Internal Revenue Service

These three words will bring you to an immediate halt, but hold on a minute.  Every once in a while, I wander around www.IRS.gov just for ‘fun.’  Sort of like paging through my old fifteen pound copy of Webster’s Unabridged for a few minutes…the truth is you might learn something or remember something you could use today.

Take a few minutes to log into the IRS website.  When I did this recently, I went to “Don’t Fall Prey to the 2011 Dirty Dozen Tax Scams” and looked through them quickly, especially the stuff on Identity Theft.  This was especially interesting to me, since one of my family members has been hit recently.

On the left menu is a Newsroom Topic on 2011 Tax Tips.  Under that topic are tax tips posted for each month of the year of 2011.  Glancing through this list for January, I found one entitled “Tax Tips for Small Business and Self Employed.”  Some interesting facts are that the IRS offers both a Video Portal and Virtual Small Business Tax Workshops for help to business owners.

In February, the first subject is “Four Ways to Find Free Tax Help.”  One of the links under this subject is Small Business/Self Employed. 

Under the March menu I found “Walk-In:  Eight Reasons to Visit an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center.”  Do you have any idea where your local IRS Center is should you need it?

April tips are mostly about filing individual forms, but there are lots of tips about timing and extensions as well as tips on managing your records.

May has one line only and gives the dates and places for 2011 IRS Nationwide Tax Forums.  That is Forums not forms.  These are three day events offering up-to-date information on federal and state tax issues.  There are sign-up information, YouTube Videos, relevant links in English and Spanish, and, believe it or not, Twitter @IRStaxpros for the latest news. 

Also, on the left side menu is a list of IRS Resources for which includes the NewsRoom which I found more informative than watching the news on TV. 

I guess I would have to say the Internal Revenue Service is getting more involved in the Social Media than some of us.  I have to tell you that while spending a few minutes studying this site may seem minor, I jotted down notes for further investigation later. 

Contact us at ManApp1.com for questions or issues on taxes or how taxes are affecting your business.  Leave your contact information and we will help you resolve your issues.

See you next week.

Looking for Service Providers when entering “The Cloud”

While the largest number of business are small to medium in size, we should look for the same features and services no matter what size of business we have or service.

So I have been researching what the large/enterprise/government organizations are demanding as they enter into the cloud environment. Here are a couple of interesting findings…

More and more companies are merging leaving them with systems that are not similar or matching. This is a perfect opportunity for them to merge data into a cloud-based system. The merger gives the new company growth potential on the horizon that were not even considered in their recent past. The fact is that professional planning of this magnitude is imperative and absolutely necessary to maintain success.

Small to medium sized business probably do not have on-site IT departments equal to the task of managing or servicing the cloud based deployment or ensuring the newly merged company on the scalability it needs now and in the future. Again, call on the pro’s.

I came across a white paper during my research from a company on the East Coast called Cox Business Virginia (coxbusinessva.com) and this paragraph is worth quoting for you.

“As more cloud and hosted applications are adopted to run business operations, you will need a network partner that can ensure the security and performance required to manage you IT resources – and scale as your organization and applications grow.”

They go on to list that continuity, scalability, speed and mobility as well as help when the unexpected occurs are all of utmost importance when looking for a service provider.

The truth is that “the cloud” is part of our everyday life. Give us a call to filter out the facts and the mystery for your company (size does not matter): http://www.manapp1.com

Is It Real?

So are you wondering if this cloud thing is just a fad, or will it really take hold? If you think about it, there’s already evidence that it’ll be around for a while. I’ve been reading a book that discusses this: The Big Switch: Rewiring the World from Edison to Google by Nicholas Carr. Carr compares the introduction and adoption of electricity as a utility to the information systems we’ve all grown to love.

Consider that prior to Edison’s invention of the power plant, power for most manufacturing was derived from waterwheels and plants had to be located to flowing water to take advantage of it. Edison’s invention allowed plants to be located anywhere but, initially, it was still only the large companies that could afford to buy and operate their own electrical power plant.  The next step was centralized power that was shared by smaller concerns, all close together. More efficient, perhaps, but not enough to convince the big dogs to give up their private power.

Enter Samuel Insull. A clerk for Edison, Insull saw the opportunity that lay ahead in truly centralized power. He developed the concept of a utility service that could provide electricity cheaper than the big companies could produce it for themselves. A new industry was born!

