Accounting Technology articles from May 2004

Accounting Technology archives from May 2004

Six degrees of networking.(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... A few years ago, my wife was heading the fundraising efforts for a summer music camp in Vermont, one with an excellent reputation and a broad reach. The thank-you letter she was working on read, "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Solzhenitsyn, I would like to...

What kind of wireless technology is your firm using?(Street Talk: Reader Views)(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... We purchased wireless network interface cards for our field auditors' laptops and configured them to be able to create ad hoc networks. We use CCH Engagement for our paperless audits, so one auditor's laptop acts as the server and holds the...

Vitale buys CoActive.(Practice Development News)(Vitale Caturano, CoActive Consulting Group)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Vitale Caturano has acquired CoActive Consulting Group, a Great Plains reseller based in Wakefield, Mass., that had more than $2 million in revenue last year. Vitale, based in Boston, has employed CoActive's 12 staffers in its technology...

Aston makes money.(Practice Development News)(Aston Business Solutions)
May 1, 2004... Aston Business Solutions, a Danish company that sells Microsoft accounting products, reported $3.3 million in revenue for 2003, a turnaround from a $10.3 million loss the prior year. Worldwide revenue for the most recently completed year...

Camden resigns.(Practice Development News)(Matt Camden resigns as Clifton Gunderson chief technology officer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Matt Camden, who has headed technology operations at Clifton Gunderson since 1996, has resigned the position of chief technology officer, the title under which he directed internal IT and consulting and reselling operations. [ILLUSTRATION...

Best vars merge.(Practice Development News)(Software Solutions)(AccuPointe)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... AccuPointe, and Software Solutions have united to sell Best's accounting software products. Software Solutions has its headquarters in Richmond, Va., while AccuPointe's main office is in Monroe, N.C. AccuPointe president William Edward says...

Amex funds sap it.(Practice Development News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... American Express Business Finance has agreed to provide Internet-based leasing for sales of the SAP Business One and MySAP applications in the United States. The program, called Express Financing, is available through resellers handling...

Fundware to expand channel.(Practice Development News)(Intuit Fundware)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Intuit Fundware, the not-for-profit accounting package that Intuit acquired two years ago, will begin to see its channel grow after the anticipated hiring of a channel manager this year. "We are interviewing and receiving resumes," notes...

NextLevel, Apex unite.(Practice Development News)(NextLevel Information Systems)(Apex Business Solutions)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... NextLevel Information Systems, an Accpac VAR based in Miami, has united with Chicago-based Apex Business Solutions, which sells CRM software. "It was an opportunity to get the skill sets, especially on the CRM side," says Manny Buigas,...

Columbus IT melds U.S. ops.(Practice Development News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Columbus IT, an Axapta reseller based in Denmark, has effectively merged the operation of three subsidiaries in the U.S. The subsidiaries include Baltimore-based Scorpion Systems. Together, these units employed 55 people and had estimated...

Green late?(Accounting News)(Microsoft may delay Project Green)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Project Green, the project to provide a unified code for Microsoft's accounting software products, may be delayed as Microsoft puts its emphasis on security. Doug Burgum, president of Microsoft Business Solutions, says that it is possible...

MAS 90 4.0 released.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Best Software has released version 4.0 of its MAS 90 accounting software, which the company claims is its most important upgrade to its mainstay product line since 1996. The company says that one of the most significant additions is...

Klaus's bonus grows.(Accounting News)(Epicor increases George Klaus bonus)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Epicor has given George Klaus, its CEO and president, a 30 percent increase in his bonus for 2003, a year in which the software company returned to profitability. Klaus received $1.5 million in cash compensation last year, including a...

Navision resellers sought.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Microsoft Business Solutions appears to be ready to significantly expand the number of resellers that handle its Navision accounting product, especially in the low end of its market. According to Jan Sillemann, director of mid-market...

Icode adds execs.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Chantilly, Va.-based Icode, which makes the Everest accounting and business application suite, has hired two executives, including Jim McGowan, who has taken over as CEO from founder Bijal Mehta. McGowan most recently worked at Infinium...

Sap Nabs MBS manager.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... SAP has continued to add to its channel team, hiring Joe Carroll, most recently U.S. manager of partner recruiting and development at Microsoft Business Solutions, to join the SAP solution developer team. MBS also lost another manager when...

