enterprise IT – Page 4 – Cooper Mann Consulting

October 30, 2012July 19, 2018

QuickBooks Hosting Services and Accounting Professionals

The value of applying an application hosting model for your clients

The concept of application hosting is not at all new. In fact, there are literally millions of business users accessing hosted applications and similar services every day, and adoption didn’t reach those numbers overnight. For several years now, Intuit (the makers of QuickBooks financial software, among other things) has even had an “Authorized Commercial Host for QuickBooks” program. If Intuit recognizes the value of a hosted application service model, then there must be something to it, because Intuit rarely does anything unless it’s big.

The value of application hosting services, such as QuickBooks hosting, may differ from business to business, but the underlying benefits are there for all to achieve. For some, the main value is in being able to access business information and data while traveling. Using mobile devices, business users are able to get information on customers, orders, payments, and other valuable data – from anywhere they choose to work. Being able to keep tabs on the business even when they aren’t there is very important to some business owners.

For others, the value of application hosting services is the collaboration that it enables. With public accounting in particular, the client business and the accounting professional do not work at the same place at the same time. Being able to work on the same software and data, and doing that work at the same or different times (it doesn’t matter when or where they work) allows business owners and their accounting and bookkeeping professionals to work seamlessly together in support of the business. This online model allows the business owner to benefit from better financial data in real-time, rather than waiting for the work to be done after the fact, at the end of the month or year.

The underlying benefit that all parties get from a hosted application and online working model is better information technology management and greater predictability in IT service costs and capabilities. Businesses need to be able to focus on their business and not on the IT which supports it, and outsource professionals such as accountants and bookkeepers need to be able to work with clients efficiently without having to invest in expensive tools and services to make it happen. A hosted application approach, when applied to the client business, delivers many benefits to the business owners while at the same time providing tangible benefits in efficiency through more effective time management and improved access to information for the professionals who support those businesses.

When developing a working model for outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, or virtual CFO services, it is essential to recognize that businesses need technology to support their operations, and there may be “line of business” solutions in use as well as accounting or financial software. Too often, outsource bookkeeping and accounting professionals focus only on the accounting or financial systems, and fail to consider the critical aspects of the operational level applications which support the various functions of the business. With a hosted application approach, the business solutions in use can be “enabled” – from operational solutions to accounting and finance supporting applications – so that accounting professionals may gain access to the complete realm of business data, putting them in a far better position to ensure that the information resulting in the accounting system is of high quality and may be trusted.

Make sense?

October 19, 2012May 18, 2015

Accountants and Bookkeepers Working With QuickBooks Clients: App Hosting Approaches That Work

Ever since the first application service providers began offering hosting services for Intuit QuickBooks desktop products, the idea of running desktop editions of QuickBooks in the cloud has created both intrigue and confusion among accounting professionals and their clients alike. Part of the problem is the term “cloud”, which seems to equate the hosted QuickBooks desktop editions with the true cloud app QuickBooks Online Edition. But hosted QuickBooks isn’t QBOE, it’s a service model developed around the actual desktop versions of QuickBooks: Pro, Premier and Enterprise.

While it is true that both solutions – hosted QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online Edition – offer centrally managed and accessible online accounting functionality, the underlying services are very different and operate under completely different “rules”. One of the rules, or conditions, which differs between the two solutions is that with hosted QuickBooks service, you may also be able to run other business applications and manage other business data, not just QB apps and data. This is an essential capability when you consider that QuickBooks desktop software integrates with and takes advantage of functionality found in other popular business solutions, such as Microsoft Office.

In many QuickBooks hosting services, the inclusion of Office app hosting is typical due to the reliance upon functionality in those solutions (Excel reporting, Word letter-writing, and Outlook emailing). When it comes to other tools or application integrations, however, customized hosting service becomes necessary. When the need for additional applications or integrations arises, consideration should be given to the best way to orient and implement those add-ons.

