Clearwater Analytics’ Best-in-Class Investment Accounting and Reporting Software Attracted More Than 80 New Insurers in 2014

Clearwater Analytics®, the leading provider of web-based investment accounting and reporting for insurance companies, today announced its continued momentum in the insurance market in 2014. Clearwater added more than 80 new insurance clients in 2014 and continues to provide automated and accurate insurance investment accounting, reporting, and analytics to hundreds more. In December, Clearwater helped insurers file over 500 Annual Schedule Ds.

Insurance clients such as Canopius Group, MCIC Vermont, COPIC Insurance, Donegal Insurance Group, and Exeter Family Friendly chose Clearwater for three primary reasons:

1. Automated, Accurate Investment Accounting and Reporting
2. Integrated Accounting, Compliance, Performance, and Risk Analytics
3. Outstanding Customer Service and Industry Expertise

“Clearwater immediately set the bar high with a seamless implementation and continues to exceed our expectations,” said NaDonya Jackson, Financial Reporting Manager at Canopius US Insurance, Inc. “We are able to rely on Clearwater’s data with sheer confidence, meaning we can truly analyze the data and be strategic, not reactive.”

“Instead of offering empty functionality promises for a vague future date, Clearwater delivers the most advanced and streamlined software today,” said Phil Vorreiter, Director of Finance at MCIC Vermont. “As a forward-thinking company, we know Clearwater will be an appreciating asset to us.”

More and more insurance companies are converting to Clearwater to eliminate the risk of manual input and processing. Additionally, they are turning to Clearwater for industry expertise to stay up to date on ever-changing regulatory guidance and best practices. This expertise, along with client feedback, also guides Clearwater’s frequent functionality enhancements. Clearwater’s best-in-class solution and unparalleled client service has fueled the company’s significant growth in the insurance industry. As a result, over 350 insurers around the world rely on Clearwater to streamline their investment and accounting operations.

“As our growth continues to accelerate, it’s clear that more and more insurers are realizing that they can no longer put off the need for an automated and integrated investment accounting solution that improves efficiency and mitigates risk,” said Dave Boren, CEO of Clearwater Analytics. “Clearwater is committed to providing the top solution today, while always improving to ensure that clients continue to see Clearwater as an appreciating asset to their organization.”

About Clearwater Analytics

Clearwater Analytics® is the leading provider of web-based investment accounting, reporting, and reconciliation services for corporate treasuries, insurance companies, and investment managers. Clearwater aggregates, reconciles, and reports on over $1.2 trillion in assets across 25,000+ accounts daily. For over a decade, Clearwater has helped insurance clients such as CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Company, Group Health Companies, The Main Street America Group, Savings Bank Life Insurance Company of Massachusetts, and WellCare streamline their investment and accounting operations. Clearwater remains committed to continuous improvement of the solutions they provide to current clients, while encouraging prospective companies to rethink how they approach their investment accounting and reporting challenges.

14 Best Secret Tax-Filing Deals and Freebies

Elyssa Kirkham for GoBankingRates.com writes: 

14 Tax Software Freebies and Tax Service Deals From TurboTax, H&R Block and More

GOBankingRates surveyed current tax software deals and preparation service offers to find the biggest discounts that will keep more of your money in your bank account during the 2015 tax season. Below we’ve listed the tax preparation freebies, deals and offers you can take advantage of.

• TaxSlayer offers a free, basic version of its software that taxpayers can use to file federal taxes for free. It should be noted, however, that it’ll cost $23.90 to file the first state return and an additional $14.95 for every state return after that.
• TaxACT offers online bundles of software for federal and state filing, saving customers up to 20 percent.

There’s good news for active duty military personnel, as GOBankingRates found some options for service members to file their 2014 tax returns absolutely free:

• TurboTax: For active duty military personnel and reservists of E1 through E5 status, TurboTax offers its Free Edition and Deluxe at no cost, along with free e-filing of both federal and one state return. It also offers a $5 discount on other TurboTax federal products for E1 to E5, E6 and up, and officer ranks. All you need is a military W-2 to verify the discount.
• TaxSlayer: The company offers a military version of its tax prep software tailored to the finances of service members and their families. Filing through it is free for both federal and state returns.

Discounts and Coupons for TurboTax Software

The TurboTax team let us know that some financial institutions provide their customers with discounts on TurboTax software.

• USAA and Fidelity, for example, provide their customers with discounts of up to $20 on TurboTax software.
• Capital One is offering 25 percent off TurboTax online federal versions to customers. Even if you’re not a customer of one of these institutions, it could be worthwhile to check with your bank to see if it has a similar deal on tax preparation services or software.
• Filing with TurboTax is absolutely free when using the Federal Free Edition, which includes 1040EZ/1040A forms. Filing a state return is free, too, for the first time ever.
• Through Feb. 15, filers can save up to $20 off the company’s online federal tax preparation software, according to RetailMeNot.
• Best Buy, Amazon, Staples, Walmart and Target are offering up to $15 off the MSRP for TurboTax software, no coupon required.
• Those who purchased TurboTax Deluxe desktop software (CD or download versions) are eligible for a $25 refund from the company, given backlash over its removal of Schedules C, D, E and F from its Deluxe package. Those who purchased the software to file taxes in 2013 and had to, therefore, upgrade this year are eligible for this refund.

