Joe Woodard is presenting a 4-part, FREE webinar series that runs over the next few months and is geared toward accountants. The free webinar is titled The Transformative Advisor.

*One of the added advantages of the webinars that the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb regularly shares with our readers is that accountants always receive free CPE credits for attendance. 

Below is a description of what accountants can learn for free in this important webinar series, the dates, and a link to the registration page:

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Many small business owners want to have a more proactive, forward-looking and strategic relationship with accounting professionals…and most accounting professionals want to contribute to small business success.

In this ground-breaking webinar series Joe Woodard address practical ways to play a transformative role with your clients, based on his 20+ years of experience as small business transformation worker and his 20+ years training over 150,000 accountants, bookkeepers, and other small business advisors. During the series, Joe will address three primary approaches to small business transformation:

• Increasing Automation and Effectiveness through Technology Adoption

• Increasing Visibility through Key Financial and Operational Measurements

• Increasing Business Health and Performance through Strategic Planning that includes:

         Goal Setting

         Team Development

         Workflow Optimization

         Project Management

Webinars in the Series:

Part 1: “Overcoming the Barriers: The Pathway to Transformative Advisory Work”

Part 2: “Creating Visibility: Transforming Clients through Key Financial and Operational Measurements”

Part 3: “Enhancing Performance: Transforming Clients through Strategic Advisory Work”

Part 4: “Deploying Technology: Transforming Clients through Strategic Technology Adoption”

MoneyThumb strongly suggests if you are an accountant who is ready to take things to the next level in 2019 by becoming an advisor that you take the time to attend these webinars. Good luck from the MoneyThumb team and The Rules of Thumb blog as you strive for career advancement and personal excellence this year!

The post Calling All Accountants: It's Time to Become a Small Business Advisor! appeared first on MoneyThumb.

To our current MoneyThumb customers, thank you for using our fantastic PDF financial file converters. If you aren't yet a MoneyThumb user, Christmas Day is the perfect time to take a relaxing, free test drive of any of our products that interest you. 

There is a version of our PDF financial file converters to fit every purpose, whether for your personal use, for your small business, as an accountant, or if you are a lender, the PDF financial file converters from MoneyThumb make converting any type of financial file from any institution a breeze.

Have a wonderful Christmas Day and safe travels!

The post Merry Christmas for MoneyThumb! appeared first on MoneyThumb.

• A coveted spot on our list of the Top 50 Cloud Accountants of 2018
• A digital badge for your firm’s website and personalized assets for promotion
• The opportunity to be featured as a subject matter expert in Hubdoc’s content
• A few other surprise goodies, including Hubdoc swag, and more!

Below are eligibility requirements from the Hubdoc application page to apply:

You are eligible to be considered for our Top 50 list if you meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must be an employee, founder, or representative of an accounting or bookkeeping firm located in North America or Australia.
• Firms will only be considered if they leverage cloud accounting and bookkeeping applications.
• Applicants using any general ledger software will be considered (as long as the general ledger is a cloud solution).
• Applicants do not have to be Hubdoc customers to be considered.

Above all, Hubdoc is looking for accountants and bookkeepers who are forward-thinking, passionate, and excited about making a difference in their clients' lives with cloud technology.

Follow this link to the application page to be considered for this huge honor from Hubdoc. Deadline for applications is midnight on November 30, 2018. The process is a bit involved so if you want to apply you should go ahead and get started. This is a great way to get the recognition you feel you deserve as an accountant and a lot of free online promotion as well! The winners will be announced in January 2019.

The Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb would love it if you would share this post with your peers on social media so they too can have the opportunity to be named a 2018 Hubdoc Top 50 Cloud Accountant. Good luck! Be sure to let us know if you as an individual accountant or your firm receive this honor.

The post Apply To Be Named a 2018 Hubdoc Top 50 Cloud Accountant appeared first on MoneyThumb.

Seldom do we toot our own horn, but today is an exception. We have received so much positive feedback from clients who use our financial file converters for their home or business accounting that the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb feels it is time to show off our stuff.

