4/25/2012 HOW THE CLOUD IS TRANSFORMING TAX, ACCOUNTING, AND PAYROLL. Presentation Format for a Broad Perspective

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1 l HOW THE CLOUD IS TRANSFORMING TAX, ACCOUNTING, AND PAYROLL Chandra Bhansali, AccountantsWorld Darren Root, CPA Practice Advisor Jim Baker, CPA Practice Advisor Presentation Format for a Broad Perspective 2 Jim Baker: To get the perspective of the publisher of a major accounting publication. Darren Root: To get the perspective of a practicing CPA who is an early adopter of technology and the editor of a leading accounting publication. Chandra Bhansali: To get the broad understanding of the Cloud from the perspective of the co-founder of the company that pioneered the concept of Accountant-Centric Cloud solutions. How the Cloud is Changing the Profession 3 Major transformation due to technology: First phase: the introduction of PC s Second phase: proliferation of the Cloud Three major capabilities of the Cloud responsible for this transformation: Unprecedented client collaboration Ability to work from anywhere at any time Access to virtually unlimited processing power 1

2 Are These Challenges Hurting Your Bottom Line? 4 s make a bookkeeping mess? Cumbersome file transfers? Working with different versions of accounting software? Traveling to client locations for bookkeeping? Difficulty in preparing fully customizable financials? Time and money spent on printing, faxing, mailing financials? Current Model of Accounting 5 Acct Accounting is driven by clients and the G/L systems like QuickBooks designed for clients G/L system QuickBooks Workflow in Desktop Accounting 6 QB on PC Enters Data in desktop software File Transfer Desktop software on Your PC Create Financials Make Adjustments Fix Errors Export to T/B System (QB) Print Mail to File Transfer Back to Import into QB 6 2

3 Workflow in the Cloud-Based Accountant-Centric System 7 Views Dashboard Enters Data You Make Adjustments Create Financials & Reports Downloads 24*7 Automatically into Doc Mgmt Portal Accountant-Centric Model = Accountants at the Center 8 Accountant-Centric Accounting System Accountant Accountant-Centric System: A Unified Accounting System 9 Professional System Write-up Trial Balance Financial Statements Alerts Management Bookkeeping Module Banking Sales Expenses Job Costing Inventory 3

4 Accounting Problems Solved 10 Minimal client errors No cumbersome file transfers No working with different versions No traveling to client locations for bookkeeping Preparing fully customizable financial statements is a breeze Easy sharing of documents with clients No licensing nightmares No risk of data loss due to viruses and hard disk crashes No chasing after clients for accounting data BOTTOM LINE: Tremendous productivity gains for your practice Accounting becomes a lot more profitable -Friendly, Too 11 Offers significant benefits to your clients Simplifies their work Lets you help them manage their cash flow and business finances Frees small business people from managing accounting software and upgrades Eliminates the risk of loss of crucial accounting data Do Bookkeeping from Your Office, Faster and More Profitably 12 s scan their invoices Appears in the accounting system Enter amounts Invoice is attached to the data field Bookkeeping becomes very profitable Can easily offer bill payment, payroll, and other value-added services 12 4

5 Become a Virtual Controller/CFO 13 Entirely New Opportunities Created by Accountant-Centric Accounting Systems 14 Add more accounting services Bookkeeping Bill payment Become a virtual controller/cfo THE NEW DYNAMICS OF PAYROLL PROCESSING 5

6 The Perplexing Payroll Paradox 16 Most accountants believe payroll is an ALL PAIN, NO GAIN service. So they refer their clients to ADP, Paychex, etc. These service bureaus rack billion of dollars. Have made payroll highly profitable with 35-40% EBIT. Ever thought why this discrepancy? It s All Because of Automation 17 Payroll service bureaus own powerful processing centers. These centers perform all major payroll functions automatically: Direct deposits. Tax payments. E-file federal and state payroll tax forms. All year end compliance. Cloud-Based Payroll Systems Automate Processing 18 A good cloud-based payroll system gives you the same processing power as the service bureaus It does the following automatically, on time, and with 100% accuracy: 6

7 Complete Automation 19 Complete payroll computation for federal, all 50 states, and all localities Direct deposit of employee/contractor paychecks Electronic filing of quarterly and yearly federal and state tax forms Electronic payment of federal and state taxes Complete year-end processing including W-2's, W-3's, and 1099's Comprehensive reports Here s How it Works: 20 Use a powerful Accountant-centric payroll processing center. Access it via the Internet. All your firm does is enter payroll data and print checks. Better yet: let your clients do this. The payroll system does everything else for you behind the scenes. Further Reduces Your Work 21 Eliminate data entry in your office Let clients enter data themselves into the system using a simple exception-based data entry screen Let clients provide data on an Excel spreadsheet that flows right into Payroll Relief Eliminate printing and mailing of paychecks and reports They re automatically uploaded to CyberCabinet (client portals) for clients to download and print in their offices. 7

8 How Much Work is Left for YOU? 22 Hardly any, other than supervision The payroll system does most of the heavy lifting Para-professionals and clients do the remaining work Is there any reason with access to this unprecedented processing power, you still can t make payroll processing a highly profitable service like tens of thousands of your peers? The Experience of a Practicing CPA Confidential 4/24/2012 WHAT DOES PAPERLESS TAX WORKFLOW LOOK LIKE TODAY? RootWorks.com 8

9 THE CLOUD COLLABORATIVE TAX PROCESS RootWorks.com TAX RETURN CLIENT ORGANIZER CLIENT SOURCE DOCS CLIENT SOURCE DOCS CLIENT PORTAL FORM 8879 RootWorks.com 9

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11 Serving clients the way they want to be served RootWorks.com Conclusion Q & A RootWorks.com HOW THE CLOUD IS TRANSFORMING TAX, ACCOUNTING, AND PAYROLL l Chandra Bhansali, AccountantsWorld Darren Root, CPA Practice Advisor Jim Baker, CPA Practice Advisor 11