Wish there were a way to streamline tedious tax work? Check out your Online Tax Organizer.

Websites for accountants help you serve all your clients – whether you manage their books, run their payroll, or act as their part-time CFO.

But the bread and butter of most small to medium-sized accounting firms is taxes.

How can you speed up the time-consuming and laborious process of completing 1040s?

With your Online Tax Organizer, of course!

Save Time

The Online Tax Organizer saves you time in 3 ways:

1. Because the organizer is online, there’s no need to mail a tax info sheet back and forth. The client fills in the information online at his or her convenience, as they gather data (and at any time throughout the year) – and you can see it right away.
2. It’s easy to collaborate with your clients and your staff. Everyone has access to the same document right at their workstation – cutting down on the need for face-to-face meetings.
3. With your Tax Organizer, it’s a cinch to compare a client’s information year to year so you can check your work and cut down on errors. Say good-bye to flipping through pages while you struggle to keep your place.

Work Flexibly

Every client is different – so not every client will need the same Tax Organizer. That’s why we made your Online Tax Organizer easy to customize.

You can customize an organizer for a particular client – or create multiple organizers, one organizing Real Estate transactions, one organizing Stock transactions, one organizing interest income, and so on.

And as your practice grows, so does your Tax Organizer. Not only can you create and store up to 200 Tax Organizers per client, but the Online Tax Organizer also allows you to support up to 10,000 clients. You’ll always have enough capacity to store as many Tax Organizers as you need.

Enjoy Top Security

All of your clients’ data is stored on our secure server, which uses 128- to 256-bit file encryption. You can be assured that critical financial information is fully protected.

Update Now to 2010

When it’s time to update to the next year’s organizer, it’s easy to do. Once you’re in the Tax Organizer Administration in the Portal, click on “Manage Organizers.” On the next screen, you’ll find a link: “Add 2010 Organizer.” Click that link, check the box next to the 2010 Organizer now listed in the table, and hit “Publish.”

Check out our Help file for detailed instructions and screen shots.

Tax Season Is Coming…

Do you have questions about the Online Tax Organizer before tax season hits? Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com. We’re more than happy to help.

If you don’t yet have a Complete Web Suite with CPA Site Solutions, remember that the Online Tax Organizer is included in your subscription fee. Give us a try free for 60 days!

Brian O'Connell, President

Having a Client Portal is a must for accounting websites – and with CPA Site Solutions, you get a secure Portal that saves you time and money.

I’m happy to say that your Client Portal just got a little more efficient, while maintaining our high level of security.

Now, with SecureReceive, you receive your clients’ documents in just one click. And it’s just as secure as ever because it still goes through our secure Client Portal.

The New Way to Receive Client Documents

It used to be that when a client sent a document to the Secure File Exchange and you got an email notification about it, it took you 7 steps to start loading that file. You clicked on the link, gave your username, gave your password, clicked over to the Secure File Exchange . . . and so on.

That was the old way. Want to hear the new way?

Now, when you get your email notification that a client has deposited a file in the Portal, you just click the link in the email and the file starts to load right away. Instead of 7 steps to receive the file, it’s just 1.

Here's an example of the email notification you get with SecureReceive.

If you’re not logged in to the Client Portal at the time, you get a screen asking for your password. Once that’s filled in, the file starts to load.

Once you start receiving the file, you see this screen.

How Is This Secure?

Using SecureReceive doesn’t mean you’re getting client documents through email. (Email is NOT a secure platform for sending and receiving client files – which is why you need a Client Portal.)

SecureReceive still routes through the Client Portal. But now receiving files is quicker because you can easily get the file by clicking on the link in your email.

That’s why, if you’re not logged in to the Portal when you click on the SecureReceive link, the system will prompt you to give your password. This ensures that only authorized users are receiving files with this method.

And your Client Portal is protected by 14 layers of security. In fact, it’s the most secure Client Portal available on the market.

SecureReceive Is Already in Place

This new feature is already working for you. There’s no need to download or install a thing!

With the busy season creeping closer, this little time saver should make life a bit easier for you.

Do you have any questions about SecureReceive? Give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Brian O'Connell, President

Have you heard about WordPress?

It’s one of the top blogging programs – chosen by millions of people and businesses worldwide, including eBay, Martha Stewart, and Wired.

People love it because it provides superior flexibility, in both design and function. (You can even build a whole website on the WordPress platform.)

In fact, it’s used by over 12% of the 1,000,000 biggest websites – and it’s the most popular content management system out there.

