Friday, April 11, 2014

Top 5 Cloud Accounting Software Applications / Next Generation Small Business Accounting Software / Monchilla, Intacct, FinancialForce, Freshbooks, Quickbooks Online

Glenn Tyndall for About.com writes:  The future of small business software is in cloud computing, and this fact is no different for small business accounting software. Dan Wernikoff, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Financial Management Solutions division, said that QuickBooks Online products are growing at a rate of 28% per year, according to an August 2012 press release from Intuit. Given the rising popularity of cloud computing applications, we have identified the top 5 small business accounting software programs for you.
 
#5 Monchilla
Monchilla is a online accounting software that lets you track revenues, expenses, and payroll. Monchilla lets you estimate your revenue and expenses by entering recurring invoices and estimates, which is its defining feature that makes it different than other small business accounting software applications. Monchilla does not come with a lot of other features and capabilities, so it is probably a good choice for freelances, independent contractors, or small service-based businesses with limited accounting needs.
  
#4 Intacct 
Intacct has a suite of financial management applications for various accounting functions, including inventory management, vendor management, and financial reporting. Intacct has more than 7,000 customers and does offer a free trial for new users so they can try the software before they use it. Intacct also lets you customize your dashboard so you can quickly access information and reports that you need on a daily basis to help save you time.

#3 FinancialForce.com
FinancialForce.com is a sister software developed by the makers of SalesForce.com. FinancialForce.com is a full-fledged accounting software application, but it is designed to be integrated with the sales and customer management features of SalesForce.com. Small business owners who are in saes-oriented business, the ability to integrate their accounting and customer management software seamlessly may be of interest.

#2 Freshbooks
Freshbooks includes accounting software modules for tracking revenues, expenses, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and employee hours. FreshBooks is not as popular as QuickBooks Online, but it does have more than 5 million users, including more than 1,500 professional accountants.  FreshBooks is a good choice for small business owners who are on the go and want to access their accounting software on their mobile devices because FreshBooks comes with mobile applications for Apple iOS as well as other smart phone and table operating systems.

#1 QuickBooks Online 
QuickBooks Online is perhaps the leader in the small business cloud accounting software marketplace. You probably are not surprised by that as a small business owner since you have probably found that QuickBooks products tend to dominate the small business accounting software market. As with the traditional desktop versions, QuickBooks Online is easy-to-use and has same look and feel as the other versions of QuickBooks. If you have used any QuickBooks product, then the transition to this QuickBooks Online should be an easy one because you will only be accessing the software on a different platform – that is, an online one.
Posted on 11:02 AM | Categories:

ProfitBooks – An Amazingly Simple Online Accounting Software Made For India

Suhasini Dudhwewala, Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretory, and work for Salud Care (I) Pvt. Ltd. . for SoftwareSuggest writes: Imagine a marketing expert struggling with his income-expense statement or an accountant messed up in inventory management. Again, imagine  a small startup in need to appoint a 15 lac accountant to manage its books or the CFO of a big MNC tangled in a web of daily accounting work and unable to serve the international customers.

All seem a do or die situation!!
To avoid ending up in such scenario the Nextwave Technologies team came up with an idea that gave birth to ProfitBooks.net.

ProfitBooks, an amazingly simple online accounting application, helps you to store, manage or access your financial data on mobile, tablet, laptop or any internet enabled device, anytime anywhere. Made by a team of dedicated professionals, including Harshal Katre and Naveen who are the technocrats behind the concept while CA Amit Mahalle and CA Mohnish Katre give the software a customer viewpoint, ProfitBooks helps the business owner in earning what is needed most that is “profit”.
profitbooks-logo-61785b7f7388a915bea5c82371e8c3eeIn today’s dynamic world or the online world as we call it, a desktop based accounting application just does not serve the purpose. Moreover, multitasking is the key to success and the same is true for software. One needs an accounting software which is capable of performing inventory management to task management, as well as accounting tasks! Hence ProfitBooks provides a product performing diverse yet synchronized functions like  invoicing, payroll processing and management, task management, expense tracking, managing bank transactions and last but not the least complete accounting and in depth reporting.