Microsoft launches partner program.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Microsoft has rolled out a new reseller program that is designed to enable VARs to establish their expertise and receive certification in different business areas. Called Microsoft Competences and Partner Points, the program lets Microsoft...

Businessvision 7.0 on tap.(Accounting News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Business Vision 32 Version 7.0, is expected to debut next month at the Best Software Insights reseller conference. Originally scheduled for shipment before the end of 2003, the system was shown last fall at Business Vision's reseller...

Lacerte ends Indian test.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Intuit has ended a pilot program through which support for its Lacerte Tax Software application was provided in India. The program was halted on February 9. Lacerte noted user feedback triggered the decision to return its support to...

Jackson Hewitt files S-1.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Jackson Hewitt, the tax preparation franchise, plans to go public with an offering that will separate it from the Parsippany, N.J.-based Cendant Corp. The offering documents show Jackson Hewitt had sales of $171.5 million for the year...

WK results fall.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Wolters Kluwer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Earnings revenue fell in 2003 for Wolters Kluwer, parent of CCH and Aspen Publishers, as currency issues aggravated problems in an otherwise tough market. EBITA for Legal Tax & Business North America, which encompasses CCH and Aspen, was...

Paychex expands services.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Paychex has launched a series of Web seminars regarding three of the company's Internet-based products, including its Online Payroll, General Ledger Reporting Service, and Internet Report Service. The live Payroll seminars are free and are...

IRA accepts W-2 specs.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations authorizing employees to provide copies of W-2 forms electronically, either via the Internet or email. The regulations provide employers with several ways to receive W-2s...

Intuit promotes smith.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brad Smith)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Intuit has named Brad Smith as vice president of the consumer tax business. Smith previously ran Accountants Central, which was formerly known as accountants relations, starting in February 2003, when he joined the company. In his new...

WK moves products.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Wolters Kluwer)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Wolters Kluwer has reshuffled its accounting and tax product lines as the company works to implement a reorganization from last year that split its Legal, Tax & Business North America operations into two new divisions. Those divisions are...

Selden offers upgrade price.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Selden Integrated Systems, based in Greeley, Colo., is offering practitioners a 25 percent discount if they switch from a competing estate or trust software program. Selden says that to receive the upgrade, users must provide a copy of a...

Intuit sales up.(Tax & Financial Planning News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... Sales of Intuit's Professional Accounting Software, largely its Pro Series and Lacerte tax products, rose to $163.7 million for the first six months, up 4 percent from last year's corresponding period. Increases in the second quarter were...

Show calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2004... MAY 18-19 New Jersey Business & Technology Show. Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, N.J. www.flaggmgmt.com/nj/ MAY 23-26 Best Software CPASoftware customer conference. Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa Destin, Fla....

ERP for the Masses? Grow-as-you-go enterprise functionality permeates the middle market.(enterprise resource planning)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... Pat Sigmon has heard it too many times. After outlining to a mid-market prospect how the company can benefit from automated inventory control or bar coding or customer management as part of an integrated Enterprise Resource Planning solution,...

Customer Advisory Boards: honoring your customers; CABs are helping resellers fulfill their clients' wish lists.
May 1, 2004... All resellers need counsel on what they're doing right, what they're doing wrong, and most importantly, how to stay competitive. The solution: customer advisory boards. And they're catching on as a way for resellers to tap into client wish...

A tale of two markets: the low-end market is better and worse than ever.(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2004... The accounting software market for the small-to-midsized business is getting worse and better at the same time. It's getting worse because the number of lower-end products continues to shrink, but it's getting better because the quality of the...

A passage to India: a swelling amount of 1040 data is getting offshored.
May 1, 2004... Availing itself of the CCH ProSystem fx Outsource service, Brigante Cameron Waters & Strong last year outsourced about 250 individual returns to India. This year, the Torrance, Calif.-based practice expects that number to exceed 350,...

No lack of support: revenue from maintenance and support plans is growing more important.
May 1, 2004... Anyone who has purchased an appliance at Sears knows that they have entered a long-term relationship. With regularity, telephone solicitors attempt to woo the consumer into purchasing a maintenance contract, if one was not purchased during the...

AppLink Pro SDK.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Synergy Solutions' AppLink Pro Software Developer Toolkit facilitates the delivery of any data field from the OneSource enhanced Information Warehouse, plus a variety of reports such as business summaries, contact lists, and industry reports....