Host a WordPress Blog on Your CPA Website

Now, you can have a WordPress blog right on your CPA website with CPA Site Solutions.

Of course, we already have an Integrated Blog feature, which is perfect for those who want to blog once a week or less.

But if you’re in love with blogging and have been yearning to ramp it up – a WordPress blog is an excellent choice for you.

Here are 3 benefits to blogging with WordPress on your CPA website…

Boost Your Online Presence

When you blog regularly, you increase your chances of appearing higher in the search results on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. That’s because your site is more dynamic, with fresh content every few days.

Eager to see your website rise through the ranks and draw in new clients? Lots of blogging is a great way to get that going.

Perfect Your Image

Using WordPress allows you to choose from scads of themes (their word for “designs”) as well as plugins (bits of software that add to your blog’s functionality). More themes and plugins means you can customize the look and feel of your blog to better shape your image.

Needless to say, regular blogging is a fantastic way to show off your professionalism. Writing about the latest tax news and issues that affect your clients positions you as the expert you need to be to get new clients and keep your current ones.

Join the Community and Get Referrals

Your WordPress blog is set up so others can easily comment on your posts. When you get a comment, respond! Then go to the commenter’s blog and leave a message there.

The more you do this, the more you’ll be part of the community. And that’s a crucial part of getting word-of-mouth (WOM) referrals.

Two Packages to Choose From

Choose from two blogging packages: Do It Yourself or We Do It for You.

Both options include hosting, setup of all the proper settings and permissions, installation of the WordPress software, and an admin account – making either choice an easy and efficient way to go.

Do It Yourself

For $49.95, we get you started with WordPress. You find and install the theme and plugins that work for you.

We Do It for You

For $99.95, you get as many user accounts as you like. We also install a theme and plugins of your choice from our list of the best.

Get Started Today

To get started with a WordPress blog on your CPA website, just sign up!

Still need a website for your accounting firm? Sign up for one of our Complete Web Suites and get a free 60-day trial.

Brian O'Connell, President

Pocket protector, hair parted in the middle, more comfortable with the calculator than people… Does this sound like someone you know?

Unfortunate as it may be, many people think of accountants as boring and nerdy – wallflowers who don’t like to socialize or have fun. But is this accurate?

I’ve worked with accountants for years, building CPA websites – and I think they’re friendly and fun. (In fact, I like them so much, I married one.)

But the general public might not see them this way. Marketers at Kaufman, Rossin & Co. in Miami made a video about just this topic: Are Accountants Social?

Social Media

In the Kaufman & Rossin video, the videographer interviewed average folks she met on the street, getting their impressions of accountants.

At one point, she tells two young women that she’s a marketer for an accounting firm and working with social media. The women are visibly surprised and claim they’ve never heard of that. The videographer responds that accountants now realize they need to embrace online social programs like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

So, join in! Here are the benefits to the Big Three social media sites…

Facebook

Facebook is arguably the best tool for reaching out to prospective clients. You might start with a friend list made up of your actual friends – but from there, it’s easy to friend new folks and expand your circle.

Say you run into a friend at the store. She’s with another friend, and introductions are made. Friend no. 2 learns that you’re a CPA and expresses some interest in hiring you for the upcoming tax season.

When you get home, go onto your friend list on Facebook and see if Friend no. 2 is on Friend no. 1′s friends list. If she is, friend her! This will keep you in her mind and maximize the chance that she will reach out to you when the time comes.

Twitter

The best way to think of Twitter is that it’s a place to connect with others in your industry.

A common type of tweet for professionals is the “tiny URL” that links readers to an article or blog post of interest. Click over to these articles to quickly read about the latest news. And don’t forget to tweet out links to your own blog posts or articles you’ve come across.

You probably won’t find many clients on Twitter, and even if you do, the client connections you make there won’t be as strong as those on Facebook. But Twitter helps you stay current in the field. And that’s ultimately useful for client retention and attraction.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is excellent for networking and recruiting. Your LinkedIn profile allows clients and colleagues to read about your job history and your areas of expertise. You can also connect your Twitter account to LinkedIn, so all your tweets appear to your LinkedIn contacts.

When it comes time to add to your firm, LinkedIn will come in very handy. Use LinkedIn to do period checks of your colleagues’ connections – so that when you need to hire, you already have some folks to call.

Take advantage, too, of LinkedIn’s groups. Join a few local and national accounting and finance groups and contribute to the conversation. These folks can act as advisors and sounding boards for all types of situations your firm runs across.

Leverage Your Socializing with Your CPA Website

Show your clients and other visitors to your website that you’re out there making connections and rubbing elbows. Add Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn widgets to your homepage.

