Guide on Cloud Computing 

August 9, 2012

With the rise of cloud computing and constant availability of mobile devices, there’s been a big shift in the way tech-savvy practices compile, analyze and deliver financial data for clients. Most accounting practitioners have known that there are significant advantages to automating their business processes and adopting digital technology. But just now the accounting firms have a roadmap to guide them through the process of using cloud computing.

In a book “10 Steps to a Digital Practice in the Cloud: New Levels of CPA Firm Workflow Efficiency” published by the American Institute of CPAs, the authors describe the 10 steps for getting a digital practice up and running. Read more "Guide on Cloud Computing "




QuickBooks POS is Integrated with GoPayment

June 8, 2012

Intuit has integrated its mobile payment processing application GoPayment with the latest version (2003) of QuickBooks Point of Sale (QuickBooks POS) software. The two solutions will now be able to communicate with each other, syncing both inventory and financial data from PC to mobile or vice versa.

QuickBooks POS software is designed for small retailers as tracking and management tools they need to effectively run their business. Retailers can track inventory and set automatic re-order points, manage customer's contact information and send personalized emails and gift cards, access business reports to get unique insight into how the business is doing, track employees' hours and pay commissions, and manage and monitor business results for up to 20 stores from one location. Read more "QuickBooks POS is Integrated with GoPayment"




Square Credit-Card Reader 

Credit Card Payment Processing in Your Pocket

June 5, 2012

Square Credit Card Reader
Plug Square credit-card reader gizmo into your Android phone or iOS device and presto, you can accept credit-card payments anytime, anywhere! Just swipe and go. This gizmo is by far the fastest and easiest way to set up a merchant account, and it has the advantage of being completely portable. 

The card reader has a suggested retail price of $9.95 with a $10 rebate upon signup for new users. Business owners looking to turn their mobile devices into credit card machines can now purchase the Square Card Reader at Apple, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Radio Shack, Target, UPS, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Staples, and FedEx stores across the U.S

You pay only a small percentage of each transaction. No monthly or annual fees. The company charges 2.75 percent per swipe for Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Read more "Square Credit-Card Reader"




Mobile Credit Card Processing in Your Pocket

March 21, 2012

Mobile Credit Card Processing in Your Pocket
Setting up merchant services with your bank in order to accept credit card payment can be complicated, with lots of hidden fees. It’s no longer a big deal when it comes to accepting a credit card payment directly on your mobile devices; you have more options these days. Three of those options, Square, Intuit GoPayment, and PayPal Here, will send you a small credit card reader or scanner when you sign up for a new account. Each reader simply plugs into your mobile device’s audio jack. 

While Square and Intuit GoPayment have been widely recognized and established for some times, the PayPal Here is just emerged last week. PayPal Here comes from a well-enough known name that it could be a serious competitor for the two current mobile credit card readers. 

Each service offers free apps for iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) as well as for Android. Intuit’s GoPayment also supports some BlackBerry phones. Since the scanner plug into the headphone port, they are compatible with almost any phone that can run the app. Read more "Mobile Credit Card Processing in Your Pocket"




Why Do You Need To Computerize Accounting Process?

Computerized Accounting
Over the centuries the traditional way to keep accounts was to use calculators and pen and a set of paper books, which worked fine for the businesses at that time. You may still keep the manual recording for your small business accounting.

But with today's changing world and computerization are widely used, there seems no need to have to take the manual way. The computer system should be able to perform these basic tasks in a flash and keep you up to date. At this time you are wondering whether you are going to computerize the process, especially if you’ve clearly outgrown your paper bookkeeping system. 

How can accounting software help you and what is the benefit of the computerization? Accounting software makes maintaining business accounting easy by computerizing the accounting system and providing simple interface between you and the accounting system.  

There are lots of benefits in computerizing your accounting system if you have a small business. Automation reduces time of lengthy manual processing, eliminates human involvement in some stages of accounting process, reduces errors caused by human intervention or multiple manual processing, provides continuously up-to-date reports, and so on. They mean you're sure to increase efficiency and accuracy that eventually lead to saving time and money.  After cutting cut your accountancy fees and time, what’s more? The computerizing frees up time and energy that otherwise would be spent in manual handling. Now you can make use extra time and energy to concentrate on managing and growing your business. Read more "Why Do You Need To Computerize Accounting Process?"




How to Set Up QuickBooks 

QuickBooks is powerful, user friendly accounting software for the small and medium size business. It provides accounting, invoicing, inventory and payroll functionality that will allow you to set up your business with little to no hassle. 

Before using QuickBooks, you have to install the software into your computer and set up a new QuickBooks data file. The following steps will guide you through the setup process after the QuickBooks have been installed.

  • Run QuickBooks program and select the "Interview" mode if you walk the system to walk you through the set up process. Or, set up the company manually.
  • Enter your company information. Enter relevant information about your company, as prompted by the interview mode. Make sure to enter the correct fiscal year end, as all reports are driven off of that information. Find your tax identification number and enter it. Continue by clicking "Next".
  • Set up a security password. This is definitely a good idea if there are other people with access to your computer. You can always change your password or grant access to others later on. For example, if you have an employee that comes in once a week to do payroll, you can grant him or her security access to the payroll function. Click "Next". Read more "How to Set Up QuickBooks"



Personal Cloud Computing: Use & Misuse for Financial Files

Personal cloud computing means having every piece of data you need at your fingertips and ready for use. The key to enabling the portable and interactive you is the ability to sync up your data among your devices, as well as access to shared data. Shared data is the data we access online in any number of places.

The cloud computing enables your PC and all of your mobile devices being in sync all the time and all of your personal data being able to access at any given moment. With cloud computing you have ability to organize and mine data from any online source and to share that data with your friends, family, coworkers, or clients in an instant. 

One very simple, good use of cloud based services is as an off-site backup for important financial or accounting files. The backup file is in-sync with all connected devices and a shared backup file can be accessed by your coworkers, financial analyst, or accountant. More "Personal Cloud Computing: Use & Misuse"