Accounting Technology articles from October 2005

Accounting Technology archives from October 2005

The Air At the Low End.(software industries competing to develop low-cost accounting software )
October 1, 2005... Now the battle has begun-the battle for command of the low-cost accounting software market. The battle really started months ago since there was nothing too secret about the launch of Microsoft's Small Business Accounting package, except...

Tax, Tax, and Tax.(tax preparation services market and trends)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... That headline may describe how many people feel about federal and state governments-there's no end to the number and amount of taxes. But it also sums up this special Tax Edition of Accounting Technology. The usual broad line up of feature...

Need Insights?
October 1, 2005... Editor Robert Scott also writes "Consulting Insights," a free, twice-monthly electronic newsletter that addresses issues concerning the consulting and reselling market. It's insight with an attitude. If you want to subscribe, you can do so at...

Street Talk: Reader Views.(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to use which software for its information management problems)
October 1, 2005... An effort to link the member databases of the AICPA (which uses an Oracle system) with those of 50 state societies has stalled because of integration problems. About half of the state societies use the Custom Data Systems' Association...

Show Calendar.
October 1, 2005... October 2-5 Exact Engage user conference. Exact Software. Hilton Chicago. www.exactamerica.com October 6-8 The Partner Channel. The Partner Event, reseller conference. Civic Center, Fargo, N.D....

Practice Development News.(Howard Diamond appointed at ePartners Inc.)(Century Business Services Inc. changes its name to CBiz)(Trey Industries Inc. hires Thornhill Capital for financial advices)
October 1, 2005... DUFFY OUT AT EPARTNERS Chairman Howard Diamond has taken over the position of CEO at ePartners as the national reselling firm raised a new round of funds and revamped its management team. Diamond assumes the position vacated by Dan...

Accounting News.(Kintera Inc. will cut 10 percent of its staff)(Sage Software Inc. (Irvine, California) hires John Bartz)(Netsuite Development Corp. hires Kimberly Graham)
October 1, 2005... KINTERA CUTS STAFF Kintera, which markets the FundWare line of not-for-profit accounting software, says that it will cut 10 percent of its staff, following the announcement that it lost $10.2 million for the second quarter ended June 30,...

Tax & Financial Planning News.
October 1, 2005... CCH PLANS FOR GLOBAL PLATFORM CCH Tax and Accounting is engaged in a multi-year rollout for a global platform that is being implemented by its parent, Wolters Kluwer, which is based in the Netherlands. The platform, already being...

Next Year's Software.
October 1, 2005... This could be the year of the small firm in tax preparation; the year in which the non-CPA professional gets more attention; the year in which the outlines of a market that has been consolidating over the last few years becomes clearer in terms...

ATX: ATX simplified its tax preparation lineup, reducing the number of packages.
October 1, 2005... In a move to bring the best value to its 55,000 customers, ATX simplified its tax preparation product line. ATX now has five primary tax preparation packages. Five is simpler? The company says yes - that in the past, it had a wide array of...

CCH: Integration among CCH products continues to increase.(CCH Computax Inc. enhanced its ProSystem fx)
October 1, 2005... Ease of use is still a big concern for CCH during tax season 2005. Last year, the company introduced the worksheet interface for ProSystem fx Tax, to allow users to input data directly onto worksheets and consolidate the information...

Thomson Creative Solutions: CSI sees increased interest in its Web-based products.(Creative Solutions Inc. (Dexter, Michigan introducing its UltraTax 1040 Portals)
October 1, 2005... For Creative Solutions, the goal for the upcoming tax season is simple: to make it easier for the 19,000 firms using UltraTax to complete tasks for a number of clients. The company says its UltraTax 1040 Portals are helping to do just...

Drake Software: The client status manager tracks a variety of data.
October 1, 2005... Planning and paper rank among the major issues Drake Software is addressing in its 2005 tax software, as it adds fresh features to attract new prospects. In the planning area, Drake is adding a tax planner to provide multi-year planning...

