Xero to acquire Syft to enhance reporting and insights capability

Following the acquisition, we plan that Syft will continue to be available as a standalone offering to small businesses and their accountants and bookkeepers – no matter who their accounting software provider is.

**

We’ll also work to embed Syft’s functionality within Xero over time, to provide powerful visualisations, analytics and reporting capabilities for new and existing customers.

**

Current customers love Syft for its custom reporting, visualisations, benchmarking, live analysis views with drill down, ability to consolidate across financial data sources, budgeting and forecasting, reporting automation and data quality assurance.

**

I was positively impressed when I looked at Syft 2-3 years back, and this appears to be a smart move for Xero – Looking forward to seeing this enhance the platform.

Maryland will allow free federal tax filing in 2025 for 700K taxpayers

The IRS is expanding its program first piloted last year - Happy to see this type of program getting traction & it should be a help to a lot of folks!

(via Baltimore Sun)

Xero announces new features at the recent Xerocon Nashville conference, including:

  • More direct bank feeds
  • Bank feed monitoring notifications
  • Accept payment via the Xero mobile app
  • Sending invoices via text
  • Paying bills within Xero site using embedded BILL service
  • Automated W-9 collection from subcontractors
  • Easy sales tax preparation for every state
  • Inventory Plus feature with Amazon & Shopify integration
  • & more

More details via Xero’s blog post.

The new rules around buying & selling real estate just took effect, namely:

  • Commissions can no longer be published, &
  • Buyers will need a signed agreement with their agent to see a home

(via Baltimore Sun)

I really like how Kirby Ferguson has broken down the creative process into 4 phases, what he calls The Remix Method. For example, one important transition is the shift from drafting to prioritizing shipping, something that can get missed or pulled back if you’re not being deliberate enough. Here they are in outline form, and he’s now offering a course to help creators out there, The Remix Method: A Complete System for Creativity.

Phase 1: Immerse

  • Dive into diverse experiences and capture your insights.
  • Allow your mind to wander and play.

Phase 2: Draft

  • Develop rough drafts and iterate on your ideas.
  • Treat each draft as material for remixing.

Phase 3: Build

  • Construct your project with a focus on execution.
  • Shift your mindset to prioritize shipping.

Phase 4: Return

  • Reflect and market your work.
  • Prepare for the next creative cycle.

The D.C. Office Market Is in Trouble” via WSJ

“A Government Accountability Office review of 24 federal agencies last year estimated that 17 of them used on average one-quarter or less of the capacity of their headquarters buildings during a three-week sample period.

The district’s office vacancy rate rose to a new high of 22.4% in the second quarter from less than 14% in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to CBRE Group”

The amount of occupied space declined by more than 500,000 square feet in the second quarter, “with the federal government accounting for nearly half of the occupancy loss,” CBRE said in a recent report.

Bars, restaurants and other small businesses that depend on federal workers have struggled. Last year the district projected a budget gap of close to $500 million in its fiscal plan partly because of a drop in real-estate tax collection.

Xero’s been hard at work updating their invoicing module – new features include:

  • Ability to invoice for partial payments (like deposits)
  • Smarter, automated invoice reminders
  • Improved end-to-end statement workflow
  • Ability to add multiple delivery addresses to an invoice
  • And more

Many of the features are already live, the new version will become the default on 2 Sep, and the old version will be retired 20 Nov.

Check out Xero’s New Invoice page for more information + a video showcasing the new features.

Federal Judge Sides With Maryland in Digital Ad Tax Dispute

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and three trade associations argued the tax violates First Amendment rights to free speech. But they lost at least this part of the case. Case at the state and state tax court level still ongoing (& the tax continues to be collected in the meantime).

(via CPA Practice Advisor)

As the Maryland budget crunch becomes an increasingly reality, Gov. Moore proposes cutting $150m from budget already enacted for this year.

He continues to emphasize reticence to raise taxes in the state, my guess since he suspects it may further push away the very economic growth the state needs to fund its current spending commitments.

Also more from his guest commentary piece in The Baltimore Sun.

Although our company doesn’t specialize in non-profits anymore, we do come across tools & tips unique to non-profits that we can share:

One that’s been around for a bit but may be unknown to new non-profits is TechSoup -> Through them, non-profits can:

  • Get discounted or even free software to help run your organization
  • Courses, articles, & knowledgebase around non-profit information
  • Connections with other non-profit leaders with whom to learn and grow

If you run a non-profit, check them out!

In the ongoing unfolding of interpretations around the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), the Maryland AG weighed in on 8 May 2024 to say that it depends on the facts & circumstances whether CPA assistance with Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) filings could be considered “unauthorized practice of law”.

Essentially, simple guidance & completing the form based on customer inputs IS NOT, while customer circumstances that involve judgement that requires legal interpretations IS.

Seems reasonable middle ground as most CPAs I know aren’t interested to wade deep into the BOI waters to begin with, only to be a help to our small businesses customers who now need to jump through yet one more compliance filing in the course of their year.