For example, if a client business has a heavy reliance upon a solution which integrates with QuickBooks, and uses the solution to handle daily tasks in the business, then it makes a lot of sense to create a hosting environment specifically for that client. The client would be able to access their unique set of solutions, and the accounting/bookkeeping professionals can be invited to participate in that system. This keeps the data in one place, managed and controlled, yet allows all parties who need access to get access.

In other situations, there may be a tool or utility necessary to help get data from one place to another, and this tool or utility is not something the client uses in their daily work. In this type of scenario, it may make sense for the accountant/bookkeeper to have a customized environment which allows them to use the tools and solutions which assist in data integration, organization, validation or review. In many cases, the accountant or bookkeeper may perform these data integrations or sync operations directly in the client data file, so that the client (using “generic” service with just QuickBooks hosted) is able to then access and view the integrated data. In this scenario, only the accounting professional has the additional tools necessary, allowing the cost of hosting for the client to remain lower. Approaching a hosting environment in this manner might allow the accounting professional to develop a niche or customized approach to serving a specific type of client, incorporating behind-the-scenes data aggregation or integration and other types of process support as part of the overall service delivered.

The key to developing the right application hosting and outsourced accounting service model is to focus on how the practice will use the hosting solutions to improve service and process efficiency, serve client needs better and more fully, and differentiate themselves from their competitors in the market. By applying the hosting service and online solution properly, business clients and the accounting professionals who support them will both benefit by getting the information and the application functionality they need, when they need it.

Make sense?

read more about the confusion over hosted licensing on The Progressive Accountant http://www.theprogressiveaccountant.com/tech-tips/confusion-over-hosted-licensing.html

October 15, 2012May 23, 2017

Working Online With Clients: How to leverage the internet and cloud computing to work closer with your clients

When it comes to using technology and the Internet to work closer with bookkeeping and consulting clients, it is important to recognize that there is never only one way to accomplish something, and different clients will have equally different ideas on and tolerances for how you work with them. In order to serve each and every client to the best of your ability, you have to carry around a “toolbox” of solutions and services which will assist you in delivering the most effective and efficient service in each situation and under each set of conditions. While you must do what you can to streamline and standardize your processes to be as efficient as possible while delivering a high level of service, but you can only work within the parameters allowed by each client and circumstance.

I think we can all agree that, whenever possible, it is wise to avoid situations where you have to get in the car and drive somewhere just to pick up information or paperwork. These are the activities which are most costly in terms of time and resources. Using file sharing solutions, such as DropBox or ShareFile, is a great way to get documents from clients. That is, if the documents are in electronic form already. If not, then either scanning the files and saving to the Dropbox or web folder, or faxing them to a service such as eFax, is the process.

Sometimes Internet connectivity is the issue. Using a fax-to-email solution like eFax takes that out of the picture, in terms of getting documents and other paperwork from the client. But let’s face it… there is no good way to electronically exchange or share QuickBooks or other computer data files safely and quickly unless the client has broadband Internet access. You can always go back to dialup modems and connect using the old version of PCAnywhere, the way we did it years back, or you can recognize that sometimes you just have to get in the car and bring a USB drive with you.

Internet-based remote control solutions, such as LogMeIn, provide you with the ability to connect your computer directly to the client computer in order to perform tasks on their system and with their data. This is a better approach than going to the client office and doing the work there, but it doesn’t address a situation where both you and the client need to be working at the same time. If you are controlling their computer, you take over the workstation while you are connected, which prevents the client from doing independent work while you are doing your job. The better option is to use a solution that allows you to both work at the same time, even when connecting to the same computer. MyQuickCloud does this. MyQuickCloud is a remote access solution that can be applied as both a remote access and remote working solution. It is better than remote control because it can allow many users at the same time to connect to the computer and run applications.

In some cases, working online with the client may mean working in the same applications and data files by accessing a centralized online solution, such as QuickBooks Online Edition or hosted QuickBooks (QB Online and hosted QuickBooks are not the same thing). When both people (the client and the accountant/bookkeeper) have access to the same programs and data files in real-time, it allows them to work together more closely yet at times and from locations which work for the individuals. This arrangement works quite well when the accounting professional and the client can both serve their requirements with the same software solution. If the client uses QuickBooks to perform their daily tasks, the bookkeeper and accountant are able to simply log in and use the same solution to perform their work.