Don’t forget that you can auto-post your blog posts to the Big Three, too!

If you have questions on how to integrate social media into your CPA website, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

And please – follow us on Twitter (@cpasitesolution) and “like” us on Facebook!

Brian O'Connell, President

What does it mean to be “more than” a CPA firm?

It means moving beyond accounting as a commodity. Finding ways to over-deliver. Treating your clients as more than just another job.

A recent article by Nicholas D. Keseric Jr. in WebCPA discusses the need to be more than a CPA firm.

Keseric writes,

“Business prospects, as well as current clients, are looking for ideas, suggestions, information and approaches. How they can better run their business, increase revenues and profits. Get more visibility. Leverage what they are doing to create more opportunities.”

Keseric lists several ways accountants can be “more than.” When reading this list, I noticed that a CPA website from CPA Site Solutions is already offering accountants the ability to put some of these solutions into action.

Solution 1: Relevant Articles

“An article that pertains to their industry.”

Keseric says to reach out to prospects, clients, and centers of influence, or COIs, with a relevant article. (COIs are the bankers, attorneys, insurance agents, and consultants who refer clients to you.)

With our 3,000 pages of Financial Guides, your CPA website has this one covered. Of particular interest to your business clients is the Business Strategies Guide, which provides valuable information on how to nurture a business’s growth through every stage.

Your 35-page services section, too, focuses on what you do for particular industries.

Solution 2: News Updates

“A heads-up to potential changes in tax laws, banking regulations, HR issues, medical and health issues, and how these and other changes could affect their business.”

You deliver this to your clients by way of your Monthly Client Newsletter and Email Marketing System.

• Through the Client Newsletter, your clients get valuable information and tips on all kinds of finance-related issues – from the latest in tax laws to how to save for their children’s education. (For example, the October 2010 newsletter features an article about the 2011 changes to Flexible Spending Arrangements, or FSAs.)
• Through the Email Marketing System, you can send specific and targeted messages to all your clients or to certain segments of your list. Use this for any kind of message, from information on recent changes in tax laws, to the latest on health care legislation, to a plug for your favorite charity.

Solution 3: Cross-Selling

“How other resources within your firm can help them, aka cross-selling.”

Your website gives you numerous ways to offer additional services to clients. Here are just three of them:

• Online Accounting is perfect for your business clients – allowing you to manage their books while keeping their data fully backed up and protected.
• 56 Interactive Financial Calculators allow your clients to make sense of their finances – including the gaps, where they might need more assistance from you.
• When you add the Online Payroll feature to your site, you show your business clients how you can safely and cost-effectively meet their payroll needs.

Remember that your site includes 35 pages of details on the services you offer. Use these pages to remind your clients of all your firm can do  - QuickBooks support, IRS audit representation, elder care, and so on.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Hard…

Being “more than a CPA firm” is a lot easier with a CPA website from CPA Site Solutions.

Your site’s content allows you to add value to the client relationship in so many ways.

Ready to take the plunge? Give us a try for free for 60 days. See how we can help you achieve that coveted “more than” status. In the words of Keseric,

Prospects are telling . . . accountants, “Before we switch to your firm we want more than a firm that provides accounting services. What else can you do for me and my business?”

Let your CPA website be the answer.

A video is friendly and reassuring - like a warm kitchen on a cold autumn day.

The Web has become a place to sell, sell, sell.

Understandably, some folks are tired of being sold to. They’re looking for real people they can trust – not a bunch of marketing hype.

What does this mean for CPAs attempting to sell their services on websites for accountants? It means they need a way to take the skeptical visitor and “warm them up.”

To sell your services through your website, you need to introduce yourself. Tell your story. Allow potential clients to feel like they already know you.

In fact, 76% of business owners recently indicated that they wanted to have a sense of an accountant’s personality before contacting them for the first time.

Just a 60-second online video is actually all you need to do this.

Reach Out to Your Visitors with Video

More and more, people surfing the Web love to watch videos. Just look at the popularity of YouTube!

Not all videos are purely entertaining. Increasingly, businesspeople are using video to describe their products and sell their services.

It’s easy to see why. Imagine you’re in a new town and you need a dentist. Being a savvy consumer, you look around for one on the Web – but they all look about the same to you. You can’t see a reason to pick one over the other.

Then you find one dentist whose site has a 60-second video. It shows a brief interview of the dentist, it shows her hygienists, and you see the space they work in.