If you are not familiar with our products, let us explain how they work. Our family of PDF conversion tools can import historical PDF bank and credit card statements into small business accounting software with just a few clicks – whether QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks, GoDaddy, MYOB or virtually any other desktop or cloud-based small business accounting platform.  The software uses advanced algorithms developed from the PDF statements generated by hundreds of different banks to convert a user's supplied PDF for import into the small business accounting application.  No more manual key-in, no more copy and paste and no more trying to make a generic PDF converter do the job that only a specialized financial file PDF converter can do.

MoneyThumb offers the leading line of PDF converters specialized for small business financial transactions – helping to remove obstacles faced by individuals and small businesses moving to or maintaining electronic records.  Our family of PDF conversion tools for small business includes 2qbo Convert Pro (aimed at QuickBooks Pro Advisors and transaction-heavy small businesses) as well as an array of free-standing PDF financial file converters (like pdf2qfx Convert and pdf2ofx Convert) that import into QuickBooks, Quicken, and cloud-based small-business accounting platforms.

Import Bank and Credit Card Statements With Just a Few Clicks

MoneyThumb not only offers a suite of financial file converters for accountants and small businesses, we have products designed specifically for individuals who want an easier way to keep up with their financial information. We also have financial file converters especially created for lenders. Take a look at our suite of financial file converters and decide which one is best for your use.

Key Product Features

Intelligent Document Recognition (IDR)

Recognizes 95% of U.S. bank statements, through intelligent document recognition algorithms. Unlike template-dependent processes, our software doesn’t need to be told upfront what bank statement format is being used.

Pinpoint OCR

Proprietary optical character recognition algorithms review questionable fields, look for patterns to self-correct and flag questionable transactions. Employ the power of the only OCR software developed specifically for bank statements.

Automatic Reconciliation

Conversion accuracy is ensured by automatic reconciliation, which compares transaction totals to summary information on the statement. If everything checks out, the statement is identified as reconciled, saving you time and manual review.

Payee Cleanup

Auto-assisted cleanup of transaction payee names helps keep transactions correctly categorized and consistent, saving you further review and correction time.

No matter what type of financial file converter you need, MoneyThumb's products all contain the above features. If you have any questions after reading this blog post about which MoneyThumb product is best for your particular needs, don't hesitate to reach out to us in the comment section below. If you have a few minutes, we would love it if you shared this post on your social media page. Sharing is caring!

The post Import Bank and Credit Card Statements With Just a Few Clicks appeared first on MoneyThumb.

1. THE NONPROFIT – WHAT IS A 990 ANNUAL RETURN AND WHO MUST FILE?

Since the income tax deadline is this coming Tuesday, April 17, 2018, this blog post from Between Wall and Main is timely for accountants who have non-profit clients. Here is the beginning of the post, "The 990 tax form is the form tax-exempt organizations are required to file each year.  This form allows the IRS and the general public to analyze the operations of a nonprofit.  The form provides information on the nonprofit’s mission, programs, and finances.  The information on the 990 form allows potential donor’s, lending institutions, and individuals interested in supporting a specific cause make an informed decision about the charities they may want to support.   An organization can clearly state its mission on the 990, as well as emphasize its accomplishments of the previous year.  The form provides information on where the organization gets its revenue; a potential employee can find out how much a nonprofit pays its employees; potential board members can see who is on the board; the organization’s cash reserves are also available to be viewed."

2. HOW TO CUSTOMIZE INVOICES IN QUICKBOOKS ONLINE

Five Minute Bookkeeping has this post with directions on how to customize invoices in QuickBooks Online. A great instructional piece, especially for those of you who are new to QuickBooks. The blog post gives step-by-step instructions that can make customizing invoices a breeze!

3. Elevate Your Bookkeeping and Accounting Employees to Higher-Value, Revenue-Generating Positions

This blog post from Growth Force states, "The best thing you can do for your bookkeeper (and for the business) is to re-evaluate their responsibilities and give them the opportunity to grow their skills and interest. If you value your staff as important resources in your company, listening to their training needs, career goals and ideas for your business will allow them to feel like the transition is not a threat to their job.  If your employee becomes a profit-producing asset, it will help increase productivity and profitability. They know your business well, so if you put them into an income generating role, they will feel encouraged with how they are contributing to the success of the company."

