CPA Technology Blog

Intacct Wins 2009 SIIA “Codie”for Best Financial Software

Dan Druker, CEO of Intacct, reported today that Intacct, a provider of on-demand financial software for businesses, won the 2009 “Codie” award for Best Financial Software.  Codie awards represent “the nation’s best software, digital content, and education products”  according to the sponsoring organization, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA).

Other notable 2009 winners include:

• Best Business Intelligence or Knowledge Management Solution - Adaptive Planning 5.0, Adaptive Planning.
• Best Business Software Solution - Salesforce CRM, Salesforce.com.
• Best Communication Solution - Adobe Acrobat.com, Adobe Systems, Inc.
• Best Document Management Solution – Adobe LiveCycle ES, Adobe Systems, Inc.
• Best Multi-Media Solution – Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, Adobe Systems, Inc.
• Best Open Source Solution – Sugar Professional On Demand V5.1, Sugar CRM, Inc.
• Best Relationship Management Solution – Salesforce CRM, Salesforce.com.
• Best Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution – Salesforce CRM, Salesforce.com
• Best Web Services Solution – Force.com, Salesforce.com

A complete list of 2009 Codie award winners is available on the SIIA website, siia.net.

This comes on the heels of news that Intacct was selected as the preferred provider of on-demand financial applications by the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA). 

Windows 7 RC Now Available to Us Mortals

The next version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system, Windows 7, is now available in a “close to final” version for intrepid, bleeding edge-types like me.  Needless to say, I was downloading it at 6AM ET this morning, right before my morning run to McDonald’s for some caffeine and breakfast for the family… (you have to have priorities in life, right – the first RC of Windows 7 only comes out once in a lifetime).

Previously available only to MSDN Subscribers and those who purchase an annual subscription to Microsoft TechNet, the release candidate of Windows 7 is now available for download.  The 64-bit version weighs in at 3.05 GB, and the 32-bit version is a somewhat lighter 2.36 GB.  I’m planning on converting the netbook (ASUS eee PC 1000H) to Windows 7 today, and am hoping to be running Win 7 on a new teaching build for my two teaching days in Dallas at the Texas Society of CPA’s Tech Conference next week.

The downloads were amazingly fast – I had two different PC’s downloading the different versions, and the download for both of them was under a half hour – and they were downloading at the same time using the same connection.  (I love my fiber-optic internet connection!)

I haven’t read up on when the license for the RC expires, but since I’m a member of the MS Professional Accountants Network and an MS Action Pack Subscriber, I fully expect that I’ll get 10 licenses for Win7 in my Action Pack update later this year.  If you’re a public accountant and don’t subscribe to MS Action Pack, you’re currently spending too much on software.  I’ve been a MS Action Pack Subscriber (with my own green money) for the last five years, and it’s probably the best $300 I spend for my little business.

Doc.It® Announces the “Doc.It Stimulus Package” for Accountants

Public practices can take advantage of this offer between now and September 15^th, 2009.

April 22, 2009 – LAS VEGAS – Doc.It® (www.doc-it.net), a leading provider of a complete document and workflow technology, today announced the Doc.It® Stimulus Package (www.doc-it.net/stimuluspackage) for accountants. Public practices with up to 500 users can contact Doc.It® immediately to take advantage of this unprecedented 50 percent cost savings package.

“We understand that public accounting practices will need to become more efficient in order to survive, but many may not be in the position to make the investment into our technology at this time,” said Roger Mongeon, Vice President of Doc.It®. Accountants are taking write down requests, audits are being kept to a minimum work effort, and firms that may have handled real estate work in the past don’t have that workload today. The Doc.It® Stimulus Package for accountants provides public practices the opportunity to gain the entire Doc.It® Suite of technology and world-class Doc.It® Customer Support Services without incurring any Doc.It® subscription fees for six months. “Our Stimulus Package will help public practices to realize significant operational cost savings and tremendous productivity gains,” continued Mongeon.

The Doc.It® Stimulus Package includes:

1. Doc.It® Suite - Free Subscription for Six Months! This offer represents a 50 percent cost savings on the first year of Doc.It® subscription fees.

2. Doc.It’s Presidential Guarantee. Howard Brown, President of Doc.It®, guarantees that after six months, firms can move forward and continue with Doc.It®, or cancel their subscription at any time in the future without any penalty. Doc.It® allows firms to stay in complete control of their expenses and data, without ever requiring any long-term contracts.

3. Free Membership in Doc.It’s Virtual User Group. Firms will be given immediate access to join the Doc.It leadership team and their paperless practice peers in bi-monthly Doc.It® “Training Tuesday” webinars.