A model which more people are beginning to recognize as valuable is the model where each user or functional area in the business has the solution which works best for them, and the various solutions in the business each integrate and share data as necessary. For an accountant or bookkeeper working with a small business, this may mean that the software or solution used by the client to handle their daily tasks is different from the solution used by the accounting professional to do their job. Just as a tax preparer will use accounting data to prepare a tax return using a tax preparation solution, accountants may use transactional or financial data from other systems to perform accounting functions in an accounting software solution. As long as the data is easily accessed, via built-in integration or sync tools, it makes a lot of sense to give each user a solution designed to meet their process needs because they will use the solution more effectively. Giving a user way too much functionality can be confusing, and expose them to areas of business activity or information they should not have access to (or which is meaningless to their job) can waste time and introduce risk.

Examples of this approach might be where a small business owner uses FreshBooks accounting to manage their daily invoicing, but the information is then exported to and integrated into QuickBooks financial software, where the accountant or bookkeeper handles the rest of the business accounting functions. Another example may be when services such as Bill.com, TSheets, Expensify, Concur, and other “point” solutions are in use. These web-based solutions provide specific functionality, such as bill payments and approvals, employee timesheet management and reporting, expense management, and more. They make it easier for the client to handle certain functions and address related information management and reporting needs, and facilitate the data integration with core accounting and finance. In many cases, this approach delivers not only more relevant functionality and process support for the business users, and still allows the accounting professional to do their work with the tools which work for them.

Providing a high level of service to your client while embedding as much efficiency in your processes as possible can be a challenge for any outsourced accounting or bookkeeping professional. Your profitability and the goodwill you develop with your client depend on finding the best way to engage and deliver on the promise of great service. Your toolkit – the connected services and solutions you leverage to this task – can positively impact the “degree of success” you experience with each client or project.

Make Sense?

October 11, 2012March 28, 2018

Knowing Your Options: Hosting QuickBooks for Shared and Remote Access

Intuit’s QuickBooks financial applications, the desktop editions in particular, are the most popular small business accounting solutions on the market. The QuickBooks Online Edition, Intuit’s cloud-based contender, is not quite as accepted among accountants and advisors for a variety of reasons. Being in the cloud isn’t necessarily one of those reasons, if you consider the growing demand for access to multi-user cloud-hosted QuickBooks desktop editions. Mostly it comes down to functionality and how the application operates. QBO just isn’t like good old desktop QuickBooks and isn’t the preferred solution for many financial professionals or their clients. Yet these users still want and need remote access and mobility. This is where hosting comes in.

QuickBooks hosting and creating the ability to access QuickBooks applications and data remotely is something that a lot of businesses can benefit from. Whether it’s to outsource the management and maintenance of servers and systems to a 3^rd party, or to create the ability for remote workers or contractors to collaborate with real-time applications and data, there may be a need for a hosted application approach. Business owners and IT managers need to give consideration to the level of service and support they and their users will need before selecting their provider. Knowing what the provider will handle and what the subscribers are responsible for might make all the difference in determining the right approach.

In-House DIY Hosting

Local networks and PCs allow users in the same location to share resources, like printers and data storage locations. Typically, desktop computers have application software installed on them, and use the network to access shared data. When users work outside of the network, getting access to applications and data might not be so easy. Even extending the network via VPN access doesn’t solve the problem when the desktop applications are not designed to access data over remote connections (desktop applications like QuickBooks). It used to be that the only reasonable way to allow remote users to access and run QuickBooks as if they were inside the LAN was to set up remote desktop or application servers (terminal servers). MyQuickCloud is a product that addresses this need very gracefully, providing in-house personnel with the tools necessary to establish a secure cloud for QuickBooks access directly from existing on-premises systems.

