issue 3 | 2013
Tips, trends, and connections for users of Thomson Reuters software
SOLUTIONS
the
GOLDEN
HOUR
One firm uses the
right tools to create
movie magic.
Z
underpayment?
finance is fun
Avoid penalties
with increased
withholding
Peggy cote:
financial analyst,
mom extraordinaire
reinvention is
their specialty
SOLUTIONS
issue 3 | 2013
FEATURES
8
also inside
LIGHTS,
CAMERA,
ACTION
4
7
14
6
INSIDE
STORY
12
industry
at large
Newsline
Business owner’s insurance, and
a new blog for payroll processors.
software in action
Using Practice CS to its fullest
keeps this firm profitable.
support corner
The Welcome Services program
helps you navigate your software.
Questions or feedback? Email your thoughts
to [email protected].
Join our online users’ forum, at
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Community.
Find more on the web, at
CS.ThomsonReuters.com.
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Facebook
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Twitter
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/YouTube
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/LinkedIn
Solutions is published by the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters, 7322 Newman Boulevard, Dexter, MI 48130; 800.968.8900. Printed in the United States.
Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters, Issue 3, 2013. Cover: © REUTERS/Louafi Larbi; page 4 and above: © Media Bakery/Henn Photography; page 6 and above: © Bryan Hoeft (Peggy Cote);
Pages 8 to 11 and above: © Joe Vaughn (Shirlene Small and Doreena Towner); page 14, left: © Media Bakery/Gregor Schuster.
VIEW POINT
Forty Billion Reasons to Connect
Your Firm to the Future
Remember how we felt about the year 2000
when we were kids? It seemed like a magical,
impossibly far-off time. We all knew we’d have jet
packs, flying cars, maybe even time travel. Think
of the possibilities!
So far, the 21st century hasn’t shaped up in exactly
the ways we’d imagined. But I think in many ways,
that’s a good thing. I’m thankful, for example,
that my own kids aren’t strapping on jet packs or
zooming around in flying cars. And I think they’re
OK with it too. Because in their world, physical
location isn’t all that important. They can talk to
anyone and accomplish almost anything right from
home on their smartphones and tablets. The world
comes to them. We’ve achieved the results we
wanted in a way that we never imagined back in
the 20th century.
And yet, the technological upheaval we’re seeing
now is not even the tip of the iceberg. If you
attended our 33rd annual SYNERGY conference in
Miami Beach, you already know that there will be
an estimated 40 billion Internet-connected devices
by 2020. Forty billion. Seven years from today.
Watch Jon’s 2013
Users’ Conference
keynote address at
CS.ThomsonReuters.
com/Solutions.
No matter how you feel about that prediction, I
think you’ll agree that it can’t be ignored. And
as I talked to attendees of this year’s SYNERGY
conference, I heard how firm after firm is
leveraging the connectivity of the cloud and the
mobile web to run more efficient practices, better
serve clients, and ultimately drive firm growth
and profitability. Every firm has a slightly different
approach, but they all share two key drivers: agility
and creativity.
CS.thomsonreuters.com
I heard from firms that are using the cloud to
create always-on links with their clients, build
closer relationships, and provide new value-added
services that are far more profitable than basic
compliance work. I learned how firms are using
the integration in the CS Professional Suite to
offer new services to existing clients with very
little additional effort required of the firm. And I
learned how firms are moving compliance work
from professionals to administrative staff and
improving overall compliance work efficiency by
using new automation capabilities in applications
like Workpapers CS.
Big changes lie ahead, in our profession and
everywhere else. And while I’m still waiting for my
flying car, I’m confident that creativity and agility
will take us wherever we want to go.
