ADP has introduced ADP Assist, which it calls a cross-platform tool that utilizes generative AI.

 Using the company’s reservoir of data, Assist is designed to help solves problems across ADP’s HR, payroll, time and benefits products. That includes validating payroll information and checking for payroll anomalies, using GenAI to identify and help resolve missing tax registrations and answer questions.

ADP says that means the GenAI is used to “dramatically simplify report creation by understanding context and generating insightful reports in an easy-to-understand format.”

The company says Assist can also anticipate and solve common employee problems across HR, payroll, time and benefits and eliminate low-value tasks usually performed by managers and HR professionals. 

This is based on  the system’s ability to send personalized, proactive notifications to employees on their mobile device or desktops to help resolve HR issues. In addition, employees can employ its conversational interface to obtain information without involving HR.

Additionally, ADP’s Run payroll and HR application feature an omni search bar that understands intent behind search terms.

Intuit has outlined plans for QuickBooks Solopreneur. The software company did not provide a date other than “coming soon”.  

Solopreneuer will have access to QuickBooks  Live Tax so users can have access to tax professionals and those using QB Online Accountant will be able to add Solopreneuer for their clients.

The software is designed for one-person businesses (Schedule C filers), whose business is their primary source of income. The new edition differs from QB Self-Employed in that is designed for owners who prefer to manage their own day-to-day books.

Solopreneur has single-entry bookkeeping on the front end, but uses double-entry bookkeeping in the background.

Transaction management tools automatically separate business and personal transactions using predetermined categories.

Solopreneur has features that can be used on a mobile device, including mileage tracking.

 FreshBooks will use Gusto’s technology to provide a payroll product to its customers in the United States.

FreshBooks Payroll is scheduled for introduction in January, with specific features to be introduced then. In a prepared statement, FreshBooks president Mark Girvan touted the “reliability and compliance” of Gusto Embedded API’s which provides the integration with the FreshBooks platform.

The company described the software as offering “an embedded, full-service payroll solution that small business and medium-sized owners can seamlessly add to their monthly subscriptions.”

Intuit has introduced QuickBooks Ledger, designed for year-end and tax-only clients. Accessible only through QB Online Accountant, the product has a $10-per-month subscription price.

The company says Ledger will be available first in the United States and soon after that in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. However, Intuit did not state the actual introduction schedule in its press release.

Ledger offers automated bank feeds, bank reconciliation, financial statements, 1099 tracking and a transition to tax preparation. 

The company detailed enhancements to QBOA, including new advanced roles and permissions. In addition, Chart of Accounts templates are available. Accountants can build from scratch or customize included product-based or service-based business charts of accounts.

 The pace of technology does not slow down...

If we thought that it would take a breather after the end of the Covid pandemic and the advent of the remote work era, the impact of trends such as artificial intelligence and on-demand pay proved us wrong. If anything, automation promises to keep changes in payroll moving at a fast clip. That should translate into making it easier to calculate and run payroll and have greater accuracy in producing the end result—paying people for their work. This special report—Payroll Big Changes Ahead—looks at the trends impacting this crucial business.   

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To say the broad economic picture is confusing when applied to mid-market reselling would be an understatement.

Many observers expect a recession and some report sales cycles stretching out. Meanwhile, the immediate problem for many firms is a shortage of consultants to handle all the cloud implementations—a recession might send more businesses scrambling for SaaS financial software for more efficient operations. In a world reshaped by the Covid shutdown, remote work drove an accelerated interest in cloud computing. It's a new world in which how the forces interplay is yet to be fully understood.

This year's Special Report for Bob Scott's Top 100 VARs, "A Tougher Road Ahead?" looks at the thoughts of leaders in the channel and in the vendor community about these issues and the trends that have impacted ERP mid-market resellers over the last year. Of course, this report also features 100 reselling firms that have been chosen based on revenue. This year's list includes more than the usual number of newcomers and the expectation is, next year will reflect the continue rapid pace of change in technology and layers.

