Your CPA said what?

Creating a CYA Journal

I don't quite know how I found this article or who pointed me to bellaonline.com but I found it to be an interesting method for organizing the work day. If you tend toward manual rather than tech driven solutions or have a fondness for good old fashioned notebooks this is a great idea.

A Little Notebook Goes a Long Way

  In a previous newsletter article   I reviewed David Allen's book "The Art of Getting Things Done." Allen   has somewhat of a cult following but that doesn't diminish the importance of   his message. On the contrary, the fact that there are so many people scrambling   for a workable system to increase productivity is evidence that most of us react   to our surroundings rather than live proactively. In business these "reactionaries"   scramble about from one crisis to the next and feel like they never get anything   done. I know, I've been there (and have been known to go back and visit occasionally).   For that reason I'm constantly on the lookout for tools to help me be more productive.   One of the best I've found so far is the Moleskine   notebook. They cost about ten bucks at Books-A-Million and after a couple of   weeks you'll think they're worth their weight in gold. Here's how I use mine.

I basically have two tools that I use to keep track of projects and to-do items. The first is an excel spreadsheet on my laptop. It lists all of the things I have to do from client projects to home repairs to errands I need to run. Each to-do item is classified according to a specific context (home, desk, calls, emails, etc). For more on context sensitive lists read Allen's book or do a web search for GTD (short for Getting Things Done). The second tool is my little black Moleskine notebook.

If I am in the office my excel spreadsheet is always open so I can add items   while I'm on the phone, going through mail, working on a related project or   doing anything else where I might need to jot down a note to follow up on something   in the future. If I am out of the office I have either my laptop or my notebook   with me. There are some situations were lugging out the laptop isn't convenient   (although Michael Linenberger's book   has helped me change that). At those times I have my unobtrusive notebook where   I can jot notes and record to-do items. A to-do item in my notebook gets an   empty check box placed next to it and when I have my laptop out again I add   these items to my excel spreadsheet and cross them out.

The Moleskine works well for several reasons.

1. It's the right size. I can slip it in a jacket pocket or the back pocket of a pair of pants and take it with me anywhere. I'll often bring it to lunch where I can take notes much easier than if I had  brought along a full size leather portfolio.
2. It's professional. At $10 these aren't cheap but I have no problem pulling one out in front of CEO's or other potential clients. In fact, I often get asked where they can purchase one for themselves.
3. It's durable. The hardbound cover, cloth marker and elastic strap take a lot of abuse without showing much wear.
4. It's easy to write in. Having a hard bound notebook makes all the difference when you're trying to scribble notes in your lap while having coffee at a table the size of a dinner plate.

As a general rule it's always good to have a pen and paper at hand. For me the Moleskine has been a good little tool for capturing important information in almost any setting. If you have your own tips or tricks for increased productivity do me a favor and share them in an email. I always enjoy hearing how other people cope with the frenetic pace around them.

Joey Brannon is the founder of Axiom Professional Group, a tax, consulting and accounting firm in Bradenton, Florida. Mr. Brannon is both a CPA and an EA. You can find out more about Axiom by visiting www.axiomcpa.com.

Reduce Errors and Save Time with Bar Codes

More and more of our clients are turning to bar code scanners in an effort to reduce key punch errors and save time entering data. While bar code scanning is nothing new it is being adopted for a wide range of applications from document management to traditional point-of-sale terminals. So how does a typical small business setup work. Here's the short story...

You will need a scanner. These come in two basic types: serial and keyboard wedge. A serial scanner plugs into the serial port on the back of your computer. A keyboard wedge scanner plugs into the keyboard jack and has a "Y" connector that you then plug your keyboard into. These are by far the most popular types of scanners. Serial scanners, while less popular, do have an advantage we will talk about later.

The thing to realize about scanners is that they don't perform any special magic. They just take the place of your fingers actually typing in the data. There are scores of bar code formats but they all come down to a graphical representation of alpha-numeric data. Instead of keying in a product number you can shoot the bar code with the scanner and the number will appear on the screen as if you had typed it in. If there is any application where you have to enter a product code, document number, or some type of reference identification a bar code and scanner may be able to increase your productivity.

Next comes software. Since a bar code scanner acts as nothing more than a really fast and accurate keyboard you can use the scanner anywhere you would use your keyboard. For instance, we've used scanners to help clients with inventory counts by opening an excel spreadsheet, shooting the item, then tabbing over one column to put in the amount, location, etc. Some clients even bar code the shelf locations so you shoot the product, tab, shoot the shelf location, tab and enter the quantity. You can then cross reference your count sheet with a product database and tabulate inventory extensions.

Another common application is Quickbooks. By bar coding product numbers you can create item receipts, purchase orders, invoices or sales receipts by shooting the bar code and tabbing to the appropriate quantity field. In a stock room bar code scanners are particularly nice when paired with a laptop. This allows clerks to instantly look up inventory levels and  verify quantities without having to hard key product numbers that can be 8 to 12 digits long.