Accpac ePOS 5.2.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Accpac ePOS 5.2 permits retailers to link POS registers at multiple retail locations to the head office over the Internet. Version 5.2 offers the multi-currency capabilities of the Accpac Advantage Series and can accept cash in one currency...

HROffice.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Ascentis Software's HROffice connects employees to their personal information, to HR, to their benefit providers, and to payroll. The software provides human resources management for issues such as benefits management, billing...

Cougar Mountain fixed assets.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Cougar Mountain Software has expanded its fixed assets accounting line through a partnership with Comprehensive Microsystems. The System, CMI's fixed asset software, tracks and depreciates fixed assets in accordance with accounting rules...

Syspro CRM 4.0.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... Syspro CRM 4.0 delivers reports to the desktop automatically via email, while batch jobs, such as the sending of mass emails, can be performed remotely. The system can independently handle contacts, either linked or unlinked to accounts,...

NetSuite Dashboards.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... The 20 key performance indicators and pre-configured best-practices metrics in NetSuite's Dashboards provide views on the status of all aspects of business. Performance indicators include sales on a cash, billings, and bookings basis, cash...

MAS 90 4.0.(New Products)
May 1, 2004... MAS 90 Version 4.0 incorporates The Business Insights Reporter, a wizard-based reporting tool that is now standard in the MAS 90 system. The reporter identifies the information users need from any part of the MAS 90 system. It puts the data...

Syspro: a matter of focus.(Channels)(Company Profile)
May 1, 2004... With an enterprise suite that exceeds 40 modules, Syspro USA places a premium on training. "Knowledge can only make a value-added reseller stronger," explains vice president Joey Benadretti. "This is not just about, 'Here's my product; go sell...

Internet directory.(Directory)
May 1, 2004... Practical and Innovative Resources from AccountantsWorld www.AccountantsWorld.com www.AccountantsOffice.com Join the 60,000 strong community of independent accountants. Receive the widest array of free tools, services, training,...

Paul Joinnides: Digital Strategist.(Accounting Technologist)
May 1, 2004... Paul Joinnides is a confirmed Visual AccountMate loyalist. So are others, but in recent years--and somewhat to his own surprise--he has branched into software development with the creation of a VAM add-on for order tracking. [ILLUSTRATION...

An offer you can't refuse.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... In another lifetime, I worked on the film "The Godfather (Part I)" and was a party to that famous line spoken by Marlon Brando, "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." That might have been the ultimate marketing scheme. According to...

Internet-based marketing.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Many accountants think that having a Web site, along with high placement with Internet search engines, will result in many new clients. I would like to suggest you "think again." While it is important, even vital to have a Web site today,...

Change is inevitable.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... The world of public accounting continues to evolve as firms broaden their scope of services and develop the new areas of expertise that today's business decision-makers demand. Firms now find themselves complementing their core service...

It's all in the presentation.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... I am the world's worst salesman, therefore, I must make it easy for people to buy." Those were the words of F.W. Woolworth, founder of Woolworth's back in the mid-19th Century. They still hold true today for the ability to present a marketing...

Compliment or conflict?(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Marketing and salespeople tend to be creative, outgoing, aggressive, persuasive, and quick acting. CPAs are more deliberative, cautious, and introverted. While these personalities often compliment each other's weaknesses, they often cause...

Marketing your practice online.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... In their article "A Twenty-First Century Approach to Marketing," CPAs Barry Schimel and Barry Friedman, take a look at Internet technology and the part it plays in today's marketing scheme. They write that push technology over the Internet...

How I make $1,912.00 per hour running a tax business.(Taxation)(Advertisement)
May 1, 2004... I Went From Helping In My Father's Small, Two Room Tax Office--To Building A Multi Million Dollar Tax Business With 23 Locations. And Now I'm Making Life-Changing Money... Experiencing Zero Tax Season Stress--All By Using An Amazingly Simple...

Tapping the untapped market for traditional services.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... If you ask most CPA firms about their strategy to grow their audit, accounting, and tax client base, most say it is through referrals and networking. These are great strategies to reach companies looking for a CPA firm, but what if I told you...