“Simplicity is complexity placed in order”- this is what drives ProfitBooks. Hence it beautifully incorporates task management into the product without creating any kind of complexity in the product. By various features like Timesheets, Manage Tasks, the software helps collaboration in the entire organization. Thus assigning specific roles to different users ProfitBooks aims in optimum utilization of the companies’ resources, thus serving a much wider role that just an accounting application.

Imagine an accounting software managing expenses as well, suggesting methods to improve profitability. The concept is no more an imagination, but present in the form of ProfitBooks. Among many other remarkable features, it helps us to know the highest margin product, track slow moving items, lower wastages etc. hence the name itself proves its purpose, “turning books into profit”- ProfitBooks!

Significantly built on user feedback, ProfitBooks provide SMEs with a “one business one app” product
Profit Books
and is in the process to add CRM as well to the services. Having a 256 bit encryption of data security this product is here to help make business operations simpler, secure and more efficient.

Cloud accounting, the most dynamic feature, helps the user in management of its books with ease from any part of the world at any time of the day. Thus giving a flexible working environment. As correctly suggested by the team, “When accounting will come online, we cannot look it as just stand alone desktop application moved to the cloud. Its success lies in naturally linking it to every other system that the business uses. It’s high time we have to take Accounting from that typical desktop application to the Future where it belongs. That’s what we are doing at ProfitBooks.”

To sum it all, with a strong customer service and an economical plan, ProfitBooks is emerging to be a one in all and all in one software for an accountant or entrepreneur to help “add profit to their books”.

You can learn more about ProfitBooks form the SoftwareSuggest.com. Here is the link- ProfitBooks.
Posted on 11:02 AM | Categories:

How To Choose Tax-Wise Accounts / a tax management technique where an investor places the most tax-efficient investments in the least tax-efficient account type and vice versa to reduce near-term taxes...

Rick Ferri for ETF.com writes: I’m often asked what I think about asset location strategies. This is a tax management technique where an investor places the most tax-efficient investments in the least tax-efficient account type and vice versa to reduce near-term taxes. There are advantages and disadvantages to this strategy. I believe whether you choose to do this or not is a matter of preference rather than substance.

An example of tax location would be to put common stock index funds and exchange-traded funds in a taxable account. This is because those investments have little portfolio turnover and distribute only small capital gains annually, if any. Dividends distributions would be taxable, although at a lower rate than ordinary income.

In contrast, taxable bonds, REIT index funds and most alternative investments would go into a nontaxable account such as a Roth IRA, or a tax-deferred account such as a rollover or contributory IRA. This shields the ordinary income that’s generated by these investments from being taxed as income.

This strategy sounds correct on the surface and it’s often heralded in the media as a smart way to invest. I agree with the concept in general, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t drawbacks. Here are some of the problems I see with asset location for tax purposes:
  1. Tax-favored account capacity: you may not have enough room in your nontaxable or tax-deferred accounts to accommodate enough bonds to have the overall asset allocation that you desire.
  2.  
  3. Taxable account capacity: the same limited-capacity issue may occur in your taxable accounts and the amount of stocks you wish to own.
  4. The choice may not be yours: your employer-sponsored 401(k) may have poor bond choices and good stock fund choices, or there may not be any REITs available.
  5. Accounting across accounts: maintaining a portfolio to a target asset allocation becomes more difficult when you’re monitoring an allocation across several accounts rather than the same allocation among accounts.
  6. Rebalancing across accounts: rebalancing a portfolio becomes more difficult when several adjustments need to be made across different account types. Settlement dates may be different, or you may be restricted on when you can trade one account versus another.
  7. Tax rates in the future cannot be known: the tax strategies we employ today tend to be focused on the situation today rather than in the future. A tax-saving strategy today might cost more in taxes than anticipated as your tax rates changes in the future.
  8. Liquidity becomes expensive: your situation is bound to change over the years as your life changes. There may be a time you need liquidity to buy a home or for another purpose and you find yourself selling the only thing you have in your personal account—stocks. This could mean paying a lot in capital gains taxes when you need the most liquidity.
The alternative to an asset location strategy across accounts is to hold the same asset allocation among accounts. Assuming you have one taxable and one nontaxable account of the same value, you would hold the same asset allocation in both accounts.

