Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/643338
10 February 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com Payroll Insight: Payroll is the largest cate- gory in each year's Readers' Choice Awards, and in our annual review of payroll systems. As many frms have t a ken bac k t hei r c l ient s' pay rol l functions from third-party compa- nies, they turn to professional sys- tems that help them manage mul- t iple bu s i ne s s ent it ie s w it h a ny number of employees. Most payroll systems have moved to the cloud in recent years, which means they are always up-to-date and the processes a re ver y s t rea m l i ned . T he mos t popular programs this year were: WINNER: INTUIT QUICKBOOKS PAYROLL, ENHANCED PAYROLL & FULL SERVICE PAYROLL Runners Up: • Paychex • Tomson Reuters Accounting CS Payroll or myPay • Run Payroll Powered by ADP • AMS 1099-Etc A-T-F Payroll • Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll) • PC Sofware Accounting Inc. • AccountantsWorld Payroll Relief Business Valuation Insight: Professionals ofer valua- tion ser v ices to clients when pre- paring for the sale or transfer of a business, for litigation, lending and other purposes. A specialty niche, this category drew votes from about 10 percent of our voters. WINNER: VALUSOURCE EXPRESS BUSINESS VALUATION Runners Up: • NACVA Business Valuation Manager Pro • MoneySof DealSense Plus & Corp. Valuation Professional Practice Management/Time & Billing Systems Insight: Practice management and billing systems is the second largest category in the awards, with many products ofering a range of capabili- ties for managing modern ta x and accounting frms. Tese range from s y stem s w it h e x tensive tool s for digging deep into frm productivity and analytics, to basic time-keeping f unctions. A s w ith our rev iews of these systems, we've divided them into two categories this year. PRACTICE MANAGEMENT WINNER: THOMSON REUTERS PRACTICE CS Runners Up: • Wolters Kluwer CCH Axcess or CCH ProSystem fx Practice Mgmt. • TaxWorkFlow • AccountantsWorld Practice Relief TIME & BILLING WINNER: OFFICE TOOLS WORKSPACE Runners Up: • Sage Timeslips • TSheets • TPS Sofware Time & Billing • ImagineTime • BQE BillQuick Online Invoicing/Bill Payment Solutions Insight: With an increasing number of small businesses and accounting f i r ms mov i ng to cloud solut ions, many are seeking ways to streamline invoicing and online bill payment. WINNER: INTUIT PAYMENTS Runners Up: • PayPal • Bill.com • Xero • Sage Payments • Bill&Pay; • FreshBooks Client Portals Insight: We have come a long way since the days when clients brought in shoeboxes of receipts and a foppy d i s k w it h t he i r d a t a f i le s on it . (Hopefully you aren't experiencing t h i s a n y m o r e .) M o d e r n c l i e n t communication is all electronic, and it makes sense that sharing data and fles is, too. WINNER: EFILECABINET SECURE DRAWER Runners Up: • Tomson Reuters NetClient CS Portals • Citrix ShareFile • SmartVault • Ofce Tools Document Management & Document Storage Insight: Document management a nd storage s y stem s ra nge f rom ba sic elec t ron ic f i le c abi net s, to a d v a nc e d s y s t e m s t h a t i nc l u d e robust cl ient col laborat ion tools, archiving, retention functions and multi-worker productivity features. WINNER: DRAKE DOCUMENT MANAGER OUT-OF-OFFICE Favorite Form of Physical Exercise During Tax Season Insight: Most of us know that we could lose a few pounds or get into beter shape in other aspects. During the 12+ hour days of tax season, though, how do professionals fnd the time? Te top responses: WINNER: "WHO HAS TIME TO EXERCISE?" • Jogging/Running • Weightlifing • Jumping to Conclusions New Technologies for Professional Firms Do you use smartphone or tablet apps designed specifcally for tax and accounting professionals? How "remote" are you? How many hours per week do you work on client engagements or frm business while away from the ofce (at a client, at home or any where else)? 1. "My ofce is my home:" 33% 2. Less than 1 hour: 21% 3. Between 1-4 hours: 16% 4. Between 5-9 hours: 10% 5. Between 10-14 hours: 6% 6. 15+ hours per week: 14% How "social" are you? W hich social media tools do you use in conjunction with your work? 21% 30% 28% 10.2% 10% 8% 3.7% 4.5% 3.5% 2% 79% (UP FROM APX 19% IN 2015) 33% 21% 16% 10% 6% 14% O TH ERS