I’d like to thank everyone who attended the
33rd annual SYNERGY conference. Every year, it
reminds me that a roomful of like-minded people
is the original social network, and still the most
powerful one of all.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season and a
prosperous 2014,
Jon Baron
Managing Director, Professional,
Tax & Accounting, Thomson Reuters
[3]
NEWSLINE
CS Professional Suite®
ACCOUNTING & AUDITING
Accounting CS™
Accounting CS Client Access
AdvanceFlow™
Engagement CS®
Workpapers CS™
DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
FileCabinet CS®
GoFileRoom®
MOBILE APPS
ARNE
Mobile CS®
myPay Solutions®
Business
Owner’s
Insurance:
A Lifeline for
Your Firm
NetClient CS®
PAYROLL
Accounting CS Payroll
myPay Solutions®
Firm & Workflow
Management
Practice CS®
WorkFlow ManagerTM
TAX
UltraTax CS®
GoSystem® Tax RS
Fixed Assets CS®
Planner CS®
ToolBox CS®
Cloud Computing
In a recent study of 451 businesses affected by
2012’s Hurricane Sandy, The Hartford found
that about three-quarters were forced to close
for a period of time following the storm. Of
the businesses that closed, 44 percent reported
that it took seven days or longer to open their
doors again. And 52 percent of all the businesses
surveyed experienced a loss of sales or revenue.
Storms on the scale of Sandy are rare, but any
time your firm is compromised for any reason—
property damage, loss of income, data theft—
it can be devastating to your bottom line,
not to mention the quality of life for you and
your employees.
It’s a good idea to protect your business
and financial well-being with a business
owner’s policy (BOP), which can be purchased
through any reputable insurance company.
In addition to a basic policy covering property,
general liability, business interruption, and
other common business coverage, you can
purchase optional coverage that allows you to
tailor the policy to your firm’s specific needs.
As an example, Thomson Reuters preferred
partner, The Hartford, offers a number of
options, such as Business Property Insurance,
Business Liability Coverage, Loss of Business
Income, and Data Breach Coverage.
The Small Business Administration offers
a great free article on factors to keep in
mind when purchasing business insurance.
You can check it out at SBA.gov/content/
buying-insurance.
To learn more about The Hartford’s BOP
options, visit bit.ly/hartford-policy.
SaaS for CS Professional Suite
Virtual Office CS®
Website Design
Web Builder CS®
Client Portals
NetClient CS®
[4]
More Sandy Stats
Use this code to check out more
thought-provoking statistics from
The Hartford’s study of small businesses
affected by Hurricane Sandy.
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
Increase Withholding
to Avoid Estimated Tax Penalty
Some individuals with
substantial income may find
they haven’t paid enough
estimated tax for 2013.
While they can still make
an additional estimated tax
payment now, this may not be
enough to avoid the penalty for
underpayment of an estimated
tax installment.
The penalty, however, can
be avoided or minimized by
increasing withholding near
the end of the year. Unlike
estimated tax payments,
income tax withholding is
treated as paid in equal
amounts on each of the four
installment due dates (unless
the individual establishes the
dates on which the amounts
were actually withheld).
Thus, it may be possible for
an individual to avoid the
estimated tax penalty on
earlier installments by having
substantial withholding
taken out of his or her salary,
pension, Social Security, or
distributions from an IRA or
401(k) plan later in the year.
# Example: Doris is selfemployed, and her income
varies substantially from year
to year. She now expects
her 2013 tax liability to be
considerably higher than she
originally estimated. As a
result, she’s underpaid her
2013 estimated tax by about
$20,000. If she increases the
amount she pays with her last
quarterly installment (due
January 15, 2014) by $20,000,
she’ll only avoid the penalty for
that last quarter.
On the other hand, if before
the end of 2013 Doris takes a
distribution from her IRA, from
which she arranges (using
IRS Form W-4P, Withholding
Certificate for Pension or
Annuity Payments) to have
$20,000 withheld, and then
rolls the amount distributed
(including an amount, from
another source, equal to
the amount withheld) into
another IRA within 60 days,
the distribution will not be
taxable to her in 2013. Instead,
the withholding will be spread
equally over the entire year and
will reduce the total amount
of estimated taxes owed for
the year to the amount Doris
actually paid.
