Nov. 2009

Top 6 Write-Up Solutions 2009

Flexible Write-Up Hones Consulting

By Phil Britt

As businesses struggle in the current economy, some have chosen to bring their accounting work in-house to save money. Others have sought to outsource all or a small portion of their accounting. Either way, the selection and use of write-up applications is more important than ever.

"We're getting more and more of this low-margin work done," says David Huff, partner with Person Huff Group CPA, Metairie, LA. "People are tired of doing it themselves. Last year, this was about 5 percent of our total revenue. Now it's more than 20 percent."

Some of the additional write-up business comes from clients who want the firm to handle all the accounting work, Huff says. Another significant chunk comes from people who attempt it themselves first:

"People overestimate their ability to do things the right way. ... Clients make a lot of mistakes on payroll items. We spend a lot of time fixing those mistakes." Huff uses the write-up and ancillary software applications of Write-Up CS from Thomson Reuters to correct common mistakes on quarterly filings, payroll and other related issues.

"Some [clients] don't want to use payroll services; others want to do everything at one time," Huff says. "We handle the payroll taxes and pay them whenever they're due. Payroll services collect the money [early], then pay the taxes later and earn interest while holding the money."

With the cash flow problems many businesses are facing today, many firms don't have the cash on hand to send in payments any earlier than necessary, Huff says. "They like to have more flexibility than they can get from payroll services. They like to have a person that they can call for different [accounting] needs."

In addition to the amount of accounting work they want done by CPAs, business owners have preferences on the software they use for their own bookkeeping/accounting, says Jessica Paulus, technical sales representative for Thomson Reuters.

"A lot of customers want to minimize their costs, so they do some of their own accounting with Peachtree, QuickBooks, Bill.com or another program," Paulus says. Therefore, Thompson Reuters' Write-Up CS and similar products offer accountants the ability to import data from a variety of other programs.

Online Advantages
Ronald Aho, president of Business Advisors in Osseo, MN, also has seen growth in the write-up portion of his business. He and his customers benefit from Personable Write-Up Solutions, which enables all authorized parties to enter, review and edit data anytime via the Internet.

By permitting clients and accountants to work accounts, write-up software enables CPAs to concentrate on value-added services, says Bill Botzler, CEO for Universal Business Computer Company (UBCC), Taos, NM.

"The software's flexibility helps our clients," Botzler says. "They can import information from a client's bank, credit card or insurance company in a spreadsheet format. Electronic reports can be automatically e-mailed to their clients. Then, they can see on a real-time basis what is happening with their [clients'] financial pictures. This helps them look into the future rather than always looking in the rear-view mirror."

Looking into the future helps an accountant provide more consulting services rather than just performing data entry, payroll and related tax work. "Companies need to watch their income more than once a quarter," Botzler says. "This accounting system helps them do that and add services as their needs become more critical."

Indeed, Clyde Trevathan, president of C.W. Trevathan, CPA, APAC, Luling, LA, credits his use of UBCC's Client Data Center as instrumental in helping him show clients why their cash on hand or income might not be what they thought it was. "I can show them more comparative information for the current year and prior years," Trevathan says. "A lot of [clients] ask: 'If I made all of this money, where is it?' I show them a cash flow analysis so that they can see where it went."

Just as important as having the option to add services is having the ability to scale write-up software to suit changing business needs, says Michelle Dulog, marketing manager for Personable, Inc., Fountain Valley, CA. By providing accessibility via the Internet, Personable's Write-Up Solutions gives Aho and other accountants the ability to grow their businesses without adding hardware or software.

Security Precautions
One concern that accountants have in using Internet-based solutions is security. Dulog was quick to point out the different layers of security Personable's software uses to help ensure that client information remains safe.

Security precautions include different permission levels so that bookkeepers can work with one level of information and senior staffers can have access to more data.

"This way, accountants can have staff anywhere in the office or anywhere in the world," Dulog says. "And they have peace of mind because their information is secured on a hosted platform."