4. One of our favorite blogs come from the website Accounting Web. They never fail to educate accountants, and always offer timely information. This blog post, Why Spreadsheets Are Here to Stay, will make some of you rejoice, and others groan, according to your accounting style. No matter your personal feelings about spreadsheets, the post is a very good read and one we suggest you take on.

That concludes our list of the best accounting-related blog posts from around the web for the first part of April 2018. MoneyThumb always wants to make sure our readers are informed and educated about all things accounting. That is why our Financial File Converters are also such a hit. They make your job as an accountant SO much simpler and less time consuming, and that's always a good thing. 🙂

The post Best Accounting Blog Posts From Around the Web, April 2018 appeared first on MoneyThumb.

1. H&R Block Tax Preparation app

Whether you have a simple tax return, or something more complicated, you can use the H&R Block Tax Preparation app to get started filing your self-employed taxes and state return for free. Once you decided on the complexity of your tax return, you’ll pay anywhere from $34-$74 to electronically file it.

Their Smart Import feature allows you to take a picture of your W-2s or 1099MISC for instant import of all your income.

Plus, the H&R Block mobile tax app automatically reviews your return for errors and omissions, and the maximum refund is guaranteed.

This app is available for both iPhone and Android devices and is free to download.

2. TurboTax mobile app

If you have a relatively simple tax return but your time is limited, the TurboTax mobile app is a great option. It allows you to file your return on the go, in about ten minutes. The TurboTax app is a good fit for individuals and self-employed freelancers alike. You can take pictures of your tax forms and upload them right into the app.

The app is available for free for both iPhone and Android devices, but the actual electronic filing of your federal and state returns starts at $39.99.

3. QuickBooks Self-Employed app

The QuickBooks Self-Employed app is specifically for freelancers and small business owners who have multiple income sources for clients and customers. Your tax return is likely pretty complicated with different income streams and lots of business expenses. But the good news is that QBSE makes is super easy to just snap a picture of your business receipts so you can export those tax deductions at the end of the year.

The app is available for free for both iPhone and Android devices, but you’ll need to pay $5 per month to use the QBSE online software.

4. GoDaddy Bookkeeping app (formerly, Outright)

GoDaddy Bookkeeping organizes business finances in one place, links up to any accounts from eBay, PayPal, credit cards, bank accounts, Amazon, Etsy, etc., and tracks what you are making, spending and also who is buying if you are a seller.  GoDaddy Bookkeeping, formerly known as Outright, gives you constant access to your profit and loss information, automatically calculates your quarterly tax payments and pre-populates your Schedule C information.

It’s a free download and available for iPhone and Android.

However, the premium version of the desktop software costs $120 per year.

5. FreshBooks Cloud Accounting app

FreshBooks Cloud Accounting allows you to simply take a picture of your receipts, create client invoices, and follow up on payments, right from the app. Plus, you can print month-end reports and review financial income, expenses and more. You can even give your accountant a separate login (with restricted access) so they can get all the info they need.

You can easily sync your FreshBooks account to popular applications and tools including Stripe, MileIQ and PayPal. In addition, this app is free to download for iPhone and Android users, as long as you have a FreshBooks account.

6. MileIQ mobile app

Whether you are traveling for business, medical, or charitable purposes, it can be hard to remember to write down your mileage. That’s where the MileIQ app comes in super handy. You can track your mileage quickly and easily with automatic tracking, and a record of past trips.

This information can be generated into Excel-compatible email reports for expense purposes, or even downloaded from the web application for reporting. You can classify your trips as personal or business-related and mark these expenses as paid or unpaid as you receive reimbursement.

The MileIQ app is available for $5.99 per month for all users, but you can also try it out free for up to 40 drives.

7. IRS2Go mobile app

The IRS2Go mobile tax app allows you to interact with the IRS directly, via your mobile phone. You can even get in-person tax help from a qualified person in your local area. This app gives you access to daily tax tips — in plain English — and information on the newest tax legislation as it’s released. And you securely check the status of your refund, or request a copy of your tax return and/or account transcript.