Salaried employees could make
up underpayments of estimated
tax by asking their employer to
increase withholding from their
salaries from their late-in-theyear paychecks.
You’ll find resources that can
give you more information on
this scenario and countless
others in our new e-store, at
Tax.ThomsonReuters.com/
Store
The
Payroll
Report
Get payroll updates, tips,
tactics, and more from
our new monthly blog, the
Payroll Report.
Jim Paille, CPP, is the
director of operations at
myPay Solutions and a
30-year
veteran of
the payroll
service
industry.
He brings
his expertise to payroll topics
as diverse as the impact of
the Affordable Care Act and
employing foreign nationals.
Check out the Payroll Report
every month for fresh ideas
and vital information.
To check it out now, visit
bit.ly/payrollreport.
Workpapers CS: More powerful than ever
Workpapers CS offers a better way to
manage your workpapers, with real-time
online collaboration and powerful tools
for managing documents and data from a
variety of sources. We’ve made the latest
release even more powerful with a variety
of new features, including:
• New integration with Source Document
Processing so firms can transmit client
source documents for UltraTax/1040
clients directly from a Workpapers CS
engagement to Source Document
Processing. Source Document Processing
uses optical character recognition
(OCR) technology to organize and label
CS.thomsonreuters.com
workpapers, then deliver them directly to
the correct folder in Workpapers CS.
• New integration with NetClient CS lets
you drag and drop source documents into
the engagement binder using the new
File Exchange Documents portlet.
•The ability to assign tax codes to
multiple accounts at the same time
using the Assign Codes feature from
the Enter Trial Balance or Chart of
Accounts screen.
•The ability to assign a default
workpaper reference to folders within
an engagement binder, streamlining the
process of adding workpapers. Firms can
also determine how each subsequent
workpaper’s reference should be
incremented by setting these features in
the folder properties dialog.
Designed specifically for automating tax
engagements, Workpapers CS helps you
electronically manage workpapers from
a variety of sources, with features that
make it easier to manage documents and
data, perform trial balance calculations,
and collaborate with other staff members.
It can accommodate many document
types, and includes the ability to link
documents to the trial balance for real-time,
dynamic balance updates. Learn more at
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/WorkpapersCS.
[5]
INSIDE STORY
behind the scenes
Making
Finance
Fun
Meet Peggy Cote, a financial
analyst in the accounting and
finance department at Thomson
Reuters in Dexter, Mich. She joined
the company in 2002 in the forms
design group, then three years later
transferred to accounts receivable.
In February 2012 she applied for the
job she’s in today, where she can
combine all her interests.
Solutions: You’ve followed a somewhat
When you present internal finance
unusual path in your career at Thomson
updates, you make them understandable
Reuters. Tell us about that.
even for our employees who don’t work in
Peggy Cote: I worked in the tax forms
finance. What’s your secret?
department for two years, but having
I’m really more of a people person than I
come from a 20-year background in the
am a numbers person. My training came
travel industry I missed talking to people.
from selling travel and teaching people
Accounts receivable was a great place
how to use airline computer systems. I’m
to have that kind of interaction. During
just not your standard finance person.
that time I went back to school to earn
my master’s degree, and after that I got
But don’t you have a Master of Science
this job.
degree in Accounting?
I do. I actually went back to school
What’s involved in the work you do now?
when my daughters were in college. In
I spend most of my time focusing on
fact, I studied accounting with one of
myPay Solutions, gathering all the sales
my daughters and was even in one of
figures and creating internal reports.
her classes. Juggling school, work, and
myPay Solutions includes a customer
personal life was a challenge, but I’m
revenue sharing program, so we’re
glad I did it.
working hard to reduce the turnaround
time for their quarterly payments and
we’re making good progress.
[6]
Motherly Love
Team spirit. As a single mother, Cote
couldn’t afford to pay all the bills herself, so
her three daughters started working during
high school to help out. “Whenever the car
broke down or the basement flooded, we
always worked as a team to take care of it,”
says Cote.
