Best apps for accountants and CPAs: Scanner Pro, 1Password, Dropbox, and more!

Allyson Kazmucha for imore.com writes:  FROM FINANCIAL CALCULATORS TO BETTER DOCUMENT HANDLING, THESE ARE THE IPHONE AND IPADS APPS EVERY ACCOUNTANT OR CPA NEEDS!

Looking for the best iPhone apps or best iPad apps for accounts or CPAs? Maybe you need help getting through a barrage of client meetings, or a better system scanning signed copies of documents and storing and retrieving files when on the go. Maybe you need help managing all the passwords for all the different systems and people you cover? Well, the App Store has a ton of apps to help your mobile improve efficiency and overall workflow. But which apps are the absolute best for accountants and CPAs?

powerOne Finance Pro Calculator

powerOne is a financial calculator that is designed to be used on both the iPhone and iPad. The financial edition of powerOne features many commonly used calculations such as 401k calculations, auto loans and leases, bonds, breakevens, currency conversion, cash flows — NPR, NFV, IRR, and more. If you're calculating an amortization or a loan, powerOne can even show graphs to help visualize information, which is always helpful when explaining something to a client. powerOne also offers many other calculators for professionals including a general business calculator.

If you want a powerful and easy to use financial calculator wherever you go, get powerOne.

• $4.99 - Download Now

See also:

• powerOne Business Calculator - Free - Download Now

1Password

Accountants typically have a lot of passwords to remember. Everything from client Quickbooks logins to document storage portals to internal systems, it's enough to make anyone's head spin. 1Password is a safe and secure place to store them all without worrying about whether or not they're going to fall in the wrong hands. You only need to remember one master password. 1Password can also help you generate strong passwords so you can rest easy knowing your sensitive information is as secure as possible.

If you need a better way to efficiently manage passwords and keep files secure with strong ones, you need 1Password.

• $8.99 - Download Now

See also:

• 1Password for Mac - $49.99 - Download Now
• 1Password for Windows - $49.99 - Download Now

Fantastical 2

When it comes to scheduling appointments and entering events into your calendar, there is no better calendar app for iOS than Fantastical 2. Not only is the interface and layout worlds better than the built-in Calendar app, it combines all your reminders into one app. From natural language support to a personalized keyboard that makes event creation a snap, Fantastical really is worth its weight in gold. Since it pulls everything from your existing calendar, it supports every account type the built-in app supports. Fantastical will even keep built-in apps in case you ever need to use them.

When it comes to managing your appointments, tasks, and events, look no further than Fantastical 2.

• iPhone - $4.99 - Download Now
• iPad - $9.99 - Download Now

Evernote

Every accountant and CPA needs a way to quickly take and manage notes when in client meetings. Evernote is available for virtually every platform imaginable, including iPhone and iPad, and can seamlessly sync notes between them. Create multiple notebooks to manage different projects or clients effortlessly. Add tags to quickly search for specific notes and more. You can also create checklists for yourself within Evernote as well as add photos, voice notes, and more as attachments.

For meeting notes and organizing your thoughts, check out Evernote.

• Free - Download Now

Dropbox

The barrage of paperwork that comes your way may seem endless but there can be a method to the madness, with Dropbox. Create folders for clients, sort your files within it, and then access them from virtually anywhere, including right on your iPhone or iPad. Almost every App Store app that deals with documents supports saving to Dropbox. You can open documents in external apps on your iPhone or iPad right inside Dropbox too. This makes for an almost seamless file management system. Until Apple gives us a better way to manage files, apps like Dropbox will have to do.

To help you manage the endless stream of documents and paperwork, there is Dropbox.

• Free - Download Now

See also:

• Dropbox for Mac and PC - Free - Download Now

Scanner Pro

A lot of paperwork requires client signatures and other handwritten information to be filled in. Scanner Pro lets you easily take photos of signed documents on your iPhone or iPad. You can then upload them to Dropbox, email them, or share them any other way you could think possible. If you have a newer iPhone or iPad, the images Scanner Pro creates aren't just readable, they're higher quality than most desktop scanners are.

If you need the ability to scan and send documents from virtually anywhere, get Scanner Pro.

• $6.99 - Download Now

You can follow the author  Allyson Kazmucha  on Twitter Here.

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MOVE FROM EXCEL TO ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE

Xero writes: Small businesses often start out using Excel – but that’s only doable up until a point. Like every teenager eventually becomes an adult, your business needs to evolve and grow. Find out why the smartest organizations are using online accounting software instead.

Why Excel isn’t a long term solution

Excel can do a large number of tasks, is easily available and is very widely used in the world of business. And it would be wrong not to not acknowledge this up front. However, while the application is sturdy, it’s the spreadsheets created while using it that aren’t – and this often causes issues down the track.

Spreadsheets are often riddled with mistakes

A spreadsheet done badly has a flow-on effect for any small business. One well-known example of this happened in the UK in 2012. Using an Excel spreadsheet, an error was made that cost the bank JPMorgan $9 billion in revenue.

Unfortunately, this type of error is not an exception to the rule, but a common mistake. As long as manual data entry, copy paste techniques, and formula errors are a reality, the internet is always going to have spreadsheet horror stories.

Six problems with Excel as an accounting software substitute

• Using Excel can be like having to know a programming language. Many small businesses forget this. Excel is so widely used, that it’s never been restricted to those with an expertise in it. In addition to this, lots of Excel users often misjudge their level of expertise.
• Setting up an Excel spreadsheet that meets all of your financial needs requires a lot of thought and planning. It takes time to set up things like expense reports and invoice tracking. You may find yourself in a situation where you constantly need to add or change information on your spreadsheet.
• In Excel, you need to know exactly how you are going to use the data before you start, as there’s no flexibility to configure it later. You need to know what you want to name the reports and the cells you want to print, and ensure each report is properly time stamped.
• Excel spreadsheets are susceptible to fraud because it’s easy to change information and hard to keep track of who’s making the changes. Imagine if your co-worker enters $1,000 instead of $100,000.
• Many users run into performance issues when they work with large amounts of data, combine lots of worksheets or include scripts. It’s system overload. It doesn’t integrate with other small business applications that can help you run your business. For example, accounting software will integrate with apps that do inventory management and time sheeting.
• Transactions kept in Excel are difficult to track. For instance, Excel does not automatically recognize double entries. Instead of Excel providing a better way to run your business, it often acts as a road-block to seeing the real picture.

Why accounting software is better for business

It’s not only easy to use, but it’s also accurate. Cloud-based software is designed to be scalable, cost-effective and tailored to your small business needs.

You can have unlimited users, but can access certain information, giving you reassurance that sensitive data isn’t out in the wild. You’re guaranteed maximum uptime of the software, and backups are done nightly in highly secure, offsite servers, giving you peace of mind. It also takes the pressure off your business to provide adequate storage, which can be costly.

There’s little chance of fraud using accounting software, as there’s an audit trail in the system. It leaves no room for doubt about who has done what, and when.

Reporting becomes easy, and takes far less time. Profit and loss, balance sheets, management reports, sales tax returns, depreciation schedules and foreign currency gains and losses are all prepared with a single click.

Seven reasons why accounting software is better than Excel

• Hit the ground running with confidence
• An easy-to-use dashboard is one that you don’t have to set up yourself and will give you confidence from the get-go. When you have a clear financial view from the start, you don’t need to worry about making uninformed business decisions.
• Your data is accurate
• Your company’s real-time financial data is kept in one central place – online, in the cloud. Bank statement lines are fed into your software – it’s automatic, and reduces the amount of data entry and potential mistakes.
• Out-of-box reports
• Get most of the reports you will ever need, with a few clicks – no need to wait for month end. Real-time reports and budgets are easy to view and share. Tasks like sales tax returns can be completed in minutes instead of hours.
• Up-to-date information
• Create the information any of your investors might need at a moment’s notice. Your small business will be equipped to manage its finances better and more accurately. This is especially important around tax time when data will be shared with an accountant or financial advisor. Financial tax information is always up-to-date and ready to share.
• You’ll have a clean audit trail
• All of the historical information that your investors might need is available at their fingertips. A proper audit trail ensures your data cannot be compromised. It also records a document of every business transaction. This includes sales contracts, payments to employees, and more. Having a complete audit trail reassures investors about the validity of the company and meets the tax department’s needs.
• It syncs with other business applications
• When you use cloud-based software, you’ll be able to take advantage of apps that sync with your financial data. Inventory management, invoicing and a whole lot more can take the time and hassle out of small business accounting.
• Access to data anywhere, anytime
• Give any member of your team access your data online anytime, anywhere (as long as you grant them permission to do so.) Cloud software enables you to share your financial information with your employees, accountant, bookkeeper or financial advisor.

It’s about letting your business grow

While it can often be hard to alter the way you do business and embrace change, the potential rewards are huge. The truth is, the writing is on the wall if you don’t find it easy to quickly manage your day-to-day business using Excel.

Excel was simply not built to replace accounting software – so it’s time to give your business the room to grow and succeed, without restrictions.

5 Things You Must Know About Taxes on Your Investments/ When it's time to sell shares, make sure you don't have to pay more tax than you need to.

Kathy Kristof for Kiplinger writes: Selling triggers taxes, but investors can trim the amount they pay to Uncle Sam with some tax-wise planning. Here are five things you need to know: 

#1. Capital-gains rates for the wealthy are up. The tax rate on profits from assets held more than one year jumped from 15% in 2012 to 23.8% in 2013 for singles with adjusted gross income of $400,000 or more ($450,000 or more for married couples). Single investors with AGI of $200,000 to $400,000 and married couples with AGI of $250,000 to $450,000 are also paying more, at an 18.8% rate. Advice: If your income approaches one of these thresholds, figure the tax hit before triggering gains. Taking gains in years in which you have less income or more deductions could save a bundle. [snip] The article continues @ Kiplinger, click here to continue reading.

5 Little-Known Roth IRA Tax Considerations / Here’s how to decide whether to save in a traditional or Roth IRA.

Robert Berger for US News World Report writes: Is it better to save for retirement in a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA? Spend a little time researching this question, and you’ll learn an interesting mathematical truth: If your tax rate is the same when you make contributions as it will be in retirement, there’s no difference between a Roth and traditional IRA (or 401(k) for that matter).

This mathematical truth leads to a quandary: How can we possibly know today what the tax rates will be decades from now? We can’t. Not only is the tax code likely to change, but our income levels are likely to change, too.

But let’s not abandon all hope of figuring out the best way to save for retirement. Here are five things we can know or control, at least to a point, which can help us make this important retirement decision: [snip], the article continues at US News World Report, click here to continue reading....

And The Best Small Business Cloud Accounting Software Is...: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Cheqbook, Kashoo, Wave, Zoho Books, or FreshBooks?

Gene Marks for Forbes writes: The very fact that you’re reading this marks a milestone. Would you have been interested in a “cloud based” accounting application only a few years ago? Probably not. You were probably, like myself and most small business owners, still trying to get your arms around the cloud and doubting that you would ever entrust your most critical financial data to some outside company. But things have changed. Online, or cloud financial applications, are slowly but surely becoming the norm. Many small business owners are taking notice, particularly because of their benefits.

And the benefits are many: access from anywhere, integration with other popular third party cloud applications and banking software, better backup, quicker bug fixes, immediate access to upgrades. And, let’s face it: better security. No cloud provider, not even the Department of Defense, can provide 100% security against hackers. But with so many threats today many business owners are reluctantly agreeing that their financial data is probably better secured by a cloud provider whose business model is reliant on security than on their own server that’s looked after maybe once a month by their local IT guy.

And now we hit the next milestone: the first comprehensive book on the market that reviews the leading small business cloud accounting applications. It was released just last week in the form of an ebook, is called Online Accounting Software: Finding the Right Match and can be downloaded for $79.95 here.  The book is produced by the Sleeter Group, an independent consulting firm that boasts 700 accounting experts who provide software and process consulting services to more than 300,000 small businesses. The company also produces reference books, webinars, seminars, and a very popular annual Accounting Solutions Conference and Tradeshow, among other services.

The ebook reviews these cloud accounting applications for micro and small businesses: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Cheqbook, Kashoo, Wave, Zoho Books, and FreshBooks.   [snip]   The article continues at Forbes, click here. 

How do I assess whether or not I am overpaying my taxes? Is there a common approach I, or other small business owners, can apply to avoid this ­tendency?

Tim Lacine for the Star Tribune answers and writes: There are two basic approaches to determine whether you are paying too much in corporate federal income taxes. The first approach uses industry information to get a sense of what other companies of a similar size and same industry are paying. Three reference books can each provide the industry information you desire: “Almanac of Business & Industrial Financial Ratios,” the Risk Management Association’s (RMA) annual statement studies, and “Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios.”

At least one of these resources should be available at your local library. For instance, RMA provides common-sized income statements by industry and company size. A business owner can compare what percent of net income he or she earns compared to the industry and from the net income one can extrapolate the taxes.

This approach is not perfect: Financial net income can differ from taxable net income and the RMA industry numbers are averages. Also, your type of business entity can affect taxes. C Corporations have their own corporate tax rates, where S Corps and LLCs are flow-through entities whose owners pay taxes based on personal tax rates. However, this approach is a common approach that any business owner can use to get a sense of where his or her business stands compared to the industry.

The second approach is more individualized. You can meet with your tax accountant in late November or early December and do some tax planning. When I was in practice, we would work with business owners to forecast total sales and expenses for the rest of the year, using the 11-month financial statements furnished by the business owner. Then, your tax accountant can provide specific advice for saving on federal income taxes.

BoxFree IT : Why Subscriptions Are Not the Problem / Concerns over Data Ownership with Cloud Accounting

Guy Pearson for BoxFree IT writes: Like many others in the cloud accounting world, I’ve been watching the Oscar De Vries case – a dispute between a business and an accountant over unpaid fees – very closely. As we share offices with the firm Interactive Accounting, I’ve overheard the concerns of new clients about data ownership, a central concern that emerged from the De Vries saga.

Truth be told, though, many of these concerns can be handled by contracts and agreements. The accountant and client must agree on the answers to the following questions before they can begin working together.

• Who owns what? (subscription, data, accountant’s work)
• How do we deal with disputes?
• How much am I paying for services?

In the De Vries case these questions hadn’t been resolved before the accountant started the work.

For example, De Vries spoke about a “$20k mistake” in moving his accounting data from MYOB to Xero. I know that the “$20k” was not just for the conversion. There would also be a large inventory setup (as required for a products company such as his) that was not mentioned in the article.

There was clearly a miscommunication and lack of documentation about the price, the method of dispute resolution and what was delivered. This is exactly why engagement letters are so important.

One of the reasons I set about creating Practice Ignition was a firm belief that agreed fees are the future of the accounting profession. This methodology would enable a clear scope, price and rights for both accountants and their clients. Why?

I hated dealing with debtor issues and arguments around price variances in my former career as an accountant.

Now, it’s not to say that a dispute will never arise for a firm that follows this methodology. But if executed correctly you will have a full legal audit trail. This significantly reduces the likelihood of miscommunication between accountant and client.

Best Practice for Client Engagement

Every firm should review their letters of engagement to make sure they never find themselves in the newspaper over a bad debt gone public. Here are some tips to follow best practice and minimise disputes.

1. Have a custom engagement letter for each type of engagement (systems, accounting, bookkeeping etc.) that spells out your policy for privacy, ownership of data and terms of doing business.
2. When you implement new software, make sure you have a set price and timeframe. That way you avoid a cost blow-out and both parties are aware of the dollars changing hands.
3. Outline the exact scope of engagement. Don’t just say “set up of inventory system”.
4. Make sure the client signs off on the terms before you start and there’s an audit trail of comments, edits, alterations so it will stand up in court.
5. Get your engagement letters in a central hub for when the ICAA, CPA, IPA or other professional association comes to see you – or in the event you need to claim against professional indemnity insurance (heaven forbid). You need to have it ready to stay compliant.
6. Don’t just use the standard. Start with the standard from your professional body and then overlay it with your language and have it checked off by your lawyer so it’s a binding contract.

Just do them. It’s a contract. It’s good business and it will protect you as much as it will protect your clients. Here are the full requirements as set out by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board.

Advice for Clients

What would you advise your clients to do? Read the contract. Check it with their lawyer. Make sure there’s no risk and perhaps get a reference from the accountant. In the event it all goes pear shaped, you are protected and know how to resolve any conflicts.

Don’t you think it’s time we did the same?

Surely in De Vries’ scenario there were no dispute resolution clauses so a stalemate existed which went public. In my opinion, ownership of the subscription is irrelevant as long as you’re guarded by your engagement letter or contract.

Guy Pearson is the CEO of Practice Ignition, an app that helps onboard clients, assign tasks and reduce debtors in accounting practices.

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