IRS2Go is available free for both iPhone and Android devices.

The post The 7 Best Mobile Apps to Help Self-Employed People Organize and File Taxes appeared first on MoneyThumb.

1. The first freebie is a free e-book courtesy of CPA Charge. Here is a description of the e-book from their website, "Get a step-by-step guide to CPA firm security. Building a Secure Practice: A guide for CPAs. As a CPA, you’re in possession of your clients’ most sensitive personal and financial details, so it should be no surprise firms like yours have become prime hacking targets. Don’t wait until a breach occurs to examine your firm’s processes, systems, and cyber-assets. This free e-book walks you through the most important steps to boost your firm’s security. The guide covers best practices for password management, network configuration, safeguarding different types of data, and much more. Take the first step toward more robust security—and greater peace of mind—by downloading today."
2. Our second freebie is from Gusto. It is a free guide called, The Ultimate Recruiting Guide for Accounting Firms. Here is a description of the guide from the Gusto website, "Recruiting for your accounting firm can be a tricky endeavor. From culture and onboarding to sourcing strategies that get results, this guide will teach you how to build an effective and thoughtful recruiting strategy that will draw amazing people to your firm. You’ll also find useful checklists, templates, case studies, and expert advice that will make the entire process easy and impactful.

   This guide will help your firm:

   • Define a great company culture
   • Create a compelling onboarding experience
   • Understand what it takes to attract top talent
   • Integrate the tools and processes for success

   You should read this guide if you are:

   • An accounting or bookkeeping firm looking to hire in the next year
   • Interested in building the right firm culture and values to retain talent"
3. The last freebie we are listing today is a free webinar from CPA Practice Advisor and is very timely. The webinar is titled, Tax Season Hacks: 5 Steps To Transform Your Tax Season. Here is a description of the webinar from CPA Practice Advisor's website, "Tax Season is the busiest time of the year for Accountants, and should be the most profitable. However, too many firms miss out on opportunities because they are tied to traditional processes that are time-consuming, and don’t add value. Now practices finally have the chance to change all that. Leveraging new tools allows you to create more efficient workflows, which in turn frees up your time to add value to your client relationships. Your clients, your team, and your profit margins will all feel the benefits. 
   Having worked with thousands of accounting firms, Receipt Bank’s VP of Business Development Damien Greathead will show you how your firm can break free of the traditional tax season pitfalls to find new opportunities for growth and profit. 

   In this webinar, you’ll find out:

   • How leading firms are shifting their business model towards Monthly Recurring Revenue, Real-Time Accounting, and Accounting Automation to hack traditional processes
   • The trick to getting the essential accounting documents you need from your clients without chasing
   • How to use new cloud tools to grow your profit margins and the number of referrals

   Sign up to learn how to transition your firm’s service model to an efficient, technology-based one that will not only help solve your tax season bottlenecks but also add value for your firm and your clients throughout the year.

   Program level: Basic (no prerequisites required).

   Receive 1 hour of free CPE credit for participating in this live webcast."

    

We hope these freebies for those in the accounting profession and other tax preparers are very useful to our Rules of Thumb blog readers. Have a happy Friday and a wonderful weekend!

The post Valuable Freebies for CPAs, Accountants and Other Tax Preparers appeared first on MoneyThumb.

Americans are Missing Out on Billions in Retirement Contributions--Researchers examined the retirement funds of 4.4 million participants from more than 500 companies. Twenty-five percent of those participants were not contributing enough of their own money to their 401(k) to take advantage of the company’s full match. $24 billion averaged out to about $1,336 in uncollected employer match funds each year. Over 20 years, the missed funds could add up to over $42,000 per employee.

Bill Gates Says Robots Should Pay Taxes--Robert W. Wood, the tax and litigation expert and writer for Forbes.com has written this great article concerning how Bill Gates thinks that robots should be taxes. Since it’s tax time, we thought it would be the perfect time for a review of this article, and a little tongue-in-cheek fun for our tax professionals and accountants. Goodness knows if there is anything lacking during this season, it is a more humor.

