From sheep to spreadsheets with complete Elite success Michael Vail, the Director of Mollee Murdoch & Vail, a successful accounting practice in Goodna, Qld., has an estimated 4000 clients on his books. Not bad, for someone who seemed more likely to be counting sheep and cattle on the family property near Blackall, some 950 kilometres away. Born and raised outside the tiny outback Queensland town, Mr Vail has parlayed years of schooling and accounting industry experience into a profitable, well-respected practice. Mr Vail set up his own small accounting practice in March 1996. In July 2008 he purchased the firm now known as Mollee Murdoch & Vail, from founding partners Ben Mollee and Peter Murdoch. The 40-year-old accounting practice does the vast majority of its business in personal income tax returns, plus around 600 small business returns including many companies and trusts. Reckon Elite s practice management software is the tool that ensures Mr Vail and his staff complete those returns with minimum effort and maximum accuracy. Mr Vail replaced Mollee Murdoch & Vail s existing Sol 6 and HandiTax software with the Reckon Elite Practice Pack because it covered all aspects of the practice s business. There was a lot of software here before, he said,zand not one of them spoke to each other, therefore it was enter the data once, then enter again and so on. Case Study Reckon Elite s Practice Pack includes all the necessary tools for a wide range of accounting and tax practices. Elite Practice Management is a client management system with customisable tools such as a multi-user appointment diary, document manager and a task manager/client notes utility to track the status of clients. Elite Tax ensures client returns are prepared and lodged quickly by utilising detailed worksheets, tax rulings, Internet and dial-up IP lodgement. The Practice Pack has simplified operations at Mollee Murdoch & Vail, and made preparing and lodging tax returns, Mr Vail says, as simple as following the bouncing ball. I recommend the software to any progressive accountant who requires simplicity and ease of use, Mr Vail says. Practice Management and Professional Solutions We effected the change of software and re-trained 1200 staff in a weekend. Frank Brass, H&R Block Reckon Elite has the complete solution for your practice whether you are a sole practitioner who does only income tax returns, or a growing suburban practice which offers compliance and consulting services to a host of clients. Over 80 percent of the tax and accounting industry is comprised of small to medium-sized tax practices and accounting firms and Reckon Elite is committed to servicing this market with software solutions that have advanced functionality, are cost effective and are easy to learn and use. With more than 4300 users across Australia, Reckon Elite is now a principal provider of practice management and compliance solutions in this market. Reckon Elite delivers leading-edge technology to the market, together with an enviable level of customer support, to enable tax practices and accounting firms to improve their profitability. Each also benefits from the value added opportunities Reckon Elite has to offer. In choosing Reckon Elite, you will also benefit from clever integration with QuickBooks, the world s best selling accounting software. This integration allows you to open QuickBooks directly from Reckon Elite, to import trial balances and even individual transactions in order to avoid keying in extra data when preparing to lodge clients BAS. Take a look at the suite of packages on the following pages to see the power and flexibility Reckon Elite can bring to your practice. Reckon 1
Practice Management Reckon Elite Practice Management is a complete practice and client management system. It integrates with the entire Reckon Elite suite of products, enabling you to perform multiple functions from a single program to better manage clients and your practice. The package includes powerful practice management tools such as central client database, multi-user appointment diary, document manager, mail merge and a task manager/client notes utility to help you keep track of client status, plus any other work that you have ever done for them. With essential calculators, such as tax payable, date and age counting, and Division 7A and 240 built in, Reckon Elite Practice Management is a straightforward way to improve efficiency. Duplication and errors are reduced through the use of a central client database access by all Reckon Elite modules. Access names, addresses and contact details instantly Create invoices and manage debtors Track client jobs Manage ELS lodgement Stand alone or network enabled Multi-level security Extensive client/agent reporting Integrates with Microsoft Word Mail Merge integration with MS Word and OpenOffice.org Writer (a freeware product that replicates MS Office suite) Launch QuickBooks Accountant Edition directly from within Reckon Elite Practice Management Reckon Elite Tax provides the accuracy and reliability your practice needs to ensure client returns can be prepared and lodged with ease and minimum effort. The package s intuitive design reduces the time preparing and lodging tax returns by integrating with Elite Practice Management to handle client administration needs. Reckon Elite Tax also caters for all superannuation changes including ETP and offset changes in the individual return, new and modified forms for superannuation funds, self managed superannuation funds, member contribution statements and assessment variation advice. Prepares all major ELS forms, invoices and client letters Multi-year tax return preparation Comprehensive worksheets and detailed help files Includes ATP references and tax rulings On-screen tax calculator Worksheet or Form view Professional tax printouts Tax Front cover conversion from all other tax packages Pay as you go telephone support Share information between tax returns for interest, dividends and rental properties Account for substituted accounting periods for BAS and IAS forms I really like the way that Practice Management is the launching point for all applications. There is minimal need for double entry of client details as the components integrate very well with each other. Jodie Ahrens, Inspire Accounting The tax preparation software is first class, easy to follow and work through. Andrew Skora, Wallan Accounting & Taxation Services Reckon 2