Co-location and Outsourced Infrastructure (IaaS)

Instead of setting up remote access solutions in the office, many IT departments find that co-location with a 3^rd party addresses a number of issues. Leasing equipment, operating system and virtualization tools may be more cost-efficient than purchasing them directly, and the security and redundancy in most hosting facilities far exceeds what most businesses are able to afford to implement by themselves. Co-location provides managed service for infrastructure elements, but doesn’t necessarily address business needs in terms of user security or application and data management. These elements are traditionally left up to the subscriber; installing and configuring software applications, establishing user and application permissions, and managing updates and software upgrades. For this reason, co-location may be a good option for a business with internal IT staff, but not necessarily for businesses seeking “full service” application hosting.

Application Service Providers (ASP) and Managed Application Hosting

Application hosting service providers handle software installation and management, user and security administration, and ongoing technical support as part of the subscription service. Customers need only to provide their software licenses, name users and upload data in order to use the service. The service provider does the software installation and configuration, sets up the users and establishes permissions, and connects users and applications to managed data storage. This model allows businesses to enjoy many of the benefits of a cloud-based or SaaS solution model while also allowing them to continue to use software solutions they are already invested in, in terms of both software licensing and process development. On the other hand, these models can be extremely restrictive in terms of the applications or integrations they will support, and can be quite costly as the number of users or applications hosted increase.

Whether you roll your own (DIY hosting) or work with a full service QuickBooks host, accessing business applications and data from anywhere is an option every business can take advantage of.

Make sense?

Read about the race to find the secret sauce of hosted application services for small businesses

October 8, 2012March 26, 2019

Cloud Hold-Out No More: QuickBooks Desktop Editions in the Cloud

When most people hear the words “QuickBooks” and “online” together, they think of the web-based solution from Intuit called QuickBooks Online Edition. And why wouldn’t they? With the media, industry talking heads, and everyone in information technology discussing cloud this and cloud that, all the attention is going to web-based applications, Software-as-a-Service models, and cloud platforms. While these approaches to business software distribution and delivery are working for a lot of software vendors and their customers, there are a few hold-outs that may be keeping a lot of folks from considering that move to running their businesses “in the cloud”. Intuit QuickBooks desktop editions used to be among this list of applications securely anchored to your local PC, but not anymore.

The desire to have remote and mobile access to business applications and data goes beyond simply getting email or syncing contacts to a mobile phone these days. Business people in all industries are seeing the benefits of using wireless and mobile laptops, tablet computers and smartphones to handle tasks in real-time rather than accumulating paperwork, spending a bunch of time organizing and keying in data, and then submitting the information for batch-processing after the fact. And, with services being seamlessly connected and information being shared and integrated for a variety of reasons, internet connectivity has become almost as essential to most businesses as telephone service. (Actually, in many cases, telephone service IS delivered via the IP network, so maybe that statement doesn’t make as much sense as it used to.) Payroll isn’t calculated in the software, it’s calculated by a service online and delivered through your software. Same with banking, accepting payments, and paying bills – many are processes handled through the software but perhaps not actually happening WITHIN the software on your PC.

As users have begun to realize that, whether they mean to or not, they are essentially “on line” with their business applications and data at some level, the consideration for outsourcing more of their IT operations and working more fully in an online model might not be so bad as long as they don’t have to give up the functionality, usability, and cost-efficiency they have come to expect with their beloved business applications – like QuickBooks.

Service providers recognized this opportunity and developed business models which would give users their desired desktop applications (like QuickBooks!), but in way that seems more like a cloud service. As platform and virtualization technologies have evolved, businesses are finding that there are numerous options, and numerous providers, for getting their desktop and network applications installed in the “cloud”, and delivered back to them as a managed subscription service. It is a model which is growing in popularity and demand, and it makes sense.

Small businesses in particular are moving to the cloud not because they are generally dissatisfied with the products they currently have (there’s a reason Intuit has market share with QuickBooks; there are a LOT of QuickBooks desktop lovers out there). Small businesses are making the move to online and “cloud” models because of the business benefits of getting information when and where they need it. Mobility is driving the cloud, and the cloud is driving software makers to change how they do things.

