Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/200952
FROM THE TRENCHES this area because many of the products allow for mobile use of QuickB ook s , i nte g r ate appl ic at ion s together, provide reporting, or solve a specifc problem related to small business accounting and/or QuickBook s. Ma ny of t hese apps a re mobilized to work from a phone or tablet. Note that you don't have to take a lot of items with you to use most of these apps. Document Management in the Cloud is another example of an app that can r un acceptably f rom a smartphone or a tablet. If you want to review a few documents from GoFileRoom or SmartVault, it is fairly effective to look these up on your tablet, probably a little less efective on your smartphone, and not too bad on a phablet. If your intent is to have access to a collection of applications and some documents to support them, document management in the cloud might be an option for you. Workfow products like XCM have updated their products to be optimized for cell phones to allow managers and partners to approve workfow from a cell phone. Tis gives you the opportunity to keep work moving while you are waiting in a line or for an appointment. Note that the size of your portable device may determine how efective working with documents in the cloud are for you. Time and Billing systems may make sense to have mobilized and they may not. If you have people that constantly work out of the office, logging the start and finish of a project may help you capture billable approve work, want to see the status of an engagement, desire to record expenses or time, a mobile app may be just the thing to keep you efective and efcient. Tomson's Mobile CS app is a good e x a mple of t h is. Depending on your style and use of time and billing systems, mobile technology may apply in a big way or not at all. So Can We Lose Weight? Look at what you take with you today. Tink about your last 90 days or so. Have you been caught out of the THE KEY TO USING MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IS NOT WHAT I THINK WORKS, BUT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM. information that would be less conven ient to capt u re i f t he tea m member had to return to the ofce. On the other hand, if your focus is around projects completed in the ofce, there is marginal value to having your time and billing system mobilized. But just like XCM, if you need to of f ice w it hout somet h i ng you needed? We don't want to "be prepared" for all situations like the scouts, but simply don't want you to waste time and have sufcient tools for most situations. Do you carry chargers and other products "just in case"? Perhaps buying a charger for your home, keeping a universal charger in your car and keeping the original charger at the ofce would solve this issue, eliminating all of these products being carried. The bigger issue might be an analysis of the situations where a tablet can be used, and where would a computer be more appropriate? U ltraBook computers are much lighter than traditional notebooks and most weigh about the same as an iPad with a keyboard. Te Microsof Surface Pro is seeing notable adoption among professionals who want all the functions of a computer and the ability to run Windows applications in a tablet format. A Surface Pro provides a comparable sized screen to a large tablet and is much thinner and lighter than an iPad with a keyboard. When I sit in meet i ngs w it h t houg ht leaders around the country I note how many UltraBooks and Microsof Surface units are in use, and how few iPads with keyboards are in use. W hen asked why, universally the response is that the product does ALL the jobs they need, and eliminated carrying multiple devices. In so many words, they have lost weight! Should you consider losing weight before the new year? November 2013 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 15