Holding the same allocation among accounts may not appear to be the most sensible solution in the short term, but it is easier to maintain than an asset location strategy and it might provide the best long-term tax solution if you find the need for liquidity.

Perhaps the best strategy is a little of both. I have some bonds in my taxable account and some stocks in my retirement account. The bonds in my taxable account are municipal bond funds, so this keeps my taxes low. The stocks in my retirement accounts tend to be REITs and value funds that pay higher dividends, so this helps with taxes also. In general, I’m not locked into one strategy over the other.

I believe, for most people, this debate is more of a talking point than a substantial decision to do one or the other. Asset location across accounts makes sense sometimes depending on the situation—but so does asset allocation among accounts. It may help to do one or the other based on your unique situation, but my hunch is that, for most people, the tax savings all come out in the wash over time.

You can follow the author Rick Ferri on Twitter Here.
Posted on 11:01 AM | Categories:

5 Worthy Cloud-Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business

Daniel Price for MakeUsOf.com writes: Whether you created your own online business or you work in the finance department of another SME, you will be aware that cloud-based accounting has taken off in the last 18 months.

Whilst managing the finances of a small or medium enterprise (SME) used to be fraught with difficulties, the migration of businesses onto cloud-based applications has helped reduce tax mistakes, prevent audits and allowed for a greater collaboration between a business and its accountants and financial advisers.

In an industry that has traditionally been dominated by expensive and resource-hungry desktop programs there are now an ever increasing number of lightweight yet powerful cloud-based apps. If you have you have started your own online business, these accounting apps should be a part of your enterprise.

Xero

xero dashboard 640x425   5 Worthy Cloud Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business
With 250,000 paying customers in 100 countries, and having recently won a ‘Top Choice’ award from PC World, Xero is rapidly become one of the new leaders of the accounting software industry. Accounting packages are available between $9 and $180 per month, although the most popular package in the US is the ‘Premium 10′ for $70 per month.

The software is multi-user, feature-rich and easy to use. The central dashboard gives real-time insight into bank balances, recent sales and upcoming bills, and from there users can manage inventory, create purchase orders, handle expense claims, conduct pay-runs, pay bills, create numerous financial reports and manage their contacts.

Xero also provide an excellent mobile app on both Android and iPhone, and offer 24/7 email support and a detailed online help centre.

Wave

wave accounting 640x446   5 Worthy Cloud Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business
We recently reviewed Wave in detail. After launching as recently as 2009, the company now tracks 314,000 accounts and 44 million transactions — with a total value of $134 billion. The app is free, but uses adverts from its beneficiaries in order to support itself.

Aimed at small businesses with nine employees or fewer, the award-winning software has now secured $20 million of investment and developed excellent support for invoicing, accounting, payroll and payments. Unusually for a free accounting app, Wave follows double-entry accounting protocol, meaning both the Chart of Accounts and the Journal entries can be modified.
The final feature which sets Wave apart from its competitors is its ability to connect with your financial institutions and download recent transactions directly into its balance sheets. Even several paid apps won’t let you do this, and its inclusion is a real time saver and an undoubted customer-winner.

Freshbooks

freshbooks   5 Worthy Cloud Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business
If you’re a financial professional you’ve probably heard of Freshbooks. The cloud-based software has been operational since 2003 and in that time has grown to serve 5 million users across 120 countries. With an online version as well as free Android and iPhone apps, the software allows you to monitor, edit and update your company finances from anywhere in the world.

Aimed at small and medium businesses, Freshbooks has the simple aim of helping companies get organised and get paid. With online payments, expense tracking, tax assistance, customised invoices, payment reminders and P&L reports, the app can be used as simplistically or as in-depth as the company requires.