School days. It’s unusual for a mother to
go back to school with her daughters, but it
made perfect sense to Cote. “My daughters
found it hard to balance school and work.
Being a mother means being a role model.
If you’re not willing to do it,” she says, “how
can you expect them to?”
Travel time. Cote still loves to travel and
has taken special trips with each of her
daughters. “My daughters are my closest
friends,” says Cote.
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
SOFTWARE IN ACTION
Practice
Makes
Perfect
Billing for All
You’re Worth
There’s more than technology
behind Western Sage CPAs’
increased profitability. The
company also know how to bill
for what it’s worth.
The right software
makes all the
difference in one
firm’s profitability.
How do you grow a tax and accounting firm by
20 percent in just 18 months? Practice. Literally.
Western Sage CPAs attributes much of its recent
growth to Practice CS. The Worland, Wyoming–
based firm increased its revenue from just under
$900,000 to $1.2 million in that time period—
without adding clients or staff.
“We actually had Practice CS but just weren’t using
it to its full potential,” says Managing Partner
KayLynn Dalebout, CPA. “We still had everything on
index cards, like a library card catalog, so keeping
track of projects was slow and cumbersome. If a
card got misplaced we’d spend hours looking for it.”
As Dalebout puts it, “The old Apple computers we
played Oregon Trail on in middle school had better
technology than that card file box.”
Fortunately, Practice CS is a far cry from card file
boxes and 1980s computer technology. Now that
all the firm’s client data, projects, and due dates are
entered into the software, efficiency and accuracy
are no longer a problem.
“The project tracking in it is amazing,” says
Dalebout. “Even with the card file we didn’t miss
many deadlines, but we once missed two trust
extensions and it cost us more than $7,000 in
IRS fees. You can’t miss too many of those and
stay in business.”
CS.thomsonreuters.com
Western Sage CPAs uses Practice CS to track
corporate tax return projects, too. The software
automatically knows the due date for each
corporation’s filing.
They also use Practice CS for the consulting and
bookkeeping work they do for clients, including
many farmers and ranchers. With those clients,
estate planning for second- and third-generation
family owners can provide another profitable
business line.
According to Dalebout, the questionnaire built into
Practice CS really helps the firm target its clients’
needs in all those areas. Knowing what services to
provide at a given time can generate more income.
Tracking employee hours is another benefit of
Practice CS. Accurate information allows the firm
to better measure productivity and make changes
that boost profitability.
“To me,” says Dalebout, “Practice CS is the
all-encompassing thing that keeps everything
running smoothly.”
KayLynn recently participated
in a Thomson Reuters
webcast, discussing modern
firm practice management
with Matt West. Listen to the
recorded webcast here.
When deciding what to bill a
client, Western Sage doesn’t
just think in terms of hours,
says KayLynn Dalebout. It
also considers the value of the
intellectual property.
“If I spend 10 minutes
recommending what type of
corporation a client should set
up, I’m not just charging $63
for that time,” she explains.
“I gave them the benefit of a
lifetime of experience and I’ll
charge them accordingly.”
Or consider tax-planning
services. If the firm can save
a client $27,000 in taxes,
Dalebout believes the value of
the service is worth far more
than a one-hour flat rate.
The same concept applies to
bookkeeping services. Clients
will think they can do the work
themselves, but then waste
27 hours getting it wrong,
Dalebout explains.
“We want our clients to think of
it this way: Isn’t it worth $150
to have us get it right the first
time and free up two weeks of
your life?” she says. “You have
to sell your knowledge—not
just your time.”
[7]
Lights,
Camera,
Action!
This firm does blockbuster
business by staying one
step ahead of the trends.
DYNAMIC DUO:
Left to right, sisters
Shirlene Small and
Doreena Towner make
good business sense.
[8]
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
Firm Facts
Z BASICS: Founded in
2003, Emerging Business
Solutions Group LLC is
based in Chicago. The firm
provides tax, accounting,
assurance, and consulting
services to small- and
medium-size businesses,
including niche markets.