Because you can now picture the office and the staff, you trust them. You’ve seen them smiling, talking, and working on patients. You choose this dentist for your next cleaning.

Video Gets Real Results

Here are some statistics about the effectiveness of a promotional video:

• 52% of viewers take action after watching
• Clicks for more information increase by 30 to 40%
• Phone calls to your business increase 16–20%

Check out this sample video for an accounting firm:

Apply Proven Marketing Techniques without Being a Marketing Genius

You can enhance your website from CPA Site Solutions with a professional online video.

When you sign up, we give you a call and work out the details. Then a professional videographer is dispatched to your office on a date and time of your choosing – and they work with you to create a high-quality multimedia message that makes a real impact on your leads.

Once the video is done, it’s easy to place it on your site (and we can help). It’s also distributed to the most popular social media sites – including YouTube, Google, Facebook, Yahoo!Video, and Metacafe.

Get Started…

Sign up today for an online video. Take advantage of the medium to reach out to your prospective clients and introduce yourself before you ever have a conversation.

If you’d like a promotional video but don’t have a website with us, try us out free for 60 days!

Websites for accountants are a fantastic way to get noticed by your prospective clients.

But you don’t just want prospects. You want clients.

How do you make sure your prospects become your clients?

Google Analytics – Free and Easy

Google Analytics might sound intimidating, especially for those less technical. But it’s actually a very easy tool that can help you determine whether your site is converting prospects into clients.

Google Analytics makes detective work on your site fun and easy - and profitable.

Once you embed the code on your site – just a matter of pointing and clicking – you can start to take advantage of Analytics’s reports, graphs, site overlays, and many other features.

Analytics helps you gather information on…

• what keywords brought folks to your website

• how they navigate through your site

• how they go from a casual visitor to filling out the contact form

The Importance of Getting to Know Your Clients

The Wall Street Journal‘s article about conversions named “getting to know your clients” as one of the three most important steps you can take when converting prospects into clients.

Even small tweaks to your site can help. For instance, maybe you learn that visitors leave your site altogether after clicking on your “About Us” page. This is a strong indication that this page is not doing its job. Maybe you need to add some pictures, bios, and friendly language to this page. (And we can help you do that, of course.)

Once you delve into the data about how visitors are behaving on your site, you have a much clearer sense of what works and what needs to be refined.

It helps you make the most of your website – turning your monthly subscription rate into a smart investment.

Integrate with Google Adwords

If you want to take your marketing to the next level, consider employing a Google Adwords campaign. When you do, Google Analytics comes bundled with it – allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads.

Platinum clients get a PPC campaign fully set up and monitored by our certified Google Adwords professionals. They also get the power of Google Analytics set up on their site, as well as expert coaching on how to use the various features and interpret the data.

Free for Anyone

Google Analytics is free for Gold and Silver clients, too. Simply sign up on google.com/analytics, get the code, and send it to us. We’ll put it on your site.

Start Making New Clients Today

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you ensure visitors aren’t clicking away from your site prematurely.

If you have any questions about Analytics, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500 or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

If you’d like to extend your marketing efforts into Google Adwords, sign up for our Platinum-level service. You get not only a targeted PPC campaign, but also coaching for your Analytics data. You can upgrade by calling 1-800-896-4500 or emailing support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Don’t have a website yet but ready to dive in? Sign up for our website service and receive the first 60 days free.

Kathy O'Connell, CPA

Cloud computing is all the rage these days.

But what exactly is it? And is it secure enough for accountants?

As financial professionals, we need to make sure our clients’ data is protected. We don’t want their financial information compromised in any way.

How do we balance the efficiencies of cloud computing with the potential threats?

What Is Cloud Computing?

Wikipedia defines “cloud computing” this way:

“Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on demand, like the electricity grid.”

So what does that mean?

Basically, when you use the cloud for your IT needs, you no longer need to have servers and copies of software at your office. You just need access to the Internet, and you pay a fee to access programs for things like tax preparation, workflow management, and file storage.

The term "cloud" refers to the Internet. It's based on the cloud drawing historically used to represent the telephone network.

If you’re familiar with Software as a Service – or SaaS – then you’re familiar with the cloud. Think of SaaS as what’s delivered, and the cloud as the medium by which it’s delivered.

Here are some examples of common computer programs that run in the cloud:

• Google Docs

• QuickBooks Online

• online access to bank accounts

Is It Safe?

Accountants are the safeguards of our clients’ financial data. We take that very seriously, as we should.

So should we feel comfortable sending off their data to data centers all over the country – and around the world? What if the files are hacked into, either at the data center or while in transport from our computers to our SaaS provider?