(via AICPA Town Hall)

Folks coming over from X/Twitter may be interested to know I’ve exported my Tweet history on that platform (Oct 2010 - Jun 2024) into a searchable page here on my microblog titled Tweets.

(Sometimes I like to scroll back thru and remind myself of nuggets found & shared.) :)

IRS' National Taxpayer Advocate (IRS watchdog) reported that identity theft cases are taking 22 months to resolve & have a backlog of 500,000 cases.

May be worth getting an IP PIN to save future hassle (tho, as it stands, you can never undo the request).

There’s a balance between having good tools and tool overload that’s not always easily navigated.

I think I’m seeing Confluence emerging as a tool our company wants to go deeper in for team collaboration that isn’t customer Project/Task oriented. Part of this is that I think while the Microsoft 365 platform has a lot going for it, the design, features, and ease-of-use aren’t quite there, at least currently.

One contributor to the evolution of this thought: Confluence’s new whiteboard feature looks well designed. (You’d think a tool like this would have been nailed by Microsoft.)

How to Get Started with Value Pricing

I was pleased be quoted and share value pricing tips in the April 2019 AICPA Journal of Accountancy newsletter. The article was put together by Liz Farr and also includes interviews with Ron Baker and Dominique Molina. It's a great compilation of ways to get the ball rolling and provides good insights into how it's worked out in practice.

Check out the online version.

Beta Alpha Psi Career Panel

I had a lot of fun at Beta Alpha Psi’s (BAP) 2019 Atlantic Coast Regional Meeting today as a panel member on “Explore Your Career Choices” headed up by Zoe Yang of PWC. We were able to address two sessions of officers from BAP chapters in the region about the variety of career paths they could pursue, sharing tips, experiences, and perspectives along the way.

In addition to getting to talk with accounting students, it was also great fun to meet and get to know fellow panel members drawn from different areas of the accounting industry: including Big 4 auditors, forensic accountants, financial analysts, and more. I represented the accounting entrepreneur firm-owner and encouraged students to consider if the path might be a good fit for them to.

Pictured here with me is Ozo from the DC Public Charter School System and very friendly guy. Check out Beta Alpha Psi site for more info about their organization (of which I’m an alum), and cheers to all new accountants entering the profession!

Live Xero Certification

Excited to be teaching a live Xero Advisor Certification course on October 23 at the beautiful Hamilton Hotel in Washington, DC. Time is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and registration is free!

If you’ve been curious about the Xero platform, or have tested the waters and want to get more, come on out – would love to meet you, and also help kick-off your Xero experience!

  • Step 1 - Register on Xero's website to become a Partner and access all their special Partner tools for free!
  Check out the links, and see you there! :)

MSATP: Security & Your Practice

Happy to announce I’ll be appearing as the practitioner on a “Security & Your Practice” panel at the MSATP Solo/Small Firm Conference November 2 - 4 in Bethany Beach, DE.

The panel will be held twice during the weekend, and will seek to address emerging issues from the changing technology landscape and legislative pronouncements, including topics like: security insurance, portals, mobile device security, home offices, the new cyber legislative credit, and more.

You can visit the event page to learn more about the conference and potentially register, and also feel free to check out membership in the Maryland Society of Accounting and Tax Professionals.

Karbon Academy 102

I’m pleased to be re-joining the Faculty of Karbon Academy for their “102 course” semester starting late this August.

Karbon Academy is an educational offering of the practice management/ workflow software Karbon. It seeks close the accounting education gap and empower our profession to face the challenges in today’s industry while looking boldly to the future. According to their home page:

"Karbon Academy provides online professional courses in management, growth, technology and strategy. Focused on practical applications and group discussions, it is taught by leading practitioners and business mentors.
The particular sessions I'll be guest lecturing in are being finalized, but tentatively I'll be assisting in "Strategy 102: How to of Value Pricing", "Strategy 102: Innovation: Practice & Services", and "Growth 102: The Selling Process". Last year I really enjoyed helping teach process design in the EFF-101 course. (My full faculty profile and course listing.)

You can find a full listing of courses on their website, sign up for any of the new 102 level courses for $900, and access the 101 courses self-paced at $200.

Also, there’s also many great resources on the Karbon website, not to mention their Magazine. And don’t forget to check out their practice management/workflow software if you want to see if their approach to practice management and workflow is a good fit for your firm.

The Role of the Entrepreneur

You’ve seen those car commercials: the sleek, sporty car expertly threading through rural roads as it speeds its way towards bliss. And along the bottom of your screen in small print: “Do not attempt – Professional driver on a closed course.”

Man, what a let down. 😉

I’m here to tell you that value pricing is like that – if you’re not an entrepreneur, do not attempt. Value pricing is not in the professional mainstream yet (though one day will be), and you could wait for the rest of the herd to move before re-examining your business model (though realize that strategy comes with its own risk too).

But if you’ve decided to become a ‘professional driver on a closed course’ (a.k.a. an “entrepreneur”), I’d like to provide a little lay of the economic landscape to help inspire you on your journey.

Read More →