1. Guaranteed Pricing. Doc.It® guarantees their all-inclusive pricing, which has remained unchanged since 2001, will not change. The guaranteed all-inclusive pricing includes:
   • Doc.It® 2-way Web Portal
   • Doc.It® Workflow Manager
   • Doc.It® Scan and Form Recognition
   • Doc.It® Tax and Accounting Software Integration
   • Doc.It® PDF Editor
   • Doc.It® PDF Composer
   • Doc.It® Work-in-Process Binder
   • Doc.It® Publisher
   • Doc.It® Archive

Mongeon recommends managing partners, along with their director of IT and firm administrator, immediately register for a free Doc.It® 60-minute (1 CPE Credit) webinar at www.doc-it.net/stimuluspackage. Participants will be introduced to Doc.It® paperless and workflow scheduling technology and learn what it is like to work in a paperless practice. “We are anticipating a huge response to our Stimulus Package offer and recommend firms act now to accelerate the operational cost relief they need and the productivity gains our technology provides,” said Mongeon.

(Note: I don’t normally print press releases in their entirety, but thought readers might want to see that some software vendors have special deals they are offering to accountants)

Microsoft Office Accounting (UK) Webinar 4/22, Noon ET (5P GST)

John Thuneby of Microsoft mentioned in his blog that Microsoft is going to be talking about Office Accounting 2009 in the UK next Wednesday.  It should be a good session – I’ve known John for a while, and he does good work.

Free Webinar - Microsoft Office Accounting – why is this free software making such a splash?

Join Gary Simon (the author of Office Accounting to the MAX), fellow Microsoft Senior Program Manager Glen Altringer and I, as we discuss Office Accounting 2009 in the UK market and the impact on small and medium size businesses.

The 30 minute webinar is on Wednesday April 22nd at 5PM GST (9AM PST) and you can register using the link below:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/733483201

New Stuff Alert – April 8, 2009

There have been a lot of press releases lately with new and improved products and services vying for the attention of CPA’s after we all get past April 15th and get caught up on our much-needed sleep.  Some of the items I’ve run into include:

1. CCH has released IntelliConnect, the next generation platform for their research products.  It’s currently available on the products which were on Tax Research Network (and CCH is going to be migrating existing users starting in about three weeks), but it is a very simple to use platform.  One of the limiting things about the superceded TRN platform is that you need to select where you want to look for search results.  With IntelliConnect, by default, you search in all available databases – which means that you can find stuff in products you didn’t even know you had access to in your plan.  The user interface has been reconfigured to look more like the familiar three-pane split screen interface we all use in Microsoft Outlook or other e-mail programs.  I could go on about this for a while (and believe me, as NOT exciting as tax research can be, that’s saying something) – but you should check it out.  Think: Google for tax research, with authoritative literature.  (Now, if I could just get something like this for these shoeboxes I’m working my way through….  Search: BM&E, mileage logs +1099… (and then I woke up))

2.  Intacct and AICPA announced a deal to bring Intacct’s web-based accounting systems to AICPA members, and the two will develop a joint product that brings AICPA’s content together with Intacct’s systems for a new version of the product aimed at CPA’s.  I’ve done some work lately with Intacct, and have been very impressed with how easy it is to use, as well as the interesting ways you can use it to accumulate data the way you want to see it presented.  In the long run, I think there is a place for cloud computing – especially where people need to collaborate who are not in the same physical location.  The on-premises software model has so many capitalized costs as well as hidden maintenance costs, SaaS makes it possible for people to add capacity (and drop capacity) seamlessly as it is needed.  The financial flexibility associated with SaaS alone is a reason to consider it – before you consider the redundant data centers, real time backup, access from anywhere, etc.  While there are still some user issues to be worked out with any SaaS deployment (security validation, your backup, exit strategy if you want to change products, vendor due diligence, etc.), I’m glad to see the AICPA move toward the future with a SaaS offering as strong as Intacct.

3. CODA announced a new version of CODA 2go based on the Force.com platform.  While this press release just came out yesterday, Dennis Howlett from across the pond has some good interview video with a CODA representative talking about the solution.

4. ThomsonReuters announced updates to their PlannerCS product related to the new tax legislation.  They’ve got a scan & organize solution this year with both UltraTax and GoSystem Tax, and I’m looking forward to hearing from firms how well things are going.  I’m not hearing anything from firms right now – which must mean that things are going reasonably well, and they are pretty busy.  (Normal for this time of year in the tax world.)

5. Fujitsu is coming out with the updated ScanSnap S1500(the desktop model), and has some cool things going on with touch-screen, network based scanners(the fi-6010N).  I’m anxiously awaiting my 30 days with a demo unit, as I have about 10 Banker’s Boxes of files which need to be put into my DMS, and I’m looking forward to having a device which doesn’t tie up a PC and can scan 50 pages a minute.  Very, very cool.