In addition to the two
partners, the staff includes
a full-time office manager
and accountant, and a
part-time technology
strategist. The firm
plans to add another
full-time and part-time
staff member no later
than early 2014, and
consistently makes use
of interns.
Z WEBSITE: The firm
offers a wide range of
services online, including
tax tools, a financial
guide, and a secure
client login created using
NetClient CS Portals, at
www.ebscpas.net.
Z SOFTWARE:
Emerging Business
Solutions Group uses the
entire CS Professional Suite,
as well as Mobile CS, and
is implementing
myPay Solutions on a
client-by-client basis.
CS.thomsonreuters.com
[9]
When your business centers around startup and emerging business
markets, the only constant is change. Fortunately, reinvention is one of the
things Emerging Business Solutions Group LLC does best.
“
We’re always
eager to learn
about new
technology and
opportunities to
improve what we
do and find new
“
ways to deliver
excellent service
to our clients.
— Shirlene Small
Founded in 2003 by sisters Shirlene Small, CPA,
CGMA, managing partner, and Doreena Towner, CPA,
operations partner, the Chicago-based firm has focused
on small- and medium-size businesses from day one.
It’s been a good place to be, because these businesses
have generally continued to grow even during the
economic downturn—which means Emerging Business
Solutions Group has grown, too.
“You hear a lot of negative things in the media about
the economy, but we’re really seeing businesses starting
and expanding and growing,” says Small. “Over the
years, working with companies like these has raised our
level of expertise so we’re able to clearly see what they
need and offer a solution that fits each one.”
Towner adds that strategically choosing the markets
they serve has been a good approach for their firm. “As
we’ve honed in on specific industries, we’ve tailored our
offerings accordingly,” she says. “We’ve always been on
the cutting edge of technology and using it strategically
has had a huge positive impact.”
[ 10 ]
The services they offer have evolved, too. They’ve gone
from a focus on tax and accounting services—which
they still offer—to assisting their clients in building
organizational capacity.
“We help them design a system and practice they can
follow internally,” says Small. That frees up Emerging
Business Solutions Group to focus on financial review
and management services, such as finalizing the
financial results. The firm then helps its clients analyze
those results to see how they compare to the targeted
metrics it prepared based on their business goals.
Processing pros
This approach also means constantly fine-tuning the
firm’s own internal procedures, says Towner, building
teams and processes to serve each niche market.
Independent spirit
Small and Towner have had a steadfast vision. “Our
premise has always been if small businesses had
the same level of expertise, financial support, and
management that larger businesses do, they could
thrive,” says Small.
When they first launched Emerging Business Solutions
Group, Towner and Small focused on serving small- and
medium-size businesses in the manufacturing and
retail arenas. But over the past 10 years they’ve refined
A Women’s
World
the portfolio of industries they work with. Today, their
emphasis is on service businesses and niche markets,
primarily healthcare providers, academic and business
education providers, general business service providers,
and film producers.
If you ask Shirlene Small and
Doreena Towner the impact being
a women-owned business has
had on their firm, they’ll say “not
much.” Other than the pride in
knowing they’re two successful
entrepreneurs who happen to
be women. “I think it might be
harder being a woman in some
other industries, but we’ve never
The film production industry is a perfect example.
Many states, including Illinois, offer tax credits to
production companies that produce films, TV shows,
and commercials there. To receive tax credits, production
companies have to engage a certified public accounting
firm to validate and calculate local production spending.
Emerging Business Solutions Group first started
working with production companies in 2007, just a
project here and there, maybe one every few months.
had any real challenges in ours,”
says Small. “We’ve also never had
any lack of opportunities.”
According to Towner, they’ve
earned certification as a womenand minority-owned business all
the way up to the federal level. In
addition, the firm does whatever
it can to actively promote
women- and minority-owned
businesses, in terms of staffing
and even the makeup of their
diverse clientele.
