.KEYWORD accounting
.FLYINGHEAD ACCOUNTING APPLICATIONS
.TITLE Handheld accounting solutions add up to success
.OTHER
.SUMMARY When it comes to early adopters of handheld technology, accounting and consulting professionals are right up there with doctors and lawyers. All are looking for the best resources available to help them increase efficiency and to achieve the ultimate profitability for their firms. If you’re in the accounting field, Travis Pittman’s sampling of what’s available for you is a must read.
.AUTHOR Travis Pittman
When it comes to early adopters of handheld technology, accounting and consulting professionals are right up there with doctors and lawyers. All are looking for the best resources available to help them increase efficiency and to achieve the ultimate profitability for their firms. In this regard, Palm handhelds provide financial professionals with a more efficient way to track engagement time, billing, and expenses. As a director of financial services for a major handheld software publisher, it’s my job to help accounting and consulting firms stay ahead of this emerging technology and abreast of the applications and capabilities available for wireless and handheld devices.
.H1 Identifying issues
I regularly work with local, national, and international accounting and consulting firms to provide them one point of contact for finding, deploying, and managing "best of breed" handheld solutions. Based on many years of experience as an accountant myself, and from knowing the available technology, I have been able to identify some common issues, including, but not limited to: time and expense tracking; amortization/depreciation calculations; a need to review and edit financial statements, footnotes, and disclosures; a need to create and edit fully functional spreadsheets; and email retrieval on the go. What follows are the applications I typically recommend to help individual accountants and larger teams hit the ground running.
.H1 Time and billing
Keeping track of "chargeable" time or expenses ultimately impacts the overall profitability of a firm. It can be difficult for accountants to keep up with their billable time while they’re concentrating on assisting their clients. They typically lose hours and expenses here and there because they have no better way to track their time than on a Post-it note.
Firms are finding easier and more comprehensive ways to track billing via handheld computing. A wireless method of tracking time and expense data with seamless integration with a "back-end" application requires less time and effort and minimizes input errors. The best solution currently available is a software application called MobileTimeBilling. It’s a unique application that’s making revolutionary waves in vertical markets where billing time and expense reimbursement is required. You can find it at http://www.wirelessverticals.com/products_and_services/mtb.shtml, and it’s pictured in Figure A.
.FIG A Record your billing on the go with MobileTimeBilling.
The software allows you to document your time on the fly with a timer that automatically enters hours and minutes spent. With MobileTimeBilling, you’re just two taps away from documenting your billable time. This also frees up you and your assistants for more crucial tasks benefiting the client. You can recapture more of your billable hours, and clients get increased service. It’s a win/win situation.
.H1 Expense tracking
ExpensePlus from Walletware, Inc. lets you easily track expense reports. It provides ready-made expense reports or can create customized reports. It also tracks mileage, converts currencies, and manages credit cards and multiple clients. This is an essential program for anyone with business expenses. You can find it at http://www.walletware.com, and it’s pictured in Figure B.
.FIG B ExpensePlus lets you easily track expense reports.
.H1 Spreadsheet creator
Quicksheet from Cutting Edge Software, Inc. is a spreadsheet application that synchronizes entire spreadsheets to and from Microsoft Excel. It offers 60 built-in functions, allowing for flexible documentation and charting. This highly customizable program makes bookkeeping for any accountant a simple task. You can find it at http://www.cesinc.com/quicksheet/index.html, and it’s pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C Quicksheet lets you view Excel spreadsheets on your Palm device.
.H1 Financial calculator
Infinity Softworks, Inc.’s powerOne Finance is a financial calculator that contains more than 400 business, statistic, and scientific functions. It was designed specifically for business professionals and is the perfect fit for accountants on the go. This application provides instant productivity by supplying all the essential calculations with just one tap of the screen. You can find it at http://www.infinitysw.com/Products/powerOne_Finance.html, and it’s pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D Perform financial calculations with powerOne Finance.