And will we truly own and control that data anymore once it’s left our hands?

I think these are important concerns – but they must be balanced by the benefits of this brave new world.

What Are the Benefits?

The benefits of cloud computing outweigh the risks, in my opinion.

Cheaper

Instead of buying and maintaining servers and software at your office – which usually means hiring an IT guy – you do away with all those needs.

Plus, you get the chance to purchase just what you need, rather than an entire software program that’s far too complicated for the size of your firm.

Greener

Instead of keeping filing cabinets full of paper versions of your clients’ tax returns and financial statements, you have it all online.

You also can likely downsize to just one or two printers per office, instead of one per workstation.

More Efficient

Brian talks a good deal on this blog about the efficiencies offered by our websites for accountants (the secure Client Portal, an emailed Monthly Client Newsletter, the Workteam Collaboration Suite, and so on – see the Increasing Efficiency section of our blog).

When you think about it, all of these are courtesy of the cloud. They save you hours of tedious work and allow you to focus more of your time on client work.

So… What Should You Do?

There is a way to take advantage of the pluses of cloud computing while also guarding against the risks.

Before you jump up into the clouds with any SaaS provider, Greg LaFollette suggests you ask these questions:

1. What’s their privacy policy? Is it published?

2. Is all data safeguarded with 128-bit SSL encryption?

3. Is it compliant with SAS 70? (Starting in June 2011, this becomes SSAE 16.)

4. How well protected are the data centers where your files are stored? (And I would add, are they in the U.S. or outside of the country? If outside, are they in a country with a stable political situation?)

If the answers satisfy you, then go for it. After all, within a year or two or three, you’re probably going to be forced to.

In the words of Mr. LaFollette…

“Cloud computing as we know it now is still a few years away from full acceptance, but I guarantee you, within 10 years there will be no premise-based software in the business of tax and accounting.”

You Might Already Be Up There!

If you participate in online banking, then you’re in the cloud.

Likewise, if you have a website with CPA Site Solutions, you’re also in the cloud!

And just to reassure you, we take your security – and your clients’ – very seriously. Please read about our 14 layers of security for the Client Portal.

If you have any concerns at all, please don’t hesitate to reply to this post or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com. You can also call us at 1-800-896-4500.

If you don’t have a website with us but you’re ready to get started in the cloud, try us out free for 60 days.

Enjoy running your business from the clouds!

There's lots of "juice" in your website. Make sure you get it all...

Websites for accountants are an excellent way to serve existing clients and draw in new ones.

But sometimes, their value is even more direct.

With your CPA website, you actually earn commissions.

With no extra work from you, money on the sale of QuickBooks software comes right to you.

Earn Commissions Selling QuickBooks

Your QuickBooks Store allows you to keep your clients’ software up-to-date by offering them up to 20% off retail prices and free shipping on the latest version of QuickBooks.

Best of all, you earn 5% every time your clients buy from your site.

You don’t have to be a QuickBooks ProAdvisor to take advantage of this program – but if you are a ProAdvisor, you earn 6% instead of 5%.

Serving Your Business Clients

QuickBooks is far and away the most used accounting software among small to medium businesses. When you offer a discount on QuickBooks products, it truly benefits your clients.

When clients visit your site, they see a menu option for QuickBooks Services under the Services tab. When they mouse over “QuickBooks Services,” the last option is “Buy QuickBooks and Save.”

On this page, they get a listing of all the QuickBooks products you sell. And when you sign up with Intuit’s affiliate program, you get an Intuit banner to put on this page.

The page for your QuickBooks Store.

Get Started Selling QuickBooks Online

To become an affiliate with Intuit and offer QuickBooks products to your clients at a 20% discount, check out this Help file.

Gold and Platinum clients, if you’d like your Dedicated Webmaster to take care of this for you, call 1-800-896-4500, or email support@cpasitesolutions.com.

More Ways to Earn Commissions…

Selling QuickBooks software isn’t the only way to earn commissions on your website.

Take advantage of these other sources of income that take virtually no effort on your part:

• sell books online through Amazon

• online client incorporation

• online payroll processing

Make the most of your CPA website. Get started with our affiliate programs and add revenue to your firm today.

We’re Always Here to Help

If you have any questions about your QuickBooks Store – how it works or how to start the ball rolling – or you’d like to learn more about our other affiliate programs, give us a call at 1-800-896-4500, or email us at support@cpasitesolutions.com.

Do you participate in the QuickBooks Store? How do you like it? Let us know below.