Integrated business performance tools.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... CCH INCORPORATED will introduce two new applications for CCH's ProSystem fx Office suite of workflow tools. ProSystem fx Practice Driver enables professionals to analyze and improve their own practices, while ProSystem fx Profit Driver makes it...

Converting complex financial numbers.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... ProfitCents is a technology platform that was developed for accountants and bankers by Sageworks. It helps financial professionals by giving them the ability to add truly unique services for their clients. ProfitCents is an expert system that...

Testing edges out the competition.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Accounting firms that are serious about growing their business must market themselves, and some of them do. But they usually skip one critical step in the process--they don't test a marketing campaign before rolling it out. How do they...

Building your practice.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2004... At Bridge21, we use QuickBooks seminars nationwide to reach about 50,000 clients annually. We deliver the class via streaming video as the local accountant stands by to offer comments about how they have helped clients use good numbers to build...

Introducing new services.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Not so long ago, the business of an accounting firm was as predictable as men's business attire. Tax preparation and audits were about as far as it went. Unfortunately, as firms have attempted to branch out into an array of related services,...

Competitive differentiators.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... What makes you or your firm different? If you don't know the answer to this question, then there's a very good chance that your clients and prospects don't either. Most firms do not do an adequate job of defining or communicating their...

The 4-step marketing plan--simple yet profitable.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Even the smallest accounting firm needs a plan for marketing its accounting services. Here is one plan that is simple, effective, and profitable. Once the plan is implemented, your staff can perform most of the marketing functions, and this...

Seven secrets to a successful marketing program.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)
May 1, 2004... Are you looking for the next big idea to strengthen your firm's marketing program? Consider implementing a few basic marketing techniques on a consistent basis to reap more favorable results. Here are seven secrets for you to keep in mind. ...

Resources abound.(Special Report--Guide to Marketing)(Brief Article)(Directory)
May 1, 2004... There are numerous associations and other organizations in the U.S. with loads of information about marketing and public relations. Here is a sampling of some of the links you may wish to visit. Associations American Marketing...

Staking a claim in CRM.(From the Editors)(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... Arguably the two most uttered acronyms within the arena of accounting technology over the past year have been CRM and SMB--often paired in the same sentence. In the current era of global competition, the problem of meeting customer demand...

Worth the effort: a large investment in a CRM practice can pay off.(Getting Started)(customer relationship management)
May 1, 2004... No one becomes expert in customer relationship management overnight, but many who have found success in CRM, either recently or over many years, find that the rewards outweigh the risks. Over the past year or so, CPAs in technology...

What the best are planning: CRM, key verticals are crucial to industry leaders.(Growth Strategies)(customer relationship management)
May 1, 2004... Top executives of the Technology Pacesetters, Accounting Today's annual survey of the leading accounting resellers, know that business will not be coming to them in the same way that it did during the early years of accounting software...

Internet Directory: the tax and accounting community's Internet Directory.
May 1, 2004... Creative Solutions www.creativesolutions.com Creative Solutions offers a complete line of seamlessly integrated write-up, payroll, trial balance/audit, client accounting, depreciation, tax, tax planning, and practice management...

Going downscale: Siebel pushes its CRM product into the SMB market.(Vendor Focus)(customer relationship management)
May 1, 2004... SAN MATEO, CALIF. -- Siebel Systems Inc. has long been a dominant force in customer relationship management software used by larger businesses. But with the launch of a modestly priced, hosted CRM product--Siebel CRM OnDemand--the company...

Great Tax[TM].(Tax Preparation Software)
May 1, 2004... Premium features without a premium price tag. Great Tax is a complete, professional tax preparation package for federal, state, individual and business returns. Easy data conversions from many popular tax programs, and a selection of specially...

Accountant's Office Online from AccountantsWorld.(Web Site)
May 1, 2004... Using the unprecedented power of the Internet, Accountant's Office Online is the only fully customizable website and online accounting office that lets you manage and grow your practice, get new clients, and improve your bottom line faster and...

Life is like a bowl of cherries when you work with TaxWorks!(Tax Preparation Software)
May 1, 2004... Is the hardest part of Tax Season paying for next years software renewal? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Maybe it's time to switch? The TaxWorks Transition Team can make switching to TaxWorks a breeze. You will save thousands of dollars over...