6. HP has some production scanners coming out soon with a new, jam-resistant sheet feeder on them.  I saw one work at the AIIM show, and it looked pretty good.  I’m optimistic here, but would like to play with a demo unit for 30 days or so before I pass judgement here.  A shoot-off between their unit and a Fujitsu would be very interesting here – kind of a reality show for paper farmers like me…  Hmmmm… that gives me an idea.

As a side note, I ran into a contact from ThomsonReuters at the AIIM Info360 show in Philadelphia.  It’s always nice when you see professional contacts from the CPA industry attending shows like AIIM which are targeted at general use of technology – it reminds me that we’re all competing for the best ideas and technique to increase our productivity and output.  I don’t know about you, but I’m doing my best to not participate in the recession.  The economic doldrums will have to drag me to the party kicking and screaming.  While I’m not delusional here, I have discoverered that worrying is a largely non-productive emotion.

I’m getting into podcasting with some different groups.  I have two podcasts in development, and the first episode of each is now posted to the web (although I don’t think either are on iTunes as of yet.  The podcasts are:

• Focus on Gadgets & Gizmos is a monthly podcast where Greg LaFollette and I talk about leading (and sometimes bleeding) edge gadgets & gizmos you can use to enhance your digital lifestyle (work and play).  We’re still working on the list of material we will cover in future episodes, but the first episode is on the Amazon Kindle2 device. 
• The Bit Brothers is a periodic podcast that I do with Dr. Bob Spencer and Randy Johnston on general technology topics.  We’re still working on our material for future episodes, etc., but you can learn more about what we’re doing and listen to our very rough episode #1 at www.bitbros.com.

We’re working on increasing the production quality of each podcast – both were recorded using Skype and/or telephone call recording devices, and I’m learning more than I ever imagined I would about reverb, signal to noise ratio, licensing rights for music, audio mixing (I may be reaching out to my namesake, the record producer for some help here).  If you have comments, ideas, recommendations, etc., please send them to bftcpa [att] gmail/dot/com

Two Articles, Two Podcasts, and a Trade Show

I’ve written a couple of articles for state CPA society magazines lately:

• Data Security: Are You Meeting Your Responsibilities
  Society of Louisiana CPAs Newsletter
  March 2009
• What to Watch for in Tax Software in 2009
  Kentucky Society of CPAs Newsletter
  January / February 2009

I’m also working with a couple of groups on podcasts.  One is going to be on gadgets over at TheProgressiveAccountant.com, and the other is very rough, but is going to be a round table with my friends Dr. Bob Spencer & Randy Johnston – first episode is at bitbros.com.

I’m heading to Philadelphia on Monday to attend the AIIM show again this year.  I will probably be doing some live blogging and lots of twittering from the trade show floor.  The AIIM Expo in Boston last year was really interesting, and although they don’t have The Barking Crab, I seem to recall a really snazzy Capital Grille there.

Windows XP Gets Another Stay of Execution, Windows 7 Expected in Q4 2009

Well, now.  Microsoft has (for the fifth time) moved back the deadline for system builders to take delivery of Windows XP licenses to May 30, 2009.  The story is at the following page:

http://www.tgdaily.com/html_tmp/content-view-40676-140.html

Other interesting stats from TGDaily's report:

• Vista's market share on running PC's is estimated to be 20% vs. 66% for Windows XP (not shocking, since so many people have PC's which are more than two years old)

• The report asserts that up to one third of new PC purchasers are opting for Windows XP instead of Vista.

This article seems like a tempest in a teapot at this point.  I think we've all accepted the following:

• Apple and the news media have done a brilliant job of destroying consumer confidence in Windows Vista.  I don't hear people who actually use Vista complain about it - it's usually people who are spouting off some tag line from an Apple commercial.  At this point, it's now politically incorrect to
• There will be issues with legacy applications in any new OS, especially when consumer expectations regarding security have increased (in Vista) vs. the focus on user experience and simplicity in XP.

• Consumers and businesses are in many cases holding off on major upgrades until after Windows 7 ships.  At this point, I think we can expect that Vista will be everyone's favorite OS around, and we will see a repeat of the experience we've had as MS has tried to move XP along to the boneyard.

If you haven't tried Vista, you really should.  My PC is running a 64-bit version of Vista Business, and I'm really happy with it.  (In fact, salescircular.com's listing of home-grade PC's on sale at various retailers is including more and more systems with 64-bit versions of Windows Vista installed)

I've been re-reading Nicholas Negroponte's excellent 1995 book, Being Digital, and one of the things which strikes me about the book's predictions about movement to a digital world is how much has really changed in the last 13 years.  The book was written before iPods, TiVo, serious high speed internet access, and cloud computing, but it seems to reinforce the expectation that these items will be coming soon.  After reading one chapter in the book, I noticed that Negroponte basically predicts the eBook reader, as well as many of the changes which have occurred in the intervening period.  My nephew got a new iPod touch from his Mom for Christmas, and I was amazed at what you can do with applications from the App Store.  I still think the iPhone is more of an overhyped toy and less of a business tool (Don't believe me?  Try typing a WPA key into one sometime.  Oh, and it doesn't have cut and paste.  Those little details....)  If you could have an add-on e-paper book reader with a keyboard for an iPod touch or an iPhone, it might go a long way toward providing that universal appliance which people are looking for.  It's clear, however, that Multi-Touch is going to revolutionize how we interact with computers in the near term, and I continue to be amazed by what people do with accelerometers in electronic devices.