“We do it all very authentically,”
says Small. “We’re proud of
who we are and want others
to have the same opportunities
we have.”
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
“
Our clients just love
having Thomson Reuters
mobile apps, so they can
have access to their tax
returns, their accounting
“
statements—whatever
they need from their client
portal—even when they’re in
the middle of a meeting.
— Doreena Towner
But when Illinois renewed and revised its film
production tax credit legislation, it created a film and
TV production boom. Film production is now a major
part of the firm’s business, which meant developing a
team, as well as processes and a proprietary tool, to
handle the work.
“When we initiated GoFileRoom, it was key,” says
Towner. “We’re now in the final stages of developing
a custom firm flow for the film tax credit that lets us
be more functional and makes it easier to pull in extra
people when needed to get the job done.”
The timing of adding GoFileRoom to the firm’s existing
suite of Thomson Reuters solutions could not have been
better, she adds. It roughly coincided with the change in
legislation, which allowed independent CPAs to handle
the documentation for production companies—putting
Emerging Business Solutions Group in exactly the right
place at the right time.
Plus, the ability to get tax credits back to film
production companies more quickly has earned
Emerging Business Solutions Group a good reputation,
which helps create even more business.
“We focus on helping our clients solve their business
challenges, and our own challenge has always been
capacity,” explains Small. “We’re constantly working to
maximize our resources, and GoFileRoom really helps
us manage our capacity.”
WORKING TOGETHER:
From left: Doreena
Towner; Diane Little,
Kurtis Productions’
business manager; and
Shirlene Small connect
to find solutions.
Although it’s a fan of many elements of GoFileRoom,
Emerging Business Solutions Group is particularly
keen on how easy it makes tracking the flow of a
project throughout the office.
“With one click you can put your finger on everything
that has entered the office, what stage it’s in, how long
it’s been there, and who’s working on it,” says Small.
“It not only makes the flow more efficient, it helps
us identify places where things may consistently get
bogged down so we can find a solution.”
Towner adds that, as with every Thomson Reuters
solution, integration is a key advantage. “Our entire
workflow is seamless, because the systems all talk to
each other,” she says. “Plus, the fact that everything is
paperless is appealing both to us and our clients.”
A lot has changed since Emerging Business Solutions
Group opened its doors. But one thing hasn’t.
Technical effects
Having an electronic workflow is central to the
firm’s business. Emerging Business Solutions Group
started out using Write-Up CS and has been loyal to
Thomson Reuters products ever since. The firm now
uses the entire CS Professional Suite and considers
GoFileRoom an especially valuable asset.
CS.thomsonreuters.com
“We want to offer excellent service and give our
clients something of value that helps them achieve
their business goals and vision,” says Small. “To do
that, we have to always be thinking proactively about
how we can improve the solutions we offer. When we
accomplish that, we all benefit.”
[ 11 ]
Speaking
the Language
of Small
Business
When it comes to your
clients, size matters.
Learn how to
communicate in
terms that fit.
[ 12 ]
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
You know there’s a difference between
huge corporations and mom-and-pop
shops. That includes the way they think
about their business—and even the way
they talk about it.
You need to tailor your communication to suit your
Clear and simple
In a similar vein: Stay away from abstract concepts.
Stick to concrete, tangible steps a small business
can take to improve its productivity and profitability.
Big
Ideas
Small businesses are more likely than big ones to be
focused on what’s right in front of them. Show them
Here are five great tips
how to improve on those things.
for talking to small
small-business clients’ needs and priorities.
businesses.
Visuals can be helpful, too, which is why Miller
It’s point of view
includes some videos on his website to get people
Don’t think like a
“First, you have to remove your practitioner hat and
started (biz-by-design.com). Printed graphics can
practitioner. Think
think of yourself as a small-business owner,” says
also be effective.
like a small business.
Paul Miller, president/founder of Business By Design,
Inc., in Edina, Minnesota.