It will be a while before all the investments are made and man-hours are spent to rewrite or redevelop applications to run on these new platforms and in this new cloud-based service model. In the meantime, ISVs will look to hosting providers of various sorts to help breathe longevity into their solutions while securely embracing their customers and market in preparation for a cloud-based service delivery, and customers will engage with service providers who can supply them with the legacy application hosting and management they require to achieve the level of freedom, access, and mobility they demand.

Make sense?

September 28, 2012September 28, 2012

Everybody Clicks: Keeping in touch with your business online

Everybody Clicks

Keeping in touch with your business online

In today’s technology focused market, it’s hard to find a way to stand out from the crowd. Making that effort to communicate with clients is more than just sending them a quarterly newsletter or email. It’s about evolving your business to meet their needs. Everyone wants everything online these days. It’s not just convenient anymore, it’s expected.

If your business doesn’t provide your clients with the level of online service they have come to expect, they probably won’t stay your clients for very long. If you want to make sure these new expectations are being met it means building and maintaining a presence on the web. That’s right; your website is the new face of your business. It’s often the first thing new clients see so it has to make a good impression. As the old saying goes, “you only get one first impression.” This adage is just as true for your website as it is for you. Old, outdated websites just aren’t good enough anymore. People want somewhere they can go to get the latest updates on the services your business provides, and they want it to be easy to find that information. Maintaining your website, keeping it up to date and full of useful information is important. It can also be time-consuming or expensive.

As a business professional, probably a bookkeeper or accountant, you probably spend as little time as possible managing your website and composing newsletters. Now, imagine that you just got back to the office after lunch and you want to do some work on the company website, maybe check on the traffic statistics while you’re at it. Normally you’d go and log in to three or four different places, one or two to do the work on the site and the other one or two to look at your statistics. This is a waste of time and energy, but not one you can avoid. Now let’s say you have some time left before you go home for the night and you realize you haven’t sent out this month’s newsletter. That’s another site to go log into. Site after site, a new interface or dashboard each time. Not to mention the hassle of entering your new contacts into your CRM or selecting the right recipients for the newsletter from your contacts lists. Everywhere you go there is another step to the process of staying in touch with your clients, to keeping the website updated and accurate. Login after login and dashboard after dashboard. What if there was something that could streamline everything? Keep your company’s blog in the same place as your site traffic statistics or web-based CRM solution? (Wouldn’t that be neat?) One login to get to everything. Keeping your clients informed, organized, and satisfied. Everything you want at the click of a mouse.

Your time is your money, so saving time is saving money. Having all of your online tools in one place would do just that. No wasted time, no need to repeatedly log in. Just getting everything taken care of, from one place. Not to mention your clients’ needs. Every business has a website nowadays; online payment options, blogs, forms to request information, the list goes on and the need for them is not confined to accounting and bookkeeping firms.

Let’s say you’re a small hobby shop, selling model trains and cars with all the odds and ends needed to build or maintain them. Do you rely solely on word of mouth or paper ads to bring you the business you need? Of course not. You get a website. The problem is you don’t know where to start. So, you hire someone to build it for you and to make changes when needed. That gets expensive. Ok, so you build it yourself using one of the many solutions available on the web today. Now you control everything, from the colors and graphics to the content but how do you track the traffic your site gets? Or what information your customers look at the most? Analytics of course! Unfortunately that means another thing to buy and another page to log into. The same goes for CRM solutions or email domains. Each aspect of your business is locked away in its own little corner. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be grand if you could change your homepage, send a newsletter, and track today’s site visits all from one place? Well, that’s where Nakea.net comes in. Nakea.net is a solution that is perfect for any business. It has web design, analytics, email marketing, contact management, and much more all in one place. That’s right. One login and you have your world at your fingertips. Just click to log in, and it’s all right there, with easy to use features and templates that allow you to gear your website, and your communications, to your clients and customers.

Make Sense?