Soloists Lag Multi-Owner Firms in Economic Confidence

Multi-partner firms show bullish signs. Soloists turn bearish on the U.S. economy.

CPA Trendlines Research

z-busy solos vs other in otlookCPAs aren’t economists, but they do know numbers, and they have their fingers on the pulse of the flow of money in their local areas. They know how their own businesses and their clients’ businesses are doing, and they have at least an inkling of the causes. Remembering 2014 and living through the 2015 busy season, they are well placed to prognosticate on financial flows over the next 12 months.

CPA Trendlines survey research detects a certain optimism, but it seems to be a bit more cautious among solo practitioners. READ MORE →

Remote Access Boosts Productivity, Requires Planning

Young businesswoman using smartphone and tablet at outdoor cafeBandwidth, bandwidth, bandwidth.

By Roman H. Kepczyk
Quantum of Paperless

Give your people access to the firm application and data resources needed whenever and wherever they are. They will get more work done in less time. One of the key components in optimizing firm production is providing the capability for firm personnel to work from anyplace, at any time, at their own convenience.

https://cpatrendlines.com/shop/qop/
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MORE ON TECH SPENDING: Get Ahead of Your Software Updates | Blame Accounting Vendors: Accountants Stuck with Outdated Versions of Microsoft Office | Ready or Not, Here Comes Windows 10 | Back Up and Check Your Backup | Cloud Computing Can Cost Less | Laptop-Only Workers More Common | Scanners Allow Data Capture at the Source | In PC Monitors, More Is Better

According to the AAA 2015 Survey, 77 percent of firms stated they implemented remote access technology to access firm resources when away from the office. READ MORE →

Why Adopting New Technologies Is a Must

Ed Mendlowitz CPA The Practice Doctor Q and ABONUS CHECKLISTS: 5 essentials and 4 questions to help you determine what’s right for your practice.

By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor

QUESTION: When should I adopt new technology? I do not see any benefit to being paperless and the cloud (whatever that is) and do not know why there is such a big fuss over these things. Any suggestions?

MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: Are You Managing Knowledge or Wasting It? | It’s Not Sales. It’s Your Duty | When to Hire an Admin Assistant | Quote With Care When Asked for Valuation | When Is It Time to Merge? | Why the Average Fee Doesn’t Matter | No More Printouts at CPE Programs? | 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Making Small Business Clients Happy

ANSWER: You have adopted new technology, just not enough, or not soon enough.

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9 Ways Accountants Throw Away Profits

$50 bills in a wastebasketCHECKLIST, plus how to fix your billing habits to compensate.

By Sandi Smith Leyva
The Accountant’s Accelerator

A critical measure for accountants – whether they bill either by the hour or a fixed price – is the amount they bill clients each month. As anxious as many accountants are to raise their revenues, their daily activity often sabotages that goal with the same common billing mistakes.

MORE ON SMALL-FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: 5 Ways a Deadline Can Help Close a Deal | If You Don’t Develop Your Business, Who Will? | 7 Ways to Get New Revenue from Old Clients | Draw New Clients In Like a Magnet | 11 Ways to Add Value for Clients | 5 Things You Know That Clients Don’t | 3 Ways to Test Your Revenue Forecast | How to Work the Same Hours and Make More Money | If You’re a ‘Best-Kept Secret’ Cut It Out!

Here’s a checklist so you can compare your behavior with the list. I’ll give some tips on how to break the bad habit, and the rest will be up to you.

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How I Got Started Being Social

Young businesswoman and social network over white backgroundPlus how and why to measure.

By Jody Padar
The Radical CPA

When I began dabbling with Twitter six years ago, and Facebook, seven years ago, it was more out of personal interest. I found Twitter to be a fantastic place to learn. I became an active listener and then engaged, putting out information I thought people would benefit from.

Jody Padar, The Radical CPA
Jody Padar, The Radical CPA; learn more

MORE ON RADICALISM: How Social Media Transforms Firms to their Core | 10 Radical Steps into the Cloud | Six Competitive Advantages for The Radical CPA | Radical Tenet #1: Embrace the Cloud | Radical Customers Are On Their Way | The Market Is Moving Toward the Radicals | 5 Radical Transparencies; Are You Ready? | 4 Questions Radical Firms Must Face | Being Radical Is All About Your Customer | Being Radical Starts with Being the Change | Why Start Being Radical Now? | Going Radical: The 4 Tenets of a ‘New Firm’

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Will Obamacare Penalties Kill Your Small Business Clients?

drug in syringe on white background

Fines run $100 per day, per employee.

By Stephen L. Nelson, CPA
and Elizabeth C. Nelson, CPA

Small Business and the Affordable Care Act

By now, many of your small business clients understand they don’t have to provide employees with health insurance. The employer mandate starts when a firm employs 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees.

But here’s an awkward follow-up question: Do your small business clients understand that many of the ACA’s rules still apply to them and that they may still be vulnerable to the ACA’s 4980D excise tax penalty—which runs $100 per day per employee?

LEARN MORE: Small Businesses and the Affordable Care Act: What Every Tax Practitioner Needs to Know (55-page PDF digital download)

Can We Talk IRC Code Sections?

People sometimes hear references to the 4980D penalty and scoff, say you can’t believe everything you hear on talk radio or read at some blog. So let’s look at the actual Internal Revenue Code Section in question.

Here are the first few sentences of IRC Sec 4980D: READ MORE →

Where Self-Employed Accountants Fare Best

Young man working in home officeEight cities from California make the top 30; NYC is 10th.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Self-employment is on the rise, and it only stands to reason that accountants would be part of the trend.

According to new research obtained by CPA Trendlines, self-employed accountants working in Toledo, Denver and San Jose are best off when it comes to affordability.

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8 Ways Sponsors Can Highlight Opportunities

Businesswoman at crossroads, facing two pathsHelp your protégée showcase her strengths, but leave the final career decisions up to her.

By Ida O. Abbott
Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know

Once you have identified a woman to sponsor and determined that you click, you may be wondering how to get started.

Learn more
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MORE ON SPONSORING WOMEN FOR LEADERSHIP: 17 Ways Sponsors Can Help Protégées | 3 Ways to Open a Sponsorship Conversation | What Sponsors Need from Protégées | 3 Ways to Derail Sponsorships | 4 Reasons Women Hold Themselves Back | 4 Ways Sponsors Can Help Women Seek Power | Bias About Women with Families Lingers | Gender Bias Still a Problem | Why Women Are Overlooked (And How to Fix It) | 3 Ways Men Are Favored in the Workplace | Women Need Promotions, Not Just Advice | Mentor or Sponsor? How to Distinguish Roles | 4 Ways Women Leaders Improve Firms | CPA Firms Must ‘Man Up’ and Get Women On Board

Here are some concrete steps to take:
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