Coupons and Deals for H&R Block Software and Tax Services

• H&R Block is running a “Switch to Block” offer, which provides a free, comparable version of H&R Block software to anyone who has already bought a copy of this year’s TurboTax Basic or Deluxe software. This allows the tax filer to try both programs and compare ease of use, features and final refund generated without having to shell out twice for 2015 tax software.
• Visit RetailMeNot’s H&R Block listing, click through to the H&R Block site and you’ll get an automatic discount of 35 percent on the download version of H&R Block software, for savings of up to $28.
• Click through from Coupons.com‘s H&R Block page to get a 20 percent discount on its online filing. The offer is valid through March 31.
• This coupon will get new H&R Block customers $20 off their in-office tax preparation services.

Stretching QuickBooks Online: What You Can Do With Apps

Mark Anderson for My Business Cents writes: QuickBooks Online has worked well for countless businesses as is. But if you need more than it offers in some areas, there’s likely to be an app for that.

You’d be hard-pressed to find two small businesses in the U.S. that have exactly the same needs when it comes to financial management. Fortunately, QuickBooks Online is powerful and flexible enough to please hundreds of thousands of small businesses.

As companies grow, they often find that the core features, user interface, and navigational tools that QuickBooks Online offers still suit them just fine. Still, they need to move beyond the tools offered in one or more areas.

That’s why QuickBooks Online has dozens of add-on applications – apps – that focus on one specific area of QuickBooks Online and extend what’s offered there. Since they’re all cloud-based, you have access to them anywhere, anytime, on a PC or mobile device, once you’ve set up an account.

To see what’s available, just click on the Apps link in the left vertical toolbar.

Figure 1: You can choose from dozens of integrated applications built specifically to add features and flexibility to individual areas of QuickBooks Online.

Take a look around this page, and click on any of them to get more information. All of the apps listed were designed to fit QuickBooks Online, but if you’re new to integrated applications or wondering whether a specific one would be a good match for your business, we can help you decide – and get started with it.

QuickBooks Online’s apps cover a lot of ground. Each falls into one of several categories, including billing and collections, expense management, time tracking, and customer relationship management. We’ll look at three of them here.

Bill.com automates your accounts payable and receivable. It began its life as a billing app (hence the name), adding receivables a few years ago. Though you could use it as a sole proprietor, its features are more fully utilized in a team setting. You email, fax, or upload incoming bills to your Bill.com account, where they can be entered, routed to the appropriate staff person, approved, and processed (transmitted directly to a vendor bank account or remitted via paper check). The ability to store all related documents in the cloud and maintain a strict audit trail add to the site’s security. Automated invoices, reminders, and payments simplify your receivables workflow. Bill.com also provides a close, real-time look at your current cash flow and also projects future scenarios.

Concur Travel and Expense has very tight integration with QuickBooks Online; it shares, for example, customer, vendor, and employee records, as well as job data and expense types. Your employees can either enter expense data manually or use a smartphone to take pictures of receipts, which can then be uploaded directly into Concur and automatically attached to their expense reports, along with any credit card charges (which can also be sent directly). Once you’ve approved an expense report, Concur handles the background bookkeeping and transfers funds into your employees’ bank accounts.

Figure 2: Your mobile employees can create and submit expense reports on the road using the mobile Concur app. iPhone, iPad, Android, and Blackberry are also supported.

Method CRM marries your QuickBooks Online data to your customer relationship management tasks. Lists of your customers, vendors, items, etc. and their associated records are available in the app, as are transactions like invoices, payments, and vendor bills. When prospects fill out forms on your website asking for product and/or service information, a new lead/sales opportunity is created in Method CRM. If a lead becomes a customer, that data is shared with QuickBooks. The app is exceptionally customizable, down to the actual design (should you decide to tackle this, though, let us work with you from the start).

There are many other types of apps that can be integrated with QuickBooks Online, including:

Constant Contact: Email marketing

TSheets Time Tracking: Timesheets and time tracking

Bigcommerce: Online shopping cart management

F|G Receivables Manager: Smart accounts receivable management

Shoeboxed: Scans and categorizes paper receipts

Figure 3: You can upload or drag and drop files, forward emails, or send paper receipts through U.S. Mail in a prepaid envelope to Shoeboxed.

These apps are easy to use for the most part, but whenever you’re moving data in and out of QuickBooks Online, you need to have a clear understanding of the source and destination. We’ll be happy to assist as you move beyond the boundaries of QuickBooks Online.