Greatland: Great Tax's support adds value to its flexibility.
October 1, 2005... Security is on the mind of Greatland, the company that markets the Great Tax line of tax prep software. On the list of enhancements for 2005 are software encryption of files and controlled access to users' sites. The encryption is being...

Intuit ProSeries: Intuit has designed new features to shave time off return preparation.
October 1, 2005... Intuit's goal with this tax season's edition of Pro-Series is to save professionals one minute on each return, rather than seconds on just a few. "We want our preparers who offer both tax and accounting services to spend as little time on...

Lacerte: Lacerte is enabling professionals to reuse data that has already been entered in the program.(Lacerte Software Inc.)
October 1, 2005... Simplification is key for Lacerte this tax season. And the company has three areas in which it is focusing. The first initiative for the upcoming tax season is to continue to make the product easy to use for its 40,000 users. "We want our...

Orrtax: Orrtax continues to make it easier for central offices to manage remote sites.(Orrtax Software Inc. enhances IntelliTax Classic and IntelliTax for Windows software)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Arranging daily transmission of returns for efiling can be a headache for office managers. That's why Orrtax has added a schedule feature to its IntelliManager that enables users of its IntelliTax Classic and IntelliTax for Windows software to...

Petz Enterprises: Petz has given users dashboards for better control over its tax software.(called V-Tax)
October 1, 2005... Tax preparation companies that have multiple offices need to be on watch. Petz Enterprises says the dashboard in the 2005 version of its V-Tax tax software helps them be vigilant. "The dashboard shows information on all offices and all...

RIA: Integration is key in RIA's continued push to streamline tax preparation returns and improve accuracy.
October 1, 2005... Links between GoSystem Tax RS and document management applications are at the top of the list of what tax preparers want, according to RIA's annual survey of its tax preparation users. The survey found that professional tax preparers are...

TaxSimple: Saving users time is the bottomline for TaxSimple.
October 1, 2005... With its full line of individual and business software available online, the features of TaxSimple tax preparation packages are intended to increase both CD and Internet users' productivity. To enhance user flexibility, TaxSimple's programs...

TaxWise: The company has reduced its pricing 30 percent to compete in a crowded field.(Universal Tax Systems Inc.)
October 1, 2005... While adding more tools to its integrated tax software package, TaxWise has dropped the cost of its basic 1040 tax preparation software and renewal price to $695 this year from $995 a year ago. "This is a very competitive category," says...

TaxWorks: TaxWorks is expanding its product line beyond tax preparation software.(Laser Systems Inc. (Kaysville, Utah))
October 1, 2005... TaxWorks' big effort this year does not directly involve its tax preparation software of the same name. But its addition of an integrated accounting/write-up product, eGL Works, will make tax preparation easier. The company released the...

Sorting Out Data: A new generation of software presents wide capabilities.
October 1, 2005... Data analysis is a relatively new field, built on the power of database mapping and data mining. Most of the leading software and Web solutions in this field have been in existence a very short period-five to six years-and there is still no...

New Products.
October 1, 2005... FRONTLINE SYSTEMS SDK Frontline Systems' Solver Platform Software Development Kit provides an alternative to developing spreadsheets, enabling developers to write simulation applications for the Frontline software suite. All of...

Avalara: Easy Money for Resellers?
October 1, 2005... The margins offered by Avalara's Infinity Partner Program may not be as large as those given for selling accounting software. But Avalara believes the monthly commission that resellers can earn when their customers buy the sales and use tax...

Advertisers' Index October 2005.
October 1, 2005... Advertiser Advertiser on page ADP 41,43,45 Avalara 49 CCH Cov. 4 Caseware 47 Creative Solutions ...

Coe: A Player On and Off-Shore.(Coe & Co. and its growth)
October 1, 2005... Using accounting software to assist the Port of New Orleans in tracking thousands of vessels and their cargos, helps keeps Coe & Co. afloat. And helping bayou-based industries has done more than just keep the firm ahead of most resellters....

