A roundup of new hardware, software, services and books for accountants.
Next year, this year
QuickBooks 2016, QuickBooks Enterprise 2016, and “Right for Me” ProAdvisor Program option
Intuit
Intuit has launched the 2016 edition of its QuickBooks desktop accounting software, with a number of new enhancements, including the ability to batch-delete transactions; a much more streamlined and easy-to-understand upgrade process; and the new Bill Tracker feature that lets users get a single-screen view of their expenses to determine which bills to pay when. It also launched the 2016 version of its desktop QB Enterprise solution, which has all of the above-mentioned improvements, plus powerful new tools for advanced reporting.
The company also announced a new “Right for Me” option as part of its QuickBooks ProAdvisor program that gives ProAdvisors more flexibility.
Go climb a tree
The Rosenberg MAP Survey
The Growth Partnership; $475
When you’re lost in the woods, a handy way to figure out where you are is to climb the highest tree and get a view above the canopy. When it comes to finding out exactly where you stand in the landscape of accounting firms, the annual Rosenberg MAP Survey is the tallest tree in the forest — a massive collection of benchmarking data on every aspect of firm management, from partner compensation and growth rates to staff turnover, overhead expenses and 1040 fees. Climb on up and take in the view.
Where the taxes are
BNA State Tax Analyzer
Bloomberg BNA
Taxes are everywhere, lurking in the underbrush, ready to devour you in an instant. Everyone pays attention to the big federal predators, but the states can be just as hungry. Bloomberg BNA’s new BNA State Tax Analyzer helps tax professionals manage their state corporate tax issues so that they’re less likely to be eaten alive. The cloud-based solution supports key state tax functions like what-if planning, tax provision analysis, quarterly estimates and tax audit response. It has a full audit trail, permissions control and automatic tax law updates. Until you’re allowed to shoot dangerous taxes on sight, it may be your best protection.
Hardworking workflow
Workspace Online
Office Tools
Workflow tools are a hot area as firms look to streamline and improve their processes, and Office Tools’ new Workspace Online is a great example of the new capabilities you can access. It includes online appointment tools for your clients; a client intake/check-in system; and online time sheets. It also includes simplified project management and client messaging tools, and the integrated Portal lets you share documents and accept payments.
What did you ask for?
Sage 50 Accounting
Sage
Sage has released the latest version of its small-business accounting software, Sage 50, with a number of new features that were requested by customers, including personalized text on customer e-mails, one-click invoice creation and one-click purchase orders, easier credit card processing and more. Other new features include an iPhone app, a mobile sales iPad app, chat support through a chat link, and easier installation. Our request that Sage 50 come with more chocolate cake was ignored this year; presumably it’s in the works for next year.
It spies for you
Accounting Firm Operations and Technology Survey: Solo Practitioner and Small Firm Edition
NMGI and Insight Research Group
CPA Trendlines; $99.97
We here at New Products always say that spying on someone else is better than figuring it out yourself — as long as you’re not caught. This annual survey of technology practices (best and otherwise) among your peer firms is just like spying on hundreds of them, without the risk of being caught. It’s an invaluable annual resource for improving your use of technology.
Up to date
PPC’s Smart Practice Aids – Single Audit
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters has updated its PPC’s Smart Practice Aids — Single Audit to fully comply with recent regs from the Office of Management and Budget in its 2015 Compliance Supplement. The new Single Audit tool simplifies the new administrative requirements and cost principles.
Caveat tempus
CPA Practice Management Pro Tips
ImagineTime
We know that time is many things — it’s money, fleeting, precious, the fourth dimension, short, unwilling to wait for any man, and so on — and now it’s instructive, as well, with the release of a collection of practice management tips from the chief of time & billing software vendor ImagineTime, as Fred Lindsley shares a lifetime’s worth of insights and experiences to help you make the most of the time you have left.
K.I.T.T.’s downfall
AutoKept
Few people know this, but the reason 1980s TV masterpiece Knight Rider went off the air was because the talking car that starred in it, K.I.T.T., ran afoul of the IRS and spent some time in jail. K.I.T.T.’s crime? Inadequate mileage expense records. If only the AutoKept app has been around — it lets you record transactions on your phone, and then posts them automatically to spreadsheets or a variety of accounting software. No more missing receipts — and no more maudlin Pontiac Trans-Ams sitting next to you in bars crying about how they’d be a star now if only their manager had kept better track of their expenses … .
New and improved!
AccountingSuite has released the new 2016 editions of its Bookkeeper and Accountant solutions, with a number of new enhancements. … TimeXtender has released TX Financials to help corporate finance executives more easily and efficiently process corporate financial data.