Ledger Reckon Elite Ledger is specifically designed for accountants in public practice. It assists in preparing financial reports for sole traders, partnerships, trusts, companies and superannuation funds. Reckon Elite Ledger s user friendly interface makes it easy to produce statutory financial and management reports for professional results every time. Clever integration with QuickBooks also allows you to import clients trial balances and even individual transactions in order to avoid keying in extra data when preparing to lodge clients BAS. The Ledger Report Writer allows you to create your own reports and modify existing reports to suit your own charts and needs. It allows you to provide a greater range of financial statements and analysis to your clients. I have been using Elite since 2002 in my previous employment and now in my own practice. It is the best program and the best value for money that I have found. Elizabeth Cranston, Windsor NSW Integrates with Reckon Elite Practice Management Unlimited client ledgers and transactions Customisable and open-ended data entry 201 Chart of accounts (Canon, MGL, Teletax Ledger Chart) GST compliant (multi-rate) Drill down reporting Professional accounting reports Assets Reckon Elite Assets is a fast, easy and accurate tool to manage the accounting and tax compliance issues relating to clients assets. The software provides both periodic and annual reporting as well as integration with Reckon Elite Ledger. Start-up wizards, an easy-to-use interface and date-based system are just a few of the features to help get you started. Like every Reckon Elite product, it s not only comprehensive and efficient, but extremely user friendly. Depreciation schedules Low value pooling Tax and accounting value methods Caters for Simplified Tax System (STS), including entering and leaving STS Maintenance and insurance tracking of each asset Accounts for asset revaluation, 2nd element costs, private-use calculations and reassessment of effective life Ability to track assets by site/location Simple calculators Comprehensive reporting Full transaction history of depreciation amounts Account for partial disposals Easy and effective management of your assets Fully date based system no period ends Integration with Reckon Elite Ledger Supports LVP, STS, UCA and Luxury cars TimeCost Reckon Elite TimeCost enables you to bill time with greater efficiency and accuracy. Using a real-time clock, it instantly records work-in-progress, making it simple to track time and assign an hourly value. You can then collate the information, with a click of the mouse, to raise customised invoices or statements by client and by job. Even send bills directly to clients, reducing the time it takes to be paid. And with a variety of reports at your fingertips, you can access details whenever they re needed. Integrates with Elite Practice Management Easily capture time and expenses Real-time clock to instantly record WIP Quickly raise invoices and statements Customisable invoice & statement forms On-screen WIP & billing management Drill down for detail and reporting Generate reports for time, billing and employees Reckon 3
TimeSheet Reckon Elite TimeSheet is a state-of-the-art paperless system that makes it easier to complete and collate timesheets, and as a result, helps your business become more efficient and your billings more timely. Reckon Elite TimeSheet integrates with Reckon Elite Practice Management and Reckon Elite TimeCost, for staff to submit timesheets and expense claims. It then assembles all the relevant data in a single location, saving time and allowing you to bill (and be paid) faster. Simply adds onto Reckon Elite Practice Management and Reckon Elite TimeCost Captures time and expenses Real-time clock records WIP instantly Recalls past timesheets for reference Gives staff instant access to information Helps your organisation run more smoothly Desktop Super Reckon Elite Desktop Super is a self managed superannuation fund software package designed for professionals in Australia who administer superannuation funds. Desktop Super combines all of the necessary functionality to manage superannuation funds in a single application a fully functional general ledger system, a comprehensive investment register, complete member management and financial reporting. Automatic allocation of income across all members Fully functional general ledger system Comprehensive investment register including CGT calculator Integrates with APS Tax, Reckon Elite Tax, APS Practice Management, Praemium and BankLink Customisable reporting system (including Minuting system) Full reporting for SMSFs Microsoft SQL server database provides high security and robustness Key fund data always visible in the fund workbench window Full-featured investment register Electronic import of year-end investment market values Transaction browse is a single screen from which to view, edit, sort and filter Income can be allocated using a daily average member balance Intuitive interface, with no limits on the number of funds that can be worked on Calculates CGT, including multiple parcel sales Dual interface system; each user can choose the most appropriate interface AdvanceDocs Reckon Elite AdvanceDocs creates fast, accurate, permanent and secure documents in the Adobe PDF format. Unlike scanned documents, the document created is fully text-searchable. AdvanceDocs works with any scanner and software combination, delivering scanned documents into your electronic in-tray. Scanned documents can then be collated with other files, emailed, faxed and saved in the same manner. Create PDF documents from any software program Collate multiple documents into a single PDF Send by email or desktop fax to clients Add watermarks such as Draft or Confidential to documents Secure documents against unauthorised changes, printing or copying Apply stamps and Sign Here stickers, or imported stamps such as company logos and scanned signatures Create a table of contents in the final PDF document Add page numbers to collated documents Convert any un-encrypted PDF document to a fully-formatted Word document for full editing control Create combined PDFs using output from different programs and scanned images Reckon 4
Consultants Reckon Elite provides business solutions and services for optimum business performance. Reckon Elite Consultants help you to increase your productivity enabling you to deliver quality services to clients. All consultants are accredited and each possess a wealth of practical business experience. Reckon Elite consultants are also available for web presentations and training sessions perfect for clients in remote locations. Other consulting services include: Software performance audits Onsite systems/software maintenance Onsite tuition on software products Elite is far more user friendly and is far cheaper than the competition! The support service, on the very few occasions that I have found it necessary to use has been prompt and efficient. Gary Schwab, G.R. Schwab & Co, WA Reckon 5