The step-by-step wizard makes it easy for non-tech savvy people to quickly use and understand, and there is constant live support should you need to speak to a technician. You can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, where-after the basic business package will cost $19.95 per month.

Outright

outright 640x358   5 Worthy Cloud Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business
Founded by two former employees of desktop accounting behemoth InTuit, the small start-up was bought by GoDaddy in 2012. The app now boasts 200,000 small businesses using the software and provides bookkeeping for all GoDaddy’s small business customers.

Outright should be of particular interest to US-based users thanks to its in-built ability to automatically sort sales and expenses into IRS tax categories.

In addition to typical features such as report production and account management, the software also offers nightly importing of your financial data from banks and credit cards, meaning every morning you will wake up to a complete, organised and up-to-date overview of your company’s finances.

FreeAgent

freeagent 640x357   5 Worthy Cloud Based Accounting Apps For Your Small Business
Designed primarily with freelancers in mind, FreeAgent wants customers who lack accounting experience.

The benefit for freelancers and contractors comes in its organisation of expenses and incomes by project — allowing users to establish a budget for each area and thus display their profitability. FreeAgent also utilises a time-tracking feature, making it perfect for remote workers to control and manage their timesheets within each project whilst the software maintains an overview of the project in its entirety.

The app offers a 30-day trial and thereafter is $20 per month.
Posted on 11:01 AM | Categories:

Xero falls 9% to five-month low / Goldman Sachs initiating the stock with a "sell"


National Business Review writes: Xero shares were down 9.18% to $30.06 (for a market cap of $3.8 billion) in midday trading as the stock fell to levels not seen since last November.

The stock [NZX:XRO] has been battered over the past fortnight, and is now well off its all-time high of $45.01, hit on March 6, which valued the company at $5.47 billion.
Xero has been caught up in a worldwide selloff of tech stocks - a phenomena that returned this morning NZ time as the Nasdaq fell 3.10%, reversing a small recovery earlier this week. 

Biotechs have been hit by the selloff too, including Pacific Edge [NZX:PEB] on the local exchange, down 5.74% in midday trading to also hit a five-month low.

Investors fear a new tech bubble as earnings season approaches in the US, IG markets strategist Evan Lucas told NBR earlier this week. There has been an associated re-focus on traditional earnings and revenue metrics, Mr Lucas said, just as Xero was announcing it had more than doubled its annual loss

Xero has also been hit by a wave of negative comments from analysts over the period, with Goldman Sachs initiating the stock with a "sell", and others downgrading it.
Posted on 10:47 AM | Categories:

Four Tips If You Can't Pay Your Taxes on Time

If you find you owe more than you can pay with your tax return, don’t panic. Make sure to file on time. That way you won’t have a penalty for filing late.
Here is what to do if you can’t pay all your taxes by the due date.

1. File on time and pay as much as you can.  File on time to avoid a late filing penalty. Pay as much as you can to reduce interest charges and a late payment penalty. You can pay online, by phone, or by check or money order. Visit IRS.gov for electronic payment options.

2. Get a loan or use a credit card to pay your tax. The interest and fees charged by a bank or credit card company may be less than IRS interest and penalties. For credit card options, see IRS.gov.

3. Use the Online Payment Agreement tool.  You don’t need to wait for IRS to send you a bill before you ask for a payment plan. The best way is to use the Online Payment Agreement tool on IRS.gov. You can also file Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, with your tax return. You can even set up a direct debit agreement. With this type of payment plan, you won’t have to write a check and mail it on time each month. It also means you won’t miss payments that could lead to more penalties.

4. Don’t ignore a tax bill.  If you get a bill, don’t ignore it.  The IRS may take collection action if you ignore the bill. Contact the IRS right away to talk about your options. If you are suffering a financial hardship, the IRS will work with you.

In short, remember to file on time. Pay as much as you can by the tax deadline and pay the rest as soon as you can. Find out more about the IRS collection process on IRS.gov. Also check out IRSVideos.gov/OweTaxes.
Posted on 10:16 AM | Categories: