Abacus Puts a Dagger In Expense Reports / an employee expense management and reimbursement tool.

Jason Bramwell for AccountingWeb.com writes: Imagine being able to file a business expense, such as a cab ride or a meal with a new client, in real time from an app on your smartphone. Here’s the best part: Imagine being reimbursed for that expense in 24 to 48 hours.

No Excel spreadsheets are used, no envelope is needed for your pile of business trip receipts, reimbursement doesn’t take weeks, and no paper checks are issued by your employer’s accountant.

Seem far-fetched? Not if you use Abacus, an employee expense management and reimbursement tool.

Developed by a New York City-based startup company whose three founders – Omar Qari, Ted Power, and Joshua Halickman – have backgrounds building business-to-consumer web products, Abacus rolls the whole process of filing and approving expenses into one platform, which can be accessed via a mobile app or through a secure website.

“The big difference between Abacus and any other platform is that we don’t make an employee create that dreaded expense report. It’s a very clunky process that sucks for everyone involved. Employees have to hold onto receipts and wait to create the report, managers get delayed reporting that’s weeks overdue, and accountants have to sift through a lot of paperwork to understand what’s going on.” Dev Anand, head of business operations for Abacus, told AccountingWEB. “We believe that when you hop out of a cab, you should be able to file that taxi expense right then and there, instead of having to wait a couple weeks to create a report with that taxi as a line item.” [snip].  The article continues @ AccountingWeb.com, click here to continue reading...

New Wolters Kluwer, CCH Survey Reveals Top 5 Trends Impacting Future for Accounting Firms of All Sizes / How Well Prepared Are Professionals to Meet Future Client Needs?

"Very prepared" firms that report they can leverage key industry trends to engage clients now and in the future are able to put cash in the bank 10 days faster than those reporting they are "less prepared." That's one of many eye-opening results identified in the2014 Wolters Kluwer, CCH — Accounting Firm Preparedness Survey and new white paper: Charting a Course for the Future: A Report on Firm Preparedness. The independent, nationwide survey of close to 500 accounting professionals was conducted in August and features responses from a wide variety of firms, including some with as few as two employees and others with more than 500.

Teresa Mackintosh, President and CEO of Wolters Kluwer, CCH, presented survey details in a keynote address this morning to tax and accounting professionals from across North America attending the CCH Connections User Conference 2014 in Orlando, one of the tax and accounting profession's premier educational and peer networking events of the year.

The survey was designed to pinpoint attitudes, thoughts, actions and behaviors of firms that consider themselves "very prepared" to leverage key trends affecting the future of the profession, compared to those indicating they were "less prepared." Two core questions served as the foundation for painting an industry picture of where firms stand:

1. What trends will have the most significant impact on accounting firms and their clients over the next five years?

2. How well prepared are accountants to take advantage of these trends?

"There are ample opportunities for all accounting firms to boost productivity and profitability, but what's critical is knowing where those opportunities exist and how to leverage them to improve client satisfaction," Mackintosh said. "The combination of understanding these survey results along with listening to industry peers describe how they capitalize on key trends to succeed can be highly influential in charting a course of future business growth."

What Makes a Firm "Very Prepared"?

The 2014 Wolters Kluwer, CCH — Accounting Firm Preparedness Surveyreveals that the most significant outcome of "very prepared" firms isn't just a high overall level of confidence, but results. In addition to reporting being more productive and more profitable, "very prepared" firms strongly believe that technology is the key to managing change and driving better business results.

But who are the "very prepared"? According to the survey, only 18 percent believed they were "very prepared" to take advantage of the profession's most significant trends — those that were identified as having the greatest influence on the future of the accounting profession.

Top 5 Trends That Will Have Most Significant Impact on Firms in the Future

1	Increased Focus on Client Service
2	Technology Integration Changes
3	Digital Mobility Opportunities
4	Talent Management & Succession Planning
5	Social Media as a Business Tool

Overall, the firms which felt they are "very prepared" to embrace the top trends said they make a concentrated effort to think ahead, anticipate future needs and use technology to add value for their clients. Being more proactive is another common theme in the survey expressed by "very prepared" firms — they believe it is a fundamental trait of who they are and how they operate.