Compare this to the information age. From Hollerith’s card reading machines to the mainframes found only in the largest concerns, to the concept of shared computer time for those smaller entities, the development of the information world closely mirrors that of electrical power. With the internet, we can access data (“electricity”) from a central station, but still need to own considerable infrastructure for our working lives. The cloud is that final step: all the infrastructure (hardware, software, data) will be outside of our walls where we don’t have to worry about maintenance, obsolescence, or replacement. If we can believe what happened to electrical power, it’s inevitable.

If you’re interested in reading Carr’s book, you can find it here at Amazon. By the way, I’m reading it on my smart phone, not as a printed book. One more step into the cloud!

Stuart Nottingham
Management Applications Inc. of Raleigh
http://www.manapp1.com

How savvy are you about Cloud Computing?

The Gartner Group has made this Prediction:

“ Cloud computing will take such a stranglehold on the market as companies try to reduce hardware spending that Gartner has made the bold proclamation that one-fifth of all businesses will own absolutely no IT assets come 2012.”

How about taking a look at this little Quiz to see how savvy you are about Cloud Computing? (answers at the end of this post)

1.    Cloud computing allows you to:

a.   work from anywhere in the world.

b.   allows workstations to use most OS & browsers.

c.    customize dashboards for users.

d.   operate as long as you have a internet connection.

e.   all of the above

2.    Operating through the Cloud means all except:

a.   Data backups are outside of your premises.

b.  Backups are automatically stored off site.

c.    Software is automatically updated periodically.

d.   Software is deployed on your company’s local server

e.   Rollout of software solutions are considerably faster.

The next are True & False

3.    Some of the things about which companies would have less

          concern are:

a.   Companies will need a large IT staff.

b.   There is a large investment in hardware.

c.    Natural disasters in the company’s area may not adversely affect business.

d.   Making a detailed implementation plan for your company is unnecessary.

e.   Local network security is automatically covered.

If the Gartner Group Prediction is correct, then 20% will be moving to Cloud Computing in the next 18 months.  This is like people moving to cell phone technology from land line phone technology or from cell phones (about a year later) to smart phones, or to automobiles or electricity.  We are just moving much, much faster, as in months instead of decades.

So, what is the next step?  Education!  Contact us on our website at //www.manapp1.com/ in the Contact Us button to sign up for a demo or ask questions and we will be in touch. 

Answers: 1. (e); 2. (d); 3. (a-F; b-F; c-T; d-F; e-F)

More information on the Who’s Who on adapting to the Cloud….

In looking on news on Cloud based systems this week, I found this headline and link in Washington Technology. 

“Get to know cloud computing's advantages”

Budget constraints drive efficiency  by Karen D. Schwartz

In the article, Karen states that the government must now look into Cloud based systems and if an agency or department chooses not to use a Cloud based system, they must justify that decision.

Take a look at this article at http://washingtontechnology.com/microsites/2011/cloud-computing-download/get-to-know-cloud-computing-savings-types.aspx.

Printed beside this article are several smaller pieces such as “Cloud security remains a legitimate, though overhyped, concern” and “Cloud computing can generate massive savings for agencies.”  This idea would certainly be worth looking into for many business as well.

Then this article arrived inbox. 

5/19/2011

·         DHS cancels $450M financial system modernization, considers cloud instead

The Homeland Security Department cancels its second attempt at modernizing its financial systems. What is its new plan?

Take a look at the entire article at

http://washingtontechnology.com/articles/2011/05/17/dhs-cancels-tasc-financial-modernization-considers-cloud-instead.aspx (or press CTRL + click on the article name)

I was interested in the fact that ‘”Housing the system solution in the DHS enterprise data center is no longer a requirement.”’  The article also quotes Chris Ortman, a spokesman for DHS (in a May 16e-mail) as saying ‘”With advances in IT security, DHS security architecture now expressly supports external services as an extension of the trusted internal environment.  Thus, a cloud-based or shared services solution could meet the Department’s need”’  This article states that DHS is looking for Cloud based solutions for financial, asset and management systems.

I attended a seminar this week expressly felt the exact opposite.  Perhaps ‘beefing-up’ our internal security is the first order of business. 