.H1 Word processing
There is nothing more essential than being able to view and edit Word files on a handheld device. It’s a basic function that Palm devices don’t supply natively. Fortunately, there’s add-on software called Documents To Go from DataViz. This application supports character and paragraph formatting, as well as other functions like cut and paste, scrolling, and find features, plus document beaming. It allows you to work with documents in the same way you do on a desktop PC. You can find it at http://www.dataviz.com, and it’s pictured in Figure E.
.FIG E View Word documents on your Palm device with Documents To Go.
.H1 Reminders
For busy professionals who constantly need to keep track of several tasks and cannot afford to miss an action item, a reminder application is ideal. With BugMe! from Haus of Maus, you can easily scribble a note on your handheld device’s screen using text or personal handwriting and then set an alarm for it. At the appropriate time, the program automatically pops up a note on the screen, displayed in the exact form in which the reminder was written. You can find BugMe! at http://www.hausofmaus.com, and it’s pictured in Figure F.
.FIG F Never forget an appointment again, with BugMe!
.H1 Image viewer
FireViewer from FirePad lets you view color and grayscale images, text, and hyperlinks on a handheld device. It supports large graphics, zooming, compression, beaming, and sorting options. In addition, it allows for attaching text notes to images, as well as marking certain images as "private." This top selling image viewer allows you to view entire documents, complete with pictures and text, as well as maps, diagrams, and photographs, on your Palm device. You can find it at http://www.firepad.com/products/viewer/index.html, and it’s pictured in Figure G.
.FIG G FireViewer lets you view useful images on your Palm device.
.H1 Clock
BigClock from Jens Rupp supports alarm, world time, and timer/stopwatch features. The display uses large numbers, and the timer works even while the device is turned off. There are four different alarm types, and the display can be in either 12-hour or 24-hour format. Most everything, including the layout and sounds, are completely user configurable. You can find it at http://www.paessler.com/rupp/bigclock.htm, and it’s pictured in Figure H.
.FIG H BigClock supports alarm, world time, and timer/stopwatch features.
.H1 Email
For the traveling accountant, I usually recommend an email reader, like MultiMail Pro. While traveling or just out of the office, you can stay in touch with the rest of your team using this email reader paired with an attached modem. This application allows for eight different email accounts, 60K messages, and more. Since this software has the ability to open and read email attachments, it also allows for software updates on the road, the ability to read Microsoft Word documents, open spreadsheets, manage .csv files, and extract zipped attachments. You can find it at http://www.actualsoft.com.
.PAGE
.H1 Conclusion
Obviously, there are a lot of solutions out there for the accounting profession, and yet many professionals are still looking for the right ones for themselves and their teams. By choosing the Palm computing platform, you’ve already made a step in the right direction. Hopefully the software add-ons I’ve recommended above will help you even further.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on MobileTimeBilling, visit http://www.wirelessverticals.com/products_and_services/mtb.shtml.
For more information on ExpensePlus, visit http://www.walletware.com.
For more information on Quicksheet, visit http://www.cesinc.com/quicksheet/index.html.
For more information on powerOne Finance calculator, visit http://www.infinitysw.com/Products/powerOne_Finance.html.
For more information on Documents To Go, visit http://www.dataviz.com.
For more information on MultiMail Pro, visit http://www.actualsoft.com.
For more information on BugMe!, visit http://www.hausofmaus.com.
For more information on Fire Viewer, visit http://www.firepad.com/products/viewer/index.html.
For more information on Big Clock, visit http://www.paessler.com/rupp/bigclock.htm.
For more information on handheld devices from Handango preloaded with industry specific software, visit http://www.handango.com/bsc_industry_product.jsp?siteId=1&homePath=HANDANGO&productType=1&productId=10211&displayId=4928&industryId=1&industryTitle=Accounting.
For more information on the Handango Accounting Suite or other Handango Software Suites, visit http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=1&homePath=HANDANGO&platformId=1&productType=2&productId=12430§ionId=0&catalog=1.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
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.BIO Travis Pittman is the director of financial services for Handango, Inc. in Hurst, TX. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Dallas and has many years of experience in the accounting profession both in the private sector and public accounting at KPMG LLP. His accounting experience, education, and handheld knowledge help firms define their mobile strategy. Travis can be reached at tpittman@handango.com.
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