Estimating documentation costs for a technology project that you're managing seems like it's almost outside the realm of possibility, like finding the perfect hamburger or a jacket that fits you just right. Like clothing and food, there isn't a "one size fits all" amount of hours that your company can estimate for each project, because each project and each writer are different.One or more of the following situations may apply to your current project:

Are you happy with your firm's technology? Do you treat technology as a strategic asset by planning and budgeting for it?Questions like these typically result in a variety of answers from personnel within the same firm. It's no wonder that most firms need to work on consensus-building. Unfortunately, those with the strongest opinions typically have the least amount of knowledge.

Sage Software announced that year-end print services for the 2006 tax year will be available through Sage Compliance Services.

Microsoft announced the release of a public beta for Microsoft Office Accounting 2007, formerly called Microsoft Office Small Business Accounting. According to a release from the company, the latest version of the product adds online marketplace integration and invoicing to help small companies conduct their businesses online. The product will still be aimed at small businesses, even if that's no longer apparent from the software's title. Among the specific new features are integration with eBay and online payment via Paypal.Specifically for accountants, where SBA failed to generate the massive response it had initially hoped for, a new "Accountant Navigator" has been designed to help accountants manage multiple clients and a dashboard-driven payroll center should allow payment processing to be run for multiple clients from a single place.

CARTESIS REPORTS '06 SOFTWARE REVENUES UP 28 PERCENT: Cartesis, a provider of finance and performance management software, announced that for the 2006 fiscal year, the company saw its software revenues growth 28 percent - including a 61 percent leap internationally and a 57 percent rise in North America. Cartesis said that the success is likely due to additional investment in international sales and marketing and the introduction of its new product line, Cartesis 10, a business performance management solution that integrates internal and external financial data for publication, benchmarking, and merger and acquisition planning.Chief executive Didier Benchimol said that in recent quarters, the business has grown at a rate triple or quadruple that of its competitors. The company also reported:

Tax and accounting software and products provider CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, has agreed to acquire ATX/Kleinrock, a provider of tax preparation and research materials. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.ATX/Kleinrock, headquartered in Rockville, Md., supplies tax preparation, accounting and tax research software products to more than 48,000 tax professionals and CPAs throughout the country.

Not a day goes by without one of our clients asking, "How do I motivate my people?"When I was younger and more apt to answer questions than ask them, I'd launch into a listing of ideas and activities that we've seen motivate teams in the organizations we serve. These ideas and activities have value, and I'll share them in my next article, but first, let's explore the most important idea I have to help you motivate your people: Ask them!

Even the best intentions sometimes have unexpected results. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted in reaction to the Enron and WorldCom financial debacles, where poor internal controls resulted in dubious transactions being unchallenged. The result, as you know, was the collapse of several huge corporations, with many top executives facing considerable jail terms. Add in the document-shredding parties at Arthur Andersen, and in retrospect, SOX seems unavoidable.SOX was enacted in hopes of preventing something like this happening again. It not only holds management responsible for creating and maintaining internal controls tight enough to prevent or expose unauthorized or unusual transactions, but requires that publicly held corporations document how they are accomplishing these goals. There are numerous sections of the reform act, but the two that deal most directly with compliance are Section 302 and Section 404.

According to the most recent salary survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary this past recruiting season for accountants was $45,656.With starting salaries at these levels, and escalating salaries for experienced staff, firms should be reviewing their economic model. Too often, partners and owners are busy working in the business rather than working on the business. Is your firm still using billing formulas that were developed prior to the current investment levels in technology and the shortage of accountants?

Accounting software provider Intuit Inc. narrowed its fiscal fourth-quarter loss from a year earlier, boosted by strong performances from its QuickBooks and Consumer Tax businesses.

Just how big a deal can Intuit's QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions become?

SAP ACQUIRES PRAXIS, WILL FOLD CRM INTO BUSINESS ONE: SAP AG has acquired Praxis Software Solutions and will integrate the company's Web-based CRM and e-commerce capabilities into SAP Business One, which targets small and midsized companies. Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Minneapolis-based Praxis, a private software company, had previously been a Business One partner.Last year, SAP acquired start-up iLytix Systems, which specializes in reporting and budgeting tools, and promptly incorporated those features into Business One. Business One is itself the result of the 2002 acquisition of TopManage. The product, which offers companies a set $3,750-per-named-user fee for enterprise resource planning and accounting functions, competes with offerings from Microsoft Business Solutions and Sage Software.

"Firms need to find ways to bring their clients into the loop," maintained James Bourke, shareholder-in-charge of firm technology and information technology consulting services for Red Bank, N.J.-based WithumSmith+Brown, which earlier this year introduced a new client portal. "Firms have struggled with ways to bring their Web site to their clients. Outside of publishing firm brochures and newsletters, in the past there was just no reason for an existing client to visit.""The majority of firms simply use the Web as an expanded Yellow Pages ad or brochure," said Bic Wood, business and technology consultant with Austin, Texas-based Wood Johnson Heath. "A high percentage seems to use cookie-cutter templates and provide only minimal information. This is partially a lack of understanding of how the Web can impact their business, and partially a lack of a real market-driven focus within the firms. Your Web presence needs to reflect your ideas, your services and your value."

Retention and attraction of people is definitely the No. 1 challenge in all professions. The accounting profession will face a crisis if it does not make significant changes in the way it practices firm management.This is demonstrated most clearly in a recent survey conducted among firms across the country that reveals that less than one-third of them reported having a strategic plan. Of those that did have a plan, approximately 50 percent shared it with managers and staff.

Intuit Inc. says that it properly accounted for past stock options awarded to its employees and it shouldn't need to restate past profits.

A few years ago, Hewlett-Packard used a memorable television advertisement in which engineers mused about a printer that, "It will do everything but mow the lawn."

Intuit is offering the combined ProSeries individual and business package to ATX customers for a discounted price of $1,065, nearly a 70 percent savings from the standard price.

How should people buy software and technology services?

UBCC ADDS FEATURES TO REAL-TIME ACCOUNTING & PAYROLL: Accounting and payroll software provider Universal Business Computing Co. has rolled out new features for its Real-Time Accounting & Payroll applications.The software now includes enhancements to its accounts payable, automatic billing generator, workers' compensation and payroll service bureau programs. Additionally, new data-importing and PDF file features have been added.

Individuals who participate in online sales at auction sites such as eBay face a plethora of bookkeeping and tax issues regarding their entrepreneurial ventures. Some people choose to ignore the issues and simply not report their financial activity.Earlier this spring, the IRS completed a National Research Program study in which it was determined that an annual tax gap of more than $300 billion exists. The tax gap represents the difference between the amount of tax that should be paid and the amount actually paid in any given year.