It's a Family Affair.(family business and their management)
October 1, 2005... A family is a unit composed not only of children but also of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold...Ogden Nash, U.S. humorist & poet Our cover story this issue revolves around three generations of financial planners...all...

Asset Builders.
October 1, 2005... Fidelity Charitable Tops $5 Billion Mark The Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the nation's number 1 grant maker among donor-advised fund programs, has surpassed $5 billion in grants recommended by its donors to more than 88,000 IRS-approved...

Practice Growth.(rich people and their personal finance management)(Pension plans in United States and United Kingdom)(Investor Group's forecasts their earnings)
October 1, 2005... Wealthy Also Have Many Problems A new study from PNC Advisors, the wealth management arm of the PNC Financial Services Group, points out that managing wealth has become a family matter with parallels to managing a business. In an extensive...

Partners.(Financial Planning Association partnered with Ultimate Gift Experience)(AdviceAmerica partnered with Albridge Solutions)(Weiser LLP merged with Weiner, Dailey, Katz & Co.)
October 1, 2005... FPA Partnering with TUGX The Financial Planning Association and the Ultimate Gift Experience has an agreement in place to create a working relationship that would enable the two organizations to explore the development of new services and...

Tech Tools.(integrated accounting software)
October 1, 2005... Developing Forecasts With New Horizon Technologies' PlanGuru, users can develop forecasts, projections and budgets for up to five years. It automatically creates an integrated balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow without having...

Regulatory Watch.(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission makes easy for investors to report their documents)(Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Small Firms Association partner to provide guidance to corporate directors)(Federal Trade Commission law for financial services)
October 1, 2005... XBRL Extends to Investment Companies The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says that it has expanded its voluntary program to make it easier to for investors and others to use disclosure documents filed with the Commission. This...

Family Ties.(O'Malley & O'Malley management with family accountants)
October 1, 2005... Six decades ago, William J. O'Malley, Jr. hung out his shingle as a public accountant. He was a sole proprietor. Since then, his son, Charles, a CPA, has succeeded him as managing partner and it became O'Malley & O'Malley. If they wanted to, it...

O'Malley's Own Succession Planning.(family owned businesses)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2005... Mariette, in addition to being a CPA, also has a J.D. (Tax), and is a teaching Certified Financial Planner. She now handles most of the firm's tax and planning issues, while brother David, a CPA, is running the accounting and business side of...

Doing it Right.(Charles K. O'Malley manages O'Malley & O'Malley )
October 1, 2005... Charles K. O'Malley, managing partner of O'Malley & O'Malley in Cinnaminson, N.J., points to a number of case studies to represent what his firm does. * A Family Farm The father and mother owned the land, and the father, mother, son,...

Helping Surviving Spouses.
October 1, 2005... Does a client ever face more difficult decisions while less able to think clearly than when a spouse has just died? A multitude of unremitting financial issues awaits survivors, including locating policies and important papers, re-titling...

Paper, Paper, Paper.
October 1, 2005... Below, in their order of importance, is a list of documents that should be located and analyzed. * Wills or trusts * Health insurance policies * Most recent income tax return * Name (and address if available) of...

Five Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make.
October 1, 2005... Part of the great American dream of many people is to own their own business. What must people do to become a successful entrepreneur? The answer is quite a challenge for people to start and run successful businesses doing everything you can...

Broadening Your Services.
October 1, 2005... Many CPAs today are looking to broaden the services they offer to clients. According to the Tiburon Strategic Advisors Report, "A Synopsis of the CPA Industry & Highlights of their Models for Entering the Investment Business," almost 40 percent...

Making the Most of Your 401(k).
October 1, 2005... Everything in life involves risk, and investing for retirement is certainly no exception. Knowing how much risk you're comfortable with can go a long way to preventing sleepless nights and uncertainty during volatile markets. Debt Free ...

3rd Annual Financial Planning Awards: Call for Nominations.
October 1, 2005... Nominations are now open for CPA Wealth Provider's Third Annual Financial Planning Awards in the following categories: CPA/Financial Planning Firms Broker/Dealers Financial Planning Software Vendors Winners are those firms or...