The Ten Best Website to Help With Personal Finance--A great list to choose the right website to help with your personal finance and get 2018 off to a fine start.

A Small Business Accounting Checklist from MoneyThumb--Nice list for those of you who plan on starting a new small business in 2018.

Addressing the Challenges of Accounting for e-Commerce Clients--E-commerce has eliminated so many barriers and connected consumers and companies worldwide. But as traditional boundaries between towns, states and countries have disappeared, e-businesses have created new revenue models that involve service-by-subscription and other unique challenges for accountants.

For Lenders; Speeding Up the Loan Application Process with Data Aggregation--In this article from American Banker, Data Aggregation’s New Frontier: Lending Decisions, Finicity Co-Founder and Executive Vice President Nick Thomas says, “Aggregation is similar to what borrowers “have been doing for decades-just quicker.” Kabbage CEO Rob Frohwein says, “I don’t even know if we’d be in business had the online lender not insisted on aggregation.”

Building A Culture of Continuous Improvement--Change is never easy, and the accounting profession has often shown a particular resistance to relinquishing traditional patterns. But for those firms that embrace change at all levels through process improvement initiatives, the results have been both visible and rewarding.

This concludes our list of our best blog posts from 2017. All of the team at MoneyThumb wish you and yours a very Happy New Year and continued success!

The post Yearly Roundup: Our Best Blog Posts For 2017 appeared first on MoneyThumb.

We made sure to include something for everyone, and hope you enjoy these free things and share this post with your peers.

Free Stuff for Money Thumb Readers

The Advisor's Guide to Proving Value to Your Clients-Free Download 

Tax Year 2017 Desk Reference Guide

53+ Free Image Sources for Your Website, Blog and Social Media

RobinHood Invest in Stocks for Free

Free eBooks at Project Gutenberg

Free Classes

Free Resume Help

Free Retirement Planning

And last but certainly not least, attend this free webinar on Dec. 20, 2017, How Technology Has Helped CPAs Evolve Into Trusted Advisors

The post In the Spirit of Giving: Free Stuff For MoneyThumb Readers appeared first on MoneyThumb.

For the month of October, 2017, our choices reflect the most helpful information and articles for accountants, bookkeepers, CPAs, or anyone else looking for timely accounting, tax and other finance topics. Read, learn and please by all mean, share!

Web Roundup: Best Accounting-Related Blog Posts for Oct. 2017

Our first selection is from the Surgent CPA blog. Where Are We on The Trump Tax Reform Plan?

After the election of President Trump the Rules of Thumb blog promised to keep our readers up-to-date on events in the new administration that could affect accountants, etc. We couldn't dare to do a better job than the above blog post does of explaining the most current information concerning tax changes under the Trump helm. Read, learn, and by all  means share!

Our second but by no means less important is a blog post from Summit CPA Group titled, Financial Gift Giving. The post explains different types of financial gifts and the advantages and disadvantages of each, both for you and the recipient of your financial gift.

As we have repeatedly stated in previous monthly accounting-related blog posts roundups, we try to find blog posts from our peers who we have not previously covered. This post is totally in keeping with that agenda. Maximizing Financial Relief for Losses Before the Storm Hits is a great post from the blog of GKG Accountants. Personally, this post strikes home since I just moved back to Texas from Florida and went through my very first-and hopefully last-hurricane! The post explains in nice detail how to prepare before and after for financial losses you may receive, not only from a storm, but also from personal and financial storms that arrive.

Third up in our monthly accounting-related blog post list is from the School of Accountancy blog out of Auburn University. The post titled, Don't Get Burned by Your Body Language, is timely and important, especially for those of you looking for careers and also those accountants who regularly call on clients in person. The post includes legit studies concerning body language and its importance.

Our last selection for today's roundup of the best accounting-related blog post for October, 2107 is from the blog of Melanie Radcliff, CPA. The post is titled Accounting Technology: Tools of the Trade and is the perfect ending to what we hope is a very helpful blog post from your friends at MoneyThumb.

Have a great weekend and please take a minute to share this post with your peers on social media.

The post Web Roundup: Best Accounting-Related Blog Post for October 2017 appeared first on MoneyThumb.