Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/696186
FEATURE June 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 5 Te winners and fnalists for the 13th annual Ta x & Accounting Technolog y Innovation Awards refect this focus on work fow and automation, which allow frms and their small business clients to oper- ate more efciently and proftably. Te 2016 awards were presented in June by CPA Practice Advisor dur- ing a reception and ceremony at the California Accounting and Business Show & Conference in Los A ngeles. Te Innovation Awards were frst presented in 2004, and honor new or recently enhanced technologies that beneft tax and accounting pro- fessionals and their clients through improved work fow, increased acces - sibility, enhanced collaboration, or other means. "We are constantly seeking new technologies that can beneft tax and accounting professionals, and their clients" said CPA Practice Advisor Editor-in-Chief Gail Perry, CPA. "As the profession continues to embrace new work fows and processes that optimize the potentials of these technologies, frms are improving their efciency and focusing their practices on more proftable service oferings that, at the same time, are more benefcial to the small busi- nesses that rely on them for advice and strategy." Perry also manages a tax practice and is the author of more than 30 books, including Mint.com for Dummies, and Idiot 's Guide to Introductory Accounting. 2016 INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS AVALARA TRUSTFILE TrustFile is a sales and use tax com- pliance system for small businesses. Te cloud-based system, which can be used for fling to a single state or several, stays automatically updated with the latest sales tax rates in every state and local jurisdiction in the country, and also maintains special taxability rules, sales tax holidays, forms and other requirements. TrustFile also ofers integration with dozens of the most popular online sales platforms, such as eBay, Etsy, Shopify, Woo and A mazon, and also with small business accounting systems, including Quick Book s and Xero, Tis makes the system a great ft for ecommerce businesses, providing simple automation and streamlined fling. BILL.COM iPHONE APP The new Bill.com app for iOS (designed for mobile Apple devices) makes paying and receiving business payments simple. Small businesses ow ners and managers can now approve and pay all of their bills in one place, even when they are on the go, and in half the time it used to take. Te Bill.com for iPhone app includes management tools that let users securely access their bills and online payment histories, rev iew detailed statement information, and approve and make payments. Mobile features include the abil- ity to capture and enter bills by tak ing a picture with the phone's camera, while automated notifca- tions remind users of bill payments that are due. Payment amounts and bank account data can be adjusted on-the-fy. For payment acceptance, the system makes it easy to keep track of open invoices, ofers access to invoice and customer details, and alerts notif y the user when a pay- ment has been received. RIVIO CLEARINGHOUSE, FROM CPA.COM AND CONFIRMATION.COM R IV IO is an online fnancial docu- ment clearinghouse that enables private businesses to exchange key f inancial information w ith their investors and lenders as well as retrieve information from their CPA frm, ensuring data is submit- ted from an authenticated source. A vital tool for fnancial audits and fnancial statement generation, the R IV IO system (Repository of Intel- ligent Validated Inputs and Out- puts) serves as secure portal where accountants can upload statements, tax returns, and other information, afer which their client companies can give permission for access, and then third party stakeholders (fnan- cial institutions, lenders, etc.) can download the information with the assurance that it is legitimate data from the CPA frm, and has not been altered. Additionally, R IV IO prov ides a validation process to verif y that CPA frms leveraging the clearinghouse, are appropriately licensed to upload atested fnancial information. SAFESEND RETURNS, FROM CPAPERLESS SafeSend makes it easy to securely share sensitive documents w ith clients, and for them to send simi- lar documents to their accounting frm, and in the format that 70% of ta xpayer clients want: Via Secure Email. Te SafeSend system includes a client portal, fle sharing and auto- mated PDF encr y ption in a single application, making it possible for accounting professionals to stay compliant w ith state and federal privacy laws, while simplif ying the client collaboration process. SafeSend can be used to transfer or share any type of fle, including large Quick Books fles, and includes document storage f unctions and client fle sharing tools. Te sys- tem also includes several unique features, such as: Advanced Q&A; authentication instead of passwords; Access to the portal from within Outlook; E-signature f unctions; and Automatic PDF conversion and encryption. SAGE VIEW Sage View prov ides accounting professionals with a simple way to turn data into actionable advice, mak ing them more valued fnan- cial advisors which leads to greater success for their clients. Te system ofers a powerful array of features, including current Key Performance Indicators (K PIs), trends, analyses, alerts, and reports, that give accoun- tants the real-time information they need to monitor the fnancial health of business clients and advise them on opportunities as well as identif y potential concerns and take strategic action. Sage View automatically gath- ers client data from the business' 2016 Innovation Awards Highlight Tools for Automation, Collaboration and Insight By Isaac M. O'Bannon, Managing Editor A s accounting firms increasingly rely on cloud-based technologies and services, they are also seeking tools that can help them optimize their workfow and streamline and automate client services.