(Which you may
“Most people are very visual, so I think it helps to
actually be.)
draw things out for them,” Miller says. “It lets people
Miller founded Business By Design when he struck out
see what your strategies are and helps them connect
Explain why your
on his own as an entrepreneur, and quickly discovered
the dots.”
firm understands
that he needed someone to help him develop an
the needs of small
effective tax plan. He didn’t simply want tax and
The voice of experience
businesses. What
accounting services, though. He wanted a trusted
If your practice is small, so much the better. You
makes you well-
advisor. That’s exactly the service he provides now.
can tell your client you know from experience
suited to serving
whether certain strategies will work. You’re in
their needs?
Being a partner
an especially strong position to talk with small
“I think all entrepreneurs want someone who’s
businesses on their terms.
going to help them run their business—not just do
Base your business
on relationships,
the compliance work,” Miller says. “They want to be
Be sure to focus on the value you can deliver beyond
not tax returns.
led by someone who has been there and understands
tax and accounting services (see “Practice Makes
Build relationships
what they need to make their business successful.”
Perfect,” page 7). Find out how their past experiences
and business
have been and demonstrate how you can serve as a
opportunities will
business advisor, not just an accountant.
follow.
the client wants. Really listen. Then translate what
“When I do this, my clients look at me like, ‘Yes!
Talk about
you’ve heard into a practical solution.
That’s what I’ve been looking for someone to do
tangible systems
for me: to explain how to run my business more
and processes
efficiently for a better end result,’” says Miller.
for improvement
That’s why he suggests not bringing up tax and
accounting services right away. First, find out what
For example, Miller says, if you find out your client
isn’t maximizing his or her tax deductions, use an
analogy anyone can relate to.
instead of cerebral
Ultimately, you want to describe your services in
concepts.
business terms. After all, what could resonate
“They might have a $100 monthly medical expense,
with business owners more than the language
Listen to what your
but the average taxpayer has to earn $170 in profit to
of business?
clients have to say.
pay that, because about $70 of what they earned went
Then advise and
to the IRS,” he explains. “You can use an analogy like
Most important of all, focus on your firm’s
guide them on the
that to demonstrate the impact of tax deductions and
relationship with the client. Business opportunities
business solutions
other business strategies on their bottom line.”
will grow from there.
they need.
CS.thomsonreuters.com
[ 13 ]
SUPPORT CORNER
Help &
How-to Center:
One Question
Each issue, we’ll highlight one of the most frequently searched-on topics in
the Help & How-To Center. This time, it’s e-filing.
Can prior year returns be e-filed (e.g., 2011)?
1040: 2012 UltraTax CS will not support e-filing prior year returns
until the release of 2013 UltraTax CS. Starting with the release of
2013 UltraTax CS, 2012 1040 returns can be e-filed, and with the
release of 2014 UltraTax CS, 2012 and 2013 returns can be e-filed.
Get the Right Start With Welcome
Most of us would probably
agree it’s harder to assemble
a child’s bike when all you
have are instructions for, say,
a swingset.
That concept pretty much
holds for everything in
life—having the right tools
as a foundation for any
undertaking increases your
chance of success.
That’s why we created the
Welcome Services program,
to guide you through the
process of changing the
software that powers your
business and make your
transition as smooth and
[ 14 ]
stress-free as possible.
Whether you’re new to the
CS Professional Suite, or
you’re a current customer
who wants to ensure a
smooth launch for a product
you’ve just purchased, the
Welcome Services program
will give you the right start.
The program starts with
our free, web-based
Welcome Services
Tutorial, which takes you
through the basics of the
CS.ThomsonReuters.com
website. You’ll focus on
the key site features and
available productivity,
time management, and
implementation resources
that will help you get the
most out of your software.
Among the topics covered in
the tutorial:
• Setting up your firm’s
web account
• Accessing account
information, product
downloads, and
installation instructions
• Finding answers to
your questions
• Using our state-of-the-art
Help & How To Center
• Communicating with
other Thomson Reuters
software users
• Using live chat
Once you’ve completed the
Welcome Services Tutorial,
you can move on to the
Product Transition Tutorial for
your product (if available). Our
current lineup of products with
transition programs includes
Accounting CS, Practice CS,
UltraTax CS, and Web Services
(Virtual Office CS and
Software as a Service).