WebCPA.com.(Web Site)
May 1, 2004... WebCPA is the premiere Internet resource for tax and accounting professionals. WebCPA offers you the profession's only source for daily news written exclusively by accounting editors. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] www.webepa.com

NetClient[TM].(Firm Portals)
May 1, 2004... NetClient[TM] -- NetClient private client portals enable you to provide communication and services to clients anytime-anywhere via your firm's website. Employing secure portal technology, NetClient allows you to give clients access to their...

SuperForm[TM] Sales Tax Rates/Forms.(Tax Forms Software)
May 1, 2004... Is checking and confirming rates difficult on your billing system? SuperForm[TM] Sales Tax Rates/Forms helps you compute the correct tax liability effortlessly for every U.S. taxing jurisdiction. It gives you all the tools you need to get the...

BNA Estate & Gift Tax[TM] Planner & 706/709 Preparers.(Estate & Gift Tax Planning/Prep)
May 1, 2004... Professional planners turn to the most trusted name in the business, BNA Software, for three powerful estate and gift tax solutions: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] * BNA Estate & Gift Tax Planner -- create custom plans for your clients'...

There's no better choice!(CD-Rom Tax Forms)
May 1, 2004... Filing is fast and easy with SuperForm[TM] Tax Forms, the definitive source for up-to-date, government-approved forms and official instructions for all types of tax. Installs in minutes and runs hassle free--no learning curve to master. ...

Creative Solutions Practice[TM] (CSP).(Practice Management)
May 1, 2004... Creative Solutions Practice[TM] (CSP) -- is a fully integrated suite of practice management products to help you manage your firm with optimum efficiency. Flexible and powerful data analysis capabilities enable you to capture and invoice all...

Payroll Relief AC from AccountantsWorld.(Payroll)
May 1, 2004... Payroll Relief AC is the only "Accountant-Centric" payroll solution that lets offer highly profitable, hassle-free payroll services to clients. We give you complete access to our secure, full-service, state-of-the-art online processing center....

Buying or selling your accounting or tax practice?(Buy or Sell a Practice)
May 1, 2004... CPA Transitions provides a national marketplace for the purchase and sale of accounting practices. Using a confidential, high-tech listing service, you maximize your ability to find the buyer or seller you are seeking. Our services include...

WinFiler.(W2/1099 Filing)
May 1, 2004... WinFiler wage reporting software quickly generates W-2 and 1099 forms, federal quarterly reports and wage forms for 44 states, plus correction and transmittal forms. Easily manage information with WinFiler's flexible data entry, printing...

Filetaxes.com.(W2/1099 Filing)
May 1, 2004... IRS-approved electronic filing of W2, 1099 and 941 forms online. Simply enter data on-screen and submit to our secure server. An Email confirmation is sent to verify forms have been received for processing. Perfect for servicing your small...

The Inside View.(Industry Insight)
May 1, 2004... For insight, analysis, wit and commentary from the editors of WebCPA, Accounting Technology, Accounting Today, CPA Wealth Provider and Practical Accountant, visit the Inside View on WebCPA--daily columns from the foremost commentators on the...

LedgerMaster Client Write-Up Software--no annual fees!(Client Write-Up)
May 1, 2004... SINGLE-USER $950. NETWORK $1425. LedgerMaster has been used by thousands of CPA's with hundreds of thousands of clients-since 1982. * Windows 98/NT and later * Integrates with Word and Excel * Integrated ATF Payroll *...

Engagement Solution[TM].(Paperless Engagement Software)
May 1, 2004... Engagement Solution[TM] -- a comprehensive engagement management system designed to handle your most complex engagements from start to finish and the ideal tool to move your firm easily into paperless processing. Engagement Solution supports a...

Growing pains: Intuit's CRM bid still has plenty of ground to cover.(Vendor Focus)
May 1, 2004... MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. -- With a name like QuickBooks, one would think that even a new offering in the customer and client management space could guarantee a competitive edge. But Intuit Inc. may find that it has much ground to cover if it wants...

Write-up ... that makes you money!(Client Write-Up Software)
May 1, 2004... General Ledger processing has never been more versatile! Axcent's speed and ease translates into a profitable write-up business for you. * Extremely fast processing * Process any type client including not-for-profits. Any chart of...

Accounting Technology.com.(Web Site)
May 1, 2004... Articles from the premier publication covering the accountant's world of technology tools. It addresses the use of technology within an accounting practice; and technology products and services that are delivered to the clients of accountants....