagement. Sales taxes are the most common form of transactional taxes for retailing vendors, and since the majority of retailers remit sales taxes on a monthly basis, sales taxes are often remitted in full […]

Firm Management

What is the Thought Leader Symposium?

The symposium itself, which is still hosted by CPA Practice Advisor, provides its members with an opportunity to immerse themselves in deep discussions about pressing issues in the accounting profession, develop opportunities to collaborate, plan ...

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ESG

What is Tax Reciprocity?

Tax reciprocity normally applies to any wages an employee earns through employment: hourly wages, salaries, tips, commissions, and bonuses. Reciprocal tax withholding agreements between states usually do not apply to income earned outside of employment.

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Accounting

2017 Invoicing Utilities – Invoice Sherpa

Invoice Sherpa works with many popular accounting software applications such as QuickBooks, Xero, Harvest, and FreshBooks. InvoiceSherpa automates accounts receivable and bill payment options, as well as recurring billing for subscriptions.

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Accounting

2017 Invoicing Utilities – FundBox

Fundbox is designed to proactively address cash flow gaps that typically affect small and in-transition businesses that rely on timely payments from their customers. Fundbox users can create an account at no cost, with users only assessed a fee when ...

Accounting

2017 Invoicing Utilities – Bill.com

Well known for its robust AP automation function, Bill.com also offers a decent payment processing platform as well. Bill.com provides users with the ability to choose their preferred payment method and will automatically send invoices to customers ...

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Accounting

2017 Review of Invoice Management Systems

While invoicing on the surface seems like a fairly straightforward feature, (and simple invoicing is), how customers and clients are invoiced can be just as important as when. Do you provide your customers with a mailed invoice only?

Accounting

2017 Thought Leader Symposium

The most influential thought leaders in the accounting profession gathered for CPA Practice Advisor's 9th annual Thought Leader Symposium in Indianapolis, February 26-28, where they participated in discussions, and occasional disagreements, about how ...

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Firm Management

Is Your Accounting Firm Serious About Security?

As I wrote in a previous column, whether it’s securing a perimeter in a war zone or an accounting firm, the strength of the defense is only as robust as the front lines. In your firm, the front line is your people who are handling sensitive client data on

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Human Resources

Key Questions HR Leaders Need to Address Now

More than 400 HR leaders recently descended on Denver to attend the Mile High SHRM Conference, where leading practitioners and speakers shared inspirational stories on human resources. As a speaker at the event, I led a discussion on “HR’s Changing Role” and shared insights into current and emerging issues in human capital management, employment trends, […]

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Payroll

Tax and Payroll Legislation Updates for 2017

Forms 1094 and 1095 will most likely survive for at least this year, so make sure to keep tracking. The Cadillac tax will probably go away later this year, and it is possible that the employer mandate could go away this year, as well (not yet confirmed).

Accounting

Sooner IS Better for AR and Invoicing!

I’ve promoted value billing and hotel billing as worthwhile approaches to increasing revenue by getting paid what your advice is worth and missing less billable time. Several pundits have jumped on the value billing band wagon and are promoting this ...

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Sales Tax

Should Sales Tax Be Included in Price?

Simplicity is key. If sales tax is charged separately, the amount designated as sales tax is given to the state tax authority. If a statement that sales tax is included appears on the invoice, the seller calculates the amount of sales tax due and ...

Firm Management

Marijuana in the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know

With the proliferation of legalized marijuana among the states, the wide-spread use among employees that these state laws encourage, and changing positions from enforcement agencies, now is a good time for employers to review their drug testing ...

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Payroll

Labor Department Revises Garnishment Rules

The Labor Department revised its garnishment guidance on earnings under the Consumer Credit Protection Act to include amounts received as lump sums and wages for some tipped workers. The amount of pay subject to garnishment is based on an employee's ...