These same firms also state stronger growth objectives. In fact, the majority of "very prepared" respondents project firm growth of 6 percent or greater over the next three years.

Client Service and Technology Integration

The top two trends reported as having the most significant impact on the industry's future are connected on many levels as firms of all sizes meet changing client needs in adopting a continuous loop of engagement opportunities. Whereas 24/7 firm availability was once the exception instead of the norm, the speed of technology and the importance of client relationships continue to intersect.

Examples include secure cloud solutions, such as client portals, providing around-the-clock digital access to documents and data, on-demand file sharing and the advantage of safely exchanging information, even away from the office.

Q: Is technology having a very significant impact on your firm?	A: Yes it is
Very Prepared (18% of firms surveyed)	69%
Less Prepared (82% of firms surveyed)	37%

Of those surveyed who said they are "very prepared," 76 percent said service and support provide added-value and retain existing clients — which is double the 38-percent response from "less prepared" firms. Furthermore, where "less prepared" firms tend to view technology integration as more of a tool to meet a single, functional need, "very prepared" firms view the power of technology more holistically in addressing future challenges, improving client satisfaction and driving new business.

Digital Mobility

While playing an important role in the future of accounting as a stand-alone trend, digital mobility adds a deeper dimension to client service and delivers real business value when enabled by technology integration. Enhanced mobility includes on-the-go access to accounting research libraries by providing professionals fast access to trusted information when and where it's needed.

According to the survey, nearly 80 percent of "very prepared" firms say digital mobility opportunities will play a "very significant" role in their business within the next five years. Respondents also said leveraging mobile devices and digital platforms help firms reduce capital costs, increase client service and improve employee productivity.

Talent Management & Succession Planning, Social Media as a Business Tool

Trends #4 and #5 zero-in on different levels of attraction. Not only are firms looking to attract and retain the best people, they take advantage of opportunities to use social media as a business tool in creating new communications channels to attract and retain clients.

According to the survey, nearly seven out of 10 "very prepared" firms are ready to take advantage of talent management and staff succession planning in looking at the future, compared to only 30 percent of "less prepared" firms.

Leveraging social media opportunities is another way firms are looking to create value and stand out among the competition. Nearly 70 percent of "very prepared" firms surveyed have already implemented social media as a business tool compared to 55 percent of "less prepared" firms.

When firms were asked about the greatest benefit to having a social media presence, their responses drew a direct connection to the top overall industry trend — to enhance client satisfaction.

For More Information

Complete Wolters Kluwer, CCH — Accounting Firms Preparedness Surveyresults, statistics and viewpoints from key industry thought leaders are available in the new Wolters Kluwer, CCH white paper, Charting a Course for the Future: A Report on Firm Preparedness. For free downloads, please visit CCHGroup.com/PreparednessSurvey.

Follow the 2014 CCH User Conference

Keep track of what's happening at this week's CCH Connections User Conference 2014 in real time on Twitter: @CCH_UC, #CCHUC14 and on Facebook.

About the Survey

The 2014 Wolters Kluwer, CCH — Accounting Firms Preparedness Survey was conducted online in August 2014, with 440 accounting professionals specializing in tax, audit CFO/consulting and other financial services at CPA-led firms with two to 500+ employees. This survey was conducted for Wolters Kluwer, CCH by Toluna, a major market research company in conjunction with Golin, a leading marketing consultancy.  

Deloitte Expands Data-Driven Business Planning and Analytics Offerings with Anaplan

Deloitte today announced it is broadening its business planning and execution offerings through an alliance with Anaplan. Deloitte is integrating its technology consulting and tax management services with Anaplan's configurable, cloud-based platform to help clients better manage risk, improve cash flow, reduce errors and increase savings.

Deloitte clients will be able to run and monitor real-time, dynamic calculations of business scenarios through a dashboard application that connects financial, sales and operational data across departments, industries and locations. Tax departments, for example, can model scenarios to better understand the tax implications of major business decisions around talent mobility, transfer pricing and M&A transactions.

"We are helping our clients transform their tax departments with technology, and this creates a strategic advantage in today's competitive business environment," said Sam Kapreilian, chief technology officer, Deloitte Tax LLP. "Deloitte's systems and tax knowledge and experience, combined with Anaplan's platform, will help organizations perform in new and exciting ways with accelerated speed to value and the ability to uncover risks and strategic opportunities."

Anaplan and Deloitte are disrupting the business planning and forecasting industry by enabling organizations to significantly enhance the accuracy and speed of their business planning activities. Tasks that have traditionally been difficult to manage because of disparate spreadsheet and enterprise resource planning applications are more easily achievable. Examples include deploying sales coverage models and improving accuracy around trade promotion management, inventory planning, transfer pricing, cash flow forecasting and sales forecasting.

"Disruptive innovation forces such as cloud-based, in-memory technologies are having exponential impacts on the pace of change in business – disrupting and reshaping companies, business models, and even entire industries," said Carol Lindstrom, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP.  "Regardless of the industry, we are able to bring clients ground-breaking business planning services and technology with Anaplan, driving disruption and innovation in business planning collaboration and data-driven decision making." 

"The combination of Anaplan's market-leading technology and Deloitte's industry and business insight, enables us to better serve our enterprise clients by aligning their people, plans and spend to their market opportunities," said Doug Smith, executive vice president, Anaplan. "Deloitte's experience and insight in a diverse range of industries enable its professionals to advise Anaplan clients on how to turn the complexity of business operations into powerful, easy-to-use applications and plans."   

About Deloitte Tax LLPDeloitte Tax helps clients lead the transformation of the tax function into a strategic partner that supports growth and sustained profitability within an organization. With deep experience across a broad range of services and industries, Deloitte Tax has more than 10,000 trusted advisors who combine their knowledge of tax technical resources and technology to uncover insights and smarter solutions for clients in today's complex global and regulatory environment. For more information visit www.deloitte.com/us/tax. Join us on twitter @DeloitteTax.

From the U.K. / Why Keeping on Top of Tax Liabilities Should be High on Every Business’ Agenda

Jeff Nevil for the Technoperative writes:  There has been a lot of media focus on large corporations engaging in dubious tactics to  avoid paying taxes recently. The likes of Starbucks, Amazon and Google have all come under fire for schemes designed to circumvent their tax liabilities and their behaviour certainly doesn’t endear them to the rest of us honest, hardworking business owners. 

These global brands are purposefully exploiting loopholes to gain a competitive advantage 

and boost their coffers by keeping hold of money that should be going to the governments 

of the countries they’re operating in. However, further down the food chain, there are many 

small and medium sized businesses seeking to avoid their tax liability simply because 

they’ve not allowed for it in their budgets.

If the only two things in life that are unavoidable are death and taxes (thank you Ben 

Franklin) then as a business owner one of the very first things you need to be doing is 

planning for your tax liability. It is a fundamental element to any business operation that 

tax is inevitable and you have to be prepared for it. As obvious as that sounds, it is still the 

case that many businesses just aren’t making the necessary arrangements to fully meet 

their liability to tax and it is nobody else’s responsibility but your own to ensure the money is 

there.

Central and local government revenue collections will show no mercy. They will demand 

you pay what is owing and if you haven’t got it, your business will fail and you will face 

recovery action. Therefore the need for stringent financial planning is the cornerstone to 

any successful business. Whatever you think you need to put aside, put aside, and then 

put aside some more. You need to plan for tax and for the unexpected so the more you can 

safely squirrel away, the more prepared you and your business will be for every eventuality.

With this in mind many SMEs are turning to business intelligence software as a reliable 

method by which to effectively plan budgets and cash flow. By recording and monitoring 

every revenue stream and every expense through complex software that was once the 

plaything of only the largest corporations, smaller businesses can keep on top of their 

finances and stay in control.

The proliferation of such software systems for business financial management is largely due 

to the high demand bringing the cost down in a market that has seen increased competition 

in recent years. With more businesses turning to digital solutions to ensure their obligations 

can always be met, the companies trying to avoid paying tax are simply those who don’t 

want to pay it!

Thanks for Reading

I write on a variety of topics relating to business best practises and am a keen technology 

enthusiast. I welcome any comments you may have and invite readers to follow me on 

Twitter - @JeffNevil and keep up with my blog Technoperative.

