Posts tagged ‘accounting’
add some tech, save some green
Hot off the press! The November 2010 edition of BRIGHT LIGHTS, my business e-newsletter. This month I focused on how a business can leverage technology to save green (cash). In this post, I’m sharing one of the topics from this newsletter – using Software as a Service (SAAS) to take your business to *the cloud* – all the while saving time and money.
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WEB-BASED SOFTWARE: take your business information to the cloud
One of my favorite internet innovations is software as a service (“SaaS”) technology. Through SaaS, a small business can set up sophisticated business software programs via the internet – the interface is user-friendly; the data is encrypted, secure, and automatically backed-up; and updates to the software are automatic (i.e., you don’t pay for an annual upgrade each year). The software lives ‘in the cloud’ – e.g. on a remote server owned by the software provider. Your business can access it from anywhere that an internet connection exists.
SaaS Options
Practically any kind of software used by a business is available in SaaS format. Following are a few of the most prevalent in use today.
- Accounting software is one of the most common and popular – and many local applications are also available in web-based form, so you don’t have to change formats to move your accounting to the cloud. Click HERE for an exhaustive list of options (both local/server installed and cloud-based). From anywhere you have internet access, you can manage your books. Options also include the ability to invoice clients and accept payments online.
Front Accounting offers a web-based (SaaS), open-source accounting product for businesses.
- Another popular example is marketing software, utilizing internet resources to target marketing campaigns to specific audiences via email, websites, etc. Click HERE for information comparing various online marketing providers.
C²Law uses Mad Mimi for all email marketing - the user interface is super-easy, customer service is excellent and our readers like our newsletters!
- If your business is project-oriented, and you often have many people working together, there are numerous options for project management SaaS. These products enable people to work jointly on common documents, projects, presentations – you name it – whether located in the same office or different countries. You also can use these products to collaborate with clients, giving them 24/7 access to the information they need. I use a SaaS client extranet to share documents and communicate securely with both my business and estate planning clients. ClickHERE for a description of numerous project management SaaS providers.
At C²Law, we use a *secure* SaaS client extranet - it serves as a workspace where we share documents, information and communication with our clients.
Regardless of the kind of SaaS you deploy in your business, the savings can be great for many reasons. Generally, SaaS options reduce cost on an ongoing basis. Such options also provide incredible flexibility to users – all you need is an internet connection, so work can happen anywhere your computer is located. Finally, SaaS can provide an increased level in both security and reliabilitythat may be lacking with locally- or server-installed software. By securing your important business information and making it redundant (e.g. having it backed up by the SaaS provider), you are keeping your information safe. This can greatly reduce the likelihood of information theft or loss, both of which create unnecessary liability for a business.
Even more reasons to have a last will + testament . . .
In my last post, I reviewed the law in Tennessee on intestate succession – e.g., what happens to your estate (your stuff) when you die without a will. This ‘default’ plan for distributing your estate likely is reason enough to create a last will and testament.
But there are more reasons, just in case you were wondering . . .
In discussing with clients why they want to create a well-thought-out will document, I universally get agreement with the proposition that a properly-drafted will should both save the time and effort of the person/people who are dealing with the estate’s probate process AND it should eliminate as much probate-related expense as possible. Both of these are worthy goals, and are easy to achieve. But planning is necessary!
In Tennesssee, there are a lot of ‘hoops’ one must jump through when administering an estate that didn’t plan properly for probate – whether an intestate estate (no will at all) or an estate of someone who simply had a poorly-drafted will document.
One of the hoops – that can require significant time on the part of the executor, or significant expense on the part of the estate if professionals must be hired to complete this requirement: an accounting of the estate’s contents. The personal representative has to file a statement of all receipts, disbursements and distributions of principal and income for the accounting period and the remaining assets held in the estate – both initially, when the estate is opened, and annually until the estate is closed. See Tennessee Code 30-2-601 et seq.
The accounting can be effectively waived in a properly-drafted will, thus saving your executor a great deal of time and your estate the expense.
Another hoop is the estate inventory. Unless properly waived in a will, then the personal representative has to make a “complete and accurate inventory of the probate estate of the deceased.” This is then filed with the probate court clerk. See Tennessee Code 30-2-301 et seq.
Again, this hoop requires a significant expenditure of time on the part of the personal representative – and/or expense if professionals must be paid to complete this work.
I once worked on behalf of a family whose matriarch had died rather unexpectedly. Her will was drafted decades earlier, and didn’t waive inventory. It turned out that she had thousands of antique items – she’d been an avid collector for years. The family was ready to simply divvy everything up and sell what no one wanted, and had even reached agreement on these points. But a full inventory was still required, which took a LONG time to document. The cost was real in terms of time, but also in terms of emotional involvement. The family members weren’t well-served by dealing with this administrative task while in the midst of mourning their loss.
Creating an effective will document, whether your circumstances are simple or complicated, can be a fast and easy process. Just do it.