Newest MYTHBUSTERS from I-BN (I-Business Network)

Myth:  You can recover data from a failing hard drive by putting

                   it in the freezer for a few hours and then reinstalling it in

                   the computer.

True or False?

 

Answer?

True - While this won't fix what is wrong, it can get your mechanical hard

                  drive working long enough for your to recover important data.   

                  Freezing the hard drive cools and shrinks the metal so the drive

                  will mount properly and run long enough for you to copy your

                  files to another source.

When I read this question, I thought of the many times in the old DOS days when I would put backup floppy disks in the freezer before attempting a restore.  Clients thought it was a miracle!

See you next week.

Welcome to the Cloud

 Hi and Welcome…to the age of the “Cloud”

I started in computers before there were such things as PC’s…and in PC’s when they were considered a toy.  Originally, there were no hard drives in PC’s.  The first server I worked on had a 40 Mb hard drive and we thought we would never run out of space.  I have seen the industry evolve all of the way to the “Cloud” in a relatively short time.  So, what is the “Cloud,” and are you ready to be part of it? 

The “Cloud” is simply a term for anything that involves delivering services that are hosted over the internet, services such as Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Microsoft’s Office Live.  Given that definition, many of us are already part of it.  So, should you incorporate it into your business plan?  If not now, when?

Here are a couple of things to think about when you are contemplating bringing the “Cloud” into your small to medium size business.

*  How wide-spread are your sales or service personnel?  Are your ready to have those

    employees work on a dashboard over the net from anywhere, anytime?

*  Are you ready to transfer your accounting, CRM, and HR software to a hosted

    environment?  In other words, you do not need to own the server hardware.  You

    do not have to worry about backups, updates or database maintenance.

*  The most common browsers are your connection and are accessed in real-time.

 *  Think about the natural disasters that have taken place in just the last few months.  

Cloud computing would mean most business could go on as usual.  No interruption.

 *  Is your infrastructure, security and redundancy as strong or stronger than the SaaS

     Environment?

 *Check out Gary Feldman’s articles at http://wp.me/pDQAs-39.  From that article take

    a look at Cloud Myths at http://ibnblog.wordpress.com/

*  More on this next time where we will look at some of the technical aspects of SaaS..

**********************************************************************************

Just a couple of notes from business builder in me: 

On Earth Day, I started looking at the articles on line and listened to a short blurb about an assembly plant in Michigan, Grand Rapids, I think, that has been able to reuse, recycle or remanufacture over 84% of their waste or what would have been sent to landfills.

That got me researching a bit.  Check out this website: http://www.opportunitygreen.com.  Their next conference is November 10-11 in Los Angeles.  Take a look at the sponsors and speakers from the last conference. 

I am wondering how many of you are LinkedIn connected to these speakers or CFO’s.  If we would be connected with just five of these companies or speakers, in what way could we each help them?  I, for one, am looking into this.  How about joining me on LinkedIn?<< http://www.linkedin.com/pub/molly-bitner/9/371/689>>  Let’s make a virtual handshake to give each other a hand up.

Oh, and just because I am a CPA:

1099 Reporting Requirements

Starting in 2011, any business that does more than $600 in business with any vendor will be required to submit a 1099 form. This means an increase in paperwork that may increase the cost of every business and may increase prices on the goods and services that these businesses provide. For example, if you as a business purchase a $700 piece of equipment from a mail order company, such as Dell, you will be required to file a 1099 with the IRS.  We had not previously been required to file 1099s for vendors organized as corporations. For more information, see IRS.gov and click on Form 1099-misc.

 Investing in Fixed Assets

Small Sized Business:  Businesses can benefit greatly from a few tax changes in 2011.  If possible invest in fixed assets and equipment before December 31st, 2011.  The Small Business Jobs Act signed this last September doubled the expense limitation from $250,000 to $500,000. 

Eligible investments include office furniture and equipment, machinery, and computer software.  If you're a small business owner and you've waiting on buying new office equipment, furniture, or IT equipment, 2011 is the year to invest in it. Here is the Big  Advantage:  these expenses can be fully deducted from the business' taxes if they are purchased in 2011.

P.S.  I have seen three headlines, including the Wall Street Journal, that Microsoft is near closing a deal to by out SKYPE.  We use SKYPE regularly, so we are following this.

 

 --Molly Bitner