5 Action Items You Can Do Today to Prepare for Tax Season

Cameron McCool for AllBusiness.com & Bench writes: Tax time, often a source of stress for small business owners, will be here sooner than you think. To help make filing your next business return as easy as possible and to ensure you get the highest possible return, we’ve put together a list of five actionable things you can do — starting now — to prepare your business for tax time.

1. Get Organized. Stay Organized.

So many business owners get to the end of the tax year and face a pile of receipts and disorganized finances that can only be described as, well, hell. Here are some simple tricks and processes to help you keep your business records organized throughout the year:

• Don’t commingle finances. Do your best to pay all business expenses with your business credit or debit card. Having to locate and separate business expenses from your personal business account creates extra headaches come tax time.

• Stay on top of receipts. Whenever you make a business purchase, write the purpose of the purchase on the back of the receipt and keep track of how it served your business. You can also automate the process of filing your receipts by using services such asEvernote, Shoeboxed or Doc Scan Pro that will scan and upload receipts automatically to an online folder that can be accessed by others. Sharing receipts with your bookkeeper and/or accountant becomes as easy as emailing them a link to view your online folder.

• Document employee reimbursements. If you have employees, you may have made expense reimbursements over the year. You’ll need to collect the receipts and create a report that documents those reimbursements. While the IRS requires you to substantiate any expense over $75, we recommend that you hold onto receipts for all business purchases, just to be on the safe side.

2. Got Employees? Make Sure You Fill Out These Forms

Working with employees and independent contractors comes with additional tax responsibilities. If you have employees, you’ll need to file an Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return form (Form 940) and an Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax form (Form 945). You’ll also need to file an Employer’s Federal Tax Return on a quarterly or annual basis (Form 941 or Form 944).

If you paid any single independent contractor more than $600, you will need to give them aForm 1099. The deadline to submit these to your contractors is January 31, so read up on the difference between employees and independent contractors to be sure you’re submitting the right paperwork.

If you don’t already have W-9 forms on file for contractors, get them filled out now. The W-9 is a request for the worker’s taxpayer identification number. You should already have it on file for your employees (it’s necessary for payroll purposes throughout the year), but if you don’t, get one from the employee right away.

If you hired any foreign independent contractors, they will need to fill out a W-8 form, of which there are four different types. To confirm which type of form your employees will need to submit, it’s best to speak to an accountant or your payroll provider.

3. Deductibles: Determine Personal vs Business Use

Some deductible costs such as your home office, your vehicle, or your cell phone can be used both for business and for personal reasons. These costs are deductible based on the percentage you use the item for business.

For instance, if you only have one cell phone and it gets used for business and personal calls, you can only deduct the percentage that it’s used for business.

Calculate what portion of deductible items you’ll be claiming as business related and make sure you have some evidence to back it up in case you are ever audited by the IRS. For example, you can keep a mileage log book or highlight business calls on your phone bill to show how these deductibles were used for business purposes.

Calculating the percentage of your personal and business usage ahead of time will simplify the process when you submit the information to your CPA. Also, if you manage this part of the process yourself, you’ll also save on having to pay your accountant additional fees to do it for you.

4. Get Your Books in Order

Whether you choose to self-manage your business bookkeeping, hire a bookkeeper, or use an online bookkeeping service to handle your business’s books for you, if you have a backlog of business bookkeeping, the best time to get your books in order is right now. In addition to saving you a lot of time when preparing your tax return, up-to-date books are much easier for an accountant to work with, meaning you’ll spend less on accountant fees. Accurate bookkeeping is also a requirement by both federal and local tax agencies, as your business’s books will be examined if you’re ever audited.

5. Find a CPA

If you aren’t currently working with an accountant, start looking for one now. Ask your banker, attorney, or business colleagues for referrals, and then interview candidates to find out whether or not they’d be a good fit for your business. This process can — and should — take time. An accountant who specializes in meeting the unique requirements of your business will provide accuracy and ensure that you don’t miss out on any tax savings. They can also provide tax planning advice throughout the year.

Cameron McCool is the Content Manager at Bench, the online bookkeeping service that pairs you with a professional bookkeeper and uses simple, elegant software to do your books for you.  You can visit Bench here.