Serial scanners have the advantage of directing their output to a separate port on your computer. This allows special software programs the ability to capture the scan and "translate" it before passing it on to the application you are working in. One such product is SmartScan from Baus Systems. Here's how it works. Say you have an item number in QuickBooks of "W2367" but the manufacturer of this item has a UPC bar code of 491320. Using SmartScan you can "translate" the UPC so that when you scan the product and the scanner sees 491320 it sends a value to Quickbooks of "W2367". This is powerful since it allows you to create your own product numbering system while using the universal UPC or other bar codes common on almost all packaged goods. Most manufacturers have proprietary codes they use for internal purposes that you can re-use with translation software to implement bar coding in Quickbooks. However, this type of system requires a serial scanner and they're usually more expensive than the common wedge interface scanners.

One final consideration is whether or not you want a wireless scanner. These are becoming more common. One model we have used with success is the Wasp WWS 880K (pictured at left). It uses Bluetooth technology and has a range of about 30 feet. It recognizes all of the widely used bar code formats and is easy to setup. It retails for between $450 and $500. The Wasp is a wedge interface scanner. Wireless serial or RS232 interface scanners usually require the purchase of the scanner and adapter cables or decoders separately. If you go this route contact a reputable dealer such as Barcodes Inc. and tell them what you are trying to accomplish. They can recommend the best solution.

At a retail counter you will rarely need a wireless scanner but our experience is that they are the only choice for stock rooms, loading docks and other "back office" venues.

Joey Brannon is the founder of Axiom Professional Group, a tax, consulting and accounting firm in Bradenton, Florida. Mr. Brannon is both a CPA and an EA. You can find out more about Axiom by visiting www.axiomcpa.com.

Increased productivity 2 minutes at a time.

It has been a while since my last post as we are extraordinarily busy pushing toward a Jan 31 deadline. In my continuing battle to find more time and be more effective at work I've come to a realization. I'm a slave to email. We communicate with clients all over the place. Many are in different time zones or even different continents so email is an effective way to track down and disseminate information. I can block out time, I can close the door, I can even have my calls held temporarily. However, for some reason I can't resist the urge to open an email when it shows up and I can't turn it off because it's integrated with our calendar and client database. So every time I hear a ding, or see the little envelope pop up I can't help myself. Until now.

Our software checks email every 2 minutes so my day was being reduced to little blocks of uninterrupted time between email deliveries. I went in and reset the delivery time to 60 minutes and it has made a big difference in my focus and efficiency. Try it, you'll be surprised at how serene life becomes without that little chime going off every 2 minutes.

Note: we use Goldmine with a POP3 setup through our server. Other POP3 configurations in Outlook, etc. offer the ability to set how often the computer checks the server for email. If you are using an Exchange server you may be out of luck, I don't know. If delaying delivery isn't an option maybe you can disable the sounds and icons associated with new mail. All programs allow you to manually check the server if you are expecting an email and don't want to wait.

View the Axiom Professional Group, P.A. web site  or return to the Axiom web site articles page (both links will exit the blog site).

Less paper, better records.

I am enthusiastically committed to the goal of reducing paper and the headaches associated with keeping track of it, organizing it, destroying it and generally moving it from one stack to another. In our office we do not create any paper file file folders for new or existing clients. We do not retain paper copies of clients original documents and we do not retain paper copies of old tax returns. Instead we use scanners and imaging software to digitize all of these documents and archive them. This results in greater ease of retrieval, indexing and filing.

A great bi-product of this system is its propensity to  safeguard against data loss. Our data is currently mirrored, synchronized or backed up on four different electronic media. All this helps me sleep a lot better at night. During the most recent hurricane season we only had one marginal scare when we didn't know where Wilma was going to end up. Before leaving our waterfront office building for the weekend we packed up an external hard drive, removed the last backup tape from the server and synchronized a laptop to the server. That was it. If something would have happened I was only a wall outlet and an Internet connection away from being back in business.

When it comes to dealing with our own records we are just as committed to doing away with paper. We scan everything we possibly can and destroy the paper copies if feasible. Expense receipts are a huge part of this and absent the occasional rebate receipt we have found there is little reason to retain the paper copies. This is especially true for receipts generated by thermal printers (which most are). If these are not scanned or photocopied the original eventually fades to the point of being unreadable. We use the same high capacity, redundant systems for this that we use for client documents but I think most businesses and homes could benefit just as much with a simpler, less costly system. One solution I came across recently is NeatReceipts. We have not used it but it looks like just the ticket to move a newcomer into the paperless world. Their site also has a great page featuring IRS positions on digital record keeping and document retention.

View the Axiom Professional Group, P.A. web site  or return to the Axiom web site articles page (both links will exit the blog site).

The good kind of procrastination

When you read the January newsletter you'll see that I'm a big fan of David Allen's book "Getting Things Done." David's own blog highlights an interesting article on procrastination by Paul Graham. It's not always what you're doing that makes the difference, more often than not it's what you're not doing.

View the Axiom Professional Group, P.A. web site  or return to the Axiom web site articles page (both links will exit the blog site).