In “The Balanced Millionaire,” Jackie Meyer Empowers Accountants — and the Taxpayers They Serve
New step-by-step guide to turning the stress of tax season into financial opportunity.
“The Balanced Millionaire: Advisor Edition”
Small business
Intuit Fires Back with Agentic AI after Xero Nabs Melio
In an escalating arms race, the general ledger is the new gateway to advisory.
By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research
Cornerstone Report
Just a day or two after Xero shook the accounting world with its $3 billion acquisition of B2B payments platform Melio, Intuit is launching its strategic salvo: A new suite of generative AI agents built into QuickBooks.
SEE Xero Buys Melio for $3 Billion in Race for ‘The Active GL’ | MORE Tech and Fintech | MORE Artificial Intelligence | MORE Cornerstone Reports, in-depth data-driven analysis and commentary
The agents promise to automate payment reminders, reconcile bank transactions, forecast cash flow, and even draft client emails — all without human intervention.
The initiative is pivotal in the escalating arms race among accounting tech giants to dominate the general ledger. The general ledger is no longer just a recordkeeper in this rapidly transforming space. It’s becoming the operating system for every small business financial decision — and the battleground on which legacy players and startups are staking their futures.
Tax Pros Offer Advice for Small Businesses
Specific tips from your colleagues.
By CPA Trendlines Research
The Hidden Cost of Interstate Sales Tax
Most small businesses are probably paying too much. Or, too little. Who knows?
By CPA Trendlines
The true cost of interstate sales tax compliance borne by small businesses is fast mushrooming into a problem of national proportions, according to new research. And while it may be a big opportunity for accounting firms, most small business owners are probably spending too much, or just as worrisome, too little.
MORE on SALT: When Tax Collectors Go Digital | Tax Regs for the Metaverse | Sales & Use Tax Costs Are Higher than Anyone Thought | Survey: Nobody Loves the Wayfair Decision | Accountants to Small Biz: ‘Be Nimble, Be Quick, Be Careful’ | Turn Client Wants into Needs | The 15 Absolutely Necessary Services for CAS Clients | A Job Description for Client Accounting Services | SALT: The Small Business Disaster Waiting to Happen | Survey: Rough Seas Ahead for Small Business |
- More in Tax Season here | More in Research & Surveys here | More in the CPA Trendlines Shop here
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According to a CPA Trendlines survey, 39 percent of accountants believe their small business clients were “mostly not in full compliance” with cross-border collection and remittance requirements. Each of those non-compliant clients is a potential problem and an opportunity for their accounting firm.
Now a new Avalara-sponsored survey looks more closely at “emerging small businesses” (ESBs) with under 20 employees, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with 20-50 employees. READ MORE →
Five Ways to Raise Your Prices
Hint: You don’t have to do it all at once.
By Michelle Long and Sandi Leyva
We know some of you might be afraid to raise prices, but there are some painless ways for both you and the client.
MORE SMALL FIRM GROWTH STRATEGIES: Building Reputation to Build Your Business | 3 Killer Lead Generation Channels | Your Existing Clients Are Your Best Leads | Need More Business? Focus on Referrals
Exclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
Here are five:
Change Your Thinking About ‘Small’ Clients
BONUS CHECKLIST: 11 services that should be part of every “CFO” engagement.
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I have many small business clients and can’t seem to get larger clients. Any suggestions?
MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: It’s Not Sales. It’s Your Duty | 7 Ways to Lose a Client’s Trust | 6 Ways to Take a Client Beyond Tax Prep | 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Making Small Business Clients Happy | 14 Ways to Switch to Value Pricing | Pricing, Billing, Costing: Don’t Blame Clients
ANSWER: When I started, we called the work we did for small clients “writeups.” At some point, write-ups were an embarrassment and we stopped calling them that – we said we handled family businesses. READ MORE →
Survey Finds Small Business Bullish on 2015
51% plan new hiring now and into next year. For 2015, 81 percent percent of small businesses forecast a revenue increase, with 21 percent expecting to grow more than 100 percent, according to a new Xero survey. The study also shows that … Continued
Tax Trends in Small Business: What Drives Them to Seek Professional Help
New data obtained by CPA Trendlines shows that 84 percent of small-business owners are now paying an independent tax practitioner or accountant to handle their taxes.
In addition, an increasing number of small business taxpayers appear to be taking advantage of Sec.179 expensing and bonus depreciation.
The new report available from CPA Trendlines includes information on:
- the number of small business owners who use an outside tax or accounting service
- how many hours per week a small business spends on payroll tax administration
- average cost for using a payroll agency
- hours spent on federal tax
- various tax burdens
- how to download complete report (PDF, 13 pages)
The Powerful Mega-Trends Behind the Upheaval at Sage Software
Sage’s one-brand cloud strategy is built on a tidal wave of change.
by Rick Telberg
It would be an understatement to say that the accounting software mavens arriving for the 2012 Sage software convention were in a skeptical mood. At last year’s meeting, they were told that some of the products they know and support (and sometimes love) — like MAS 90, Peachtree, and AccPac — are disappearing under a single Sage label.
It was a long time in coming. The company, with roots in the 1990’s in State of the Art and Best, was built through almost helter-skelter acquisitions without merging and consolidating brands, nor even marketing departments, R&D efforts and support departments.
COMPLETE SAGE SUMMIT COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS:
- The Powerful Mega-Trends Behind the Upheaval at Sage Software
- Sage North America CEO Pascal Houillon: How the Cloud Changes Everything [VIDEO]
- David Cieslak: A Paradigm Shift Now Measured in Months not Years [VIDEO]
- John Shaver: Business Transformation Militant [VIDEO]
Now all that is changing. And it’s about the cloud, subscription pricing and a wrenching transformation to a new business model. The question for Sage’s resellers: Can Sage deliver? The question for Sage’s accountant partners: Can they keep up?
Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneurial Accountant?
Small business survey serves up clues for accountants.
“Passion to be an entrepreneur” is the top reason for wanting to start a business for nearly half (48.5 percent) of aspiring business owners.
What To Do with Clients Who’d Rather Do It Themselves?
40% of small businesses shun accountants. The reason: They’d rather handle accounting on their own.
Instead of working with an accountant as a full business partner, most small businesses only look to them for specific services and support, such as accounting, bookkeeping, and taxes.
Your Small Business Clients Are Changing: Radical Shift in Retirement Plans
Many expect to work ’til 70 and never retire, others hope to sell.
The nation’s small business owners’ views regarding retirement are radically shifting, with many seeing themselves working 20 years or longer – or never formally retiring at all.
As a result of longer life expectancies and the impact of the recession, the majority of small business owners can no longer embrace a traditional view of retirement, in which individuals stop working in their mid-60s for a life of leisure – something fewer than 10 percent foresee themselves doing, according to a new study by The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute.
Number of Small Businesses Sold Increases, but Sales Price Decreases
Signs of resignation among sellers.
In what may come as mixed news for tax and accounting professionals, the pace of small businesses sold accelerated 8 percent in the second quarter of 2011, but it may be because owners are accepting that their businesses aren’t as valuable as they used to be.