For software programs
that don’t currently have
an associated Product
Transition Tutorial, find
more information in your
product’s New User
Resources document in the
Help & How-To Center. Visit
solutions [issue 3, 2013]
SUPPORT CORNER
One
Marketplace—
Limitless
Opportunities
Meet Your
Support Rep
CHRISTIE JOHNSTON, Support
Product Leader, Practice CS
PPC®. Quickfinder®. RIA®. WG&L®.
The content and guidance brands
you trust, in the formats you
prefer. It’s now all available in
one location—the Checkpoint™
online marketplace.
Explore this powerful new
online marketplace today at
Tax.ThomsonReuters.com/Store.
Christie’s 10-plus years in the Support
area have taken her from specialist to
representative to project lead and now,
support product leader for Practice CS.
Services
That means she’s the Practice CS product
champion in Support and stands in as “the
voice of the Practice CS customer” with other
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Help,
search on “New User Resources,”
and select the link for your
product.
calls during their busy times,
which allows them to get their
work done and concentrate on
the most important part of their
business: serving their customers.
departments. She’s also in charge of Practice CS–
For more information on our
Welcome Services program,
scan the code below or visit
CS.ThomsonReuters.com/
Welcome. You can also
call Customer Service at
800.968.0600 (press 1).
priority, she doesn’t hesitate: “Family.” She
Why Welcome Services?
You might be thinking, “So, can’t
I just figure out the website by
myself?” Of course you can. But
to take full advantage of one of
the most powerful tools you’ll
ever use in conjunction with your
CS Professional Suite software—
CS.ThomsonReuters.com—the
Welcome Services program is the
way to go. Participants who take
the Welcome Services Tutorial and
follow that up with the Product
Transition Tutorials generally find
they need to make fewer support
CS.thomsonreuters.com
related staff training, quality assurance, and
customer concerns.
Family Time
When you ask Christie her number one
and her husband are kept on their toes
by their 9-and 5-year-old daughters. “We
never know what new ideas they’ll come up
with, or what questions they’ll ask next,”
says Christie. “And their questions make the
questions I get in Support look easy!” When
she’s not busy answering questions (at home
and at work), Christie loves to relax with a
good book. She averages a novel every two
weeks—but if it’s really good, she can rip
through it in one to two days. At that pace,
“I have a pretty impressive library on my
Kindle!” Christie says with a laugh.
[ 15 ]
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Bolingbrook IL
Permit No.1789
7322 Newman Boulevard
Dexter, MI 48130
CS.ThomsonReuters.com
Gear Up for a Profitable 2014
with Year-End Training
For many accounting firms, the changing of seasons runs parallel with
the change in your workload. Fall means it’s time for your staff to make the
necessary preparations for year-end processes and the upcoming tax season.
It’s also the perfect time to take a look at how efficiently your office is running and
get your staff geared up for a profitable 2014. To help you and your staff prepare
for the year ahead, we recommend the following special year-end classes:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2013 Improving Efficiency with Your E-File Process
2013 Year-End Update & Productivity Training—UltraTax CS
2013 Year-End Update & Productivity Training—GoSystem Tax RS
2013 NetClient CS Year-End Training
2013 Year-End Update & Productivity Training—Practice CS
2013 Year-End Procedures for Accounting CS
2013 Year-End Update & Productivity Training—Accounting CS Payroll
2013 Year-End Update & Productivity Training—Payroll CS &
Payroll Compliance (CS Professional Suite Accounting)
When you register at least two weeks
in advance, you’ll save $25 off your
registration. And you can also send
a fourth attendee free after three
paid registrations.
For more information or
to register, visit us online
at CS.ThomsonReuters.
com/YearEnd, or call
800.968.8900.
TL26023