Merry Christmas, and I wish you all a very safe and prosperous 2009.

Awards Update

There's been a lot of stuff going on with awards from and for the K2 Team.  In the last week, Randy Johnston was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today, I was recognized as a member of the CPA Technology Advisor's "40 Under 40" for my work with the profession, and K2 gave out their annual quality awards to software publishers serving the accounting profession.

Since it is better to give than to receive, I'll start with our annual K2 Quality Awards:

2008 K2 Annual Quality Awards

Hammond, LA – October 8, 2008 -- K2 Enterprises today announced the recipients of their annual quality awards as follow

•        Reseller Program– Open Systems, Inc.

•        CPA Program –Pro Advisor – Intuit, Inc.

•        Installation Channel/Methodology – Rapid QuickBooks Replacements – Microsoft Dynamics GP

•        Reseller Channel – SYSPRO

•        New Product – Workstation 6.5 VMware

•        New Module – Tic, Tie, Calculate – Acct1st

•        New Technology – GruntWorx - Copanion

•        Management Strategy – SAP

•        Technical Support – Sage Software

•        Customer Satisfaction – Thomson Reuters

•        Ease of Use – QuickBooks – Intuit, Inc.

•        Marketing Communications – Doc-It, Inc.

•        Overall Quality – Avalara

•        Tax & Audit – Pro Systems fx Engagement - CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business

•        Accounting Industry Press Coverage – The CPA Technology Advisor

As part of their service and consulting to the CPA industry, K2 annually votes on both hardware and software products for software publishers and hardware manufacturers.  These products are used by CPAs in both public practice and industry. “Great value, vision, and consistency are recognized by our CPA attendees.  When companies are innovating, we can see the quality of their products and/or services improving before the market,as a whole, recognizes the changes,” said K2 Executive Vice-President, Randy Johnston

K2 Enterprises is the premier provider of technology continuing professional education (CPE) in both the United States and Canada.  With seminars in over 47 states in 2008, 1,000+ presentations, special events such as their turn-key Annual Technology Conferences, CPE & Ski, K2 Enterprises - Canada, they are the largest provider of technology CPE in North America.

K2 Enterprises Annual Quality Awards are determined by a poll of the K2 Enterprises instructor team.  The voting members of this team are Randy Johnston, Will Fleenor, Val Steed, Bob Spencer, Alan Salmon, Lawrence(Mac) McClelland, Tommy Stephens, Brian Tankersley, Ward Blatch.  Their votes are influenced by, end user feedback, and experience from consulting and extensive teaching.  Detailed biographies on each of the voting members can be found at: http://www.k2e.com/team

 The other two awards are described at the links listed below:

• Randy Johnston was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today
• Brian Tankersley recognized as member of the CPA Technology Advisor's "40 Under 40"

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Tags: 40Under 40, Randy, K2, K2 Quality Awards

Excel Used to Solve Sudoku

Charlie Ellis, a program manager at Microsoft, has an interesting article which uses solving a Sudoku puzzle as a way to teach how you can use Excel to solve extremely complex puzzles using iterative calculations.  Interesting concept, and I look forward to using it on one of my favorite games ever.

Web: Building a Basic, Understandable Sudoku Solver Using Excel Iterative Calculation (by Charlie Ellis from Excel on MSDN Blogs)

• Part 1
  
• Part 2
  

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Tags: Excel, Sudoku, iterative calculations, Microsoft Excel

Some Tech Sites and Some Updates to Google Docs

I follow a lot of tech blogs so I can know what's going on and keep lots of crisp, fresh tech goodness in front of you, the gentle reader..... but seriously, some of the better sources out there are:

• Merlin Mann, personal productivity guru - www.43folders.com
• Lifehacker.com - Gina Trapiani's superb tips blog
  
• This Week in Tech (podcast) - www.twit.tv - good general tech news
  
• The CPA Tech Advisor has some good podcasts as well (most notably, their round table podcast called "Tech to Go")

Speaking of Merlin Mann, The King of 43 Folders recently reported that Google has added 300 templates for various kinds of documents.  Like most templates, some are nice and some are campy.  My vote:  Stick with the MS templates - there are more of them, and there are more you could actually use at your office as opposed in your role as a member of the PTA.

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Tags: Lifehacker, 43 Folders, This Week in Tech, TWIT, Tech To Go, Web