It was a good year for the 2022 Class of Bob Scott’s VAR Stars. It could have been better for many if they could have found more consultants. Finding qualified staff was the major problem facing all of the mid-market channel with both resellers and software publishers grappling with ways to get fresh bodies into the channel. The good news behind the problem is that many businesses have not made the move to the cloud and the future looks brigh for sales. Download our special report and view the list of 100 VAR Stars and read about the factors shaping the industry.

The issues surrounding payroll have changed dramatically over the last two years. With a significant percentage of the population working away from the office—and like to stay away, many businesses now have a work force in more than one state, meaning tax compliance is more complicated.

 The Great Resignation in which millions have changed or are changing jobs having clients asking accounting firms questions about hiring and employee retention. Fortunately, payroll software and service providers are responding with tools to answer these challenges. These include employee self-service that can improve the accuracy of employee records and payroll. Read about the trends that are reshaping payroll and drawing accounting and payroll firms into providing people services in the special report “Self-Service Reshapes Payroll”.

Jeff Siegel is the owner of Siegel Solutions, an 11-person firm that provides outsourced bookkeeping solutions usingJeff Siegel is the owner of Siegel Solutions, an 11-person firm that provides outsourced bookkeeping solutions usingQuickBooks to over 300 clients. Jeff knows what it takes to grow a business: efficiency of scale, real-time insights thatbuild strong customer relationships, and a secure data environment. He gets all three from Right Networks.

In this ebook, we’ll examine:In this ebook, we’ll examine:

• Why DIY (Do-It-Yourself) accounting systems created forsmall businesses cause undue pain for both small businessowners and for accountants
• How the right cloud-based professional accounting systemcan not only eliminate that pain, but also open up newopportunities for accountants to better serve their clients

Steven Brewer, CPA is the President of Steven Brewer and Company, CPAs, located in Salem, IN. He talked to AccountantsWorld about how he’s grown his accounting practice without needing to increase his number of clients – and how those improvements have eased his tax season crunch.

BooXkeeping: How White Label Bookkeeping Services Provide Scalability to Your Firm When it comes to running a business the main thing that every business owner wants to do is sell their products or services, create brand awareness and generate profits that they can enjoy later in life. The last thing a business owner wants to do is to worry about bookkeeping, taxes, and the rest of time consuming accounting tasks needed to run a successful business, with limited resources and time, often the bookkeeping ends up being the last on the list of things that need to be completed.

 The American Institute of CPAs  has suggested clarification and workarounds for the 990 Series Form instructions in a letter to the Internal Revenue Service.

Besides those suggestions, the AICPA recommended similar steps regarding  Publication 4163, Modernized e-File (MeF) Information for Authorized IRS e-File Providers for Business Returns.

Recommendations for clarification in the letter were for Forms 990, 990-PF and 990-T including clarification of instructions; the simplification, addition and re-wording of language; and the updating of forms and instructions.

The AICPA said in the case of a system-wide e-file outage, the IRS should utilize the website page "E-file for Charities and Non-Profits” or make an announcement via an alert through the IRS’ e-News for Exempt Organizations. 

In addition, it recommended the business filing superseding return function in the MeF system should be extended to exempt organization so they can file superseding returns after the original-filed return has been filed, but prior to the end of the filing period (with extensions) without amending the applicable series Form 990. 

 The organization also include a matrix for the 990 series focusing on specific sections and recommendations for those sections. 

 Returns for the current tax season were .5-percent higher than 2023 totals, according to the last week report issued by the Internal Revenue Service before the filing deadline.

There were101,849,000 filed through April 5, compared to 101,849,000 filed through April 7, 2023. Efiles moved .6 percent ahead of last year’s corresponding period at 98,421,000, up from 97,831,000.

The total efiles from paid preparers 53,157,000 for the season as reported to date, essential pulled even with 53,165,000 in last year’s corresponding period. There were 45,264,000 self-prepared efiles, an increase of 1.3-percent over 44,666,000 a year ago.

The IRS has issued 63,445,000 refunds through April 5, down 4.4 percent from 66,356,000 through April 7 last year. The average refund was $3,088, up 49 percent from $2,942.

 A New York tax preparer  has been charged with  tax return fraud that allegedly  cost the Internal Revenue Service more than $100 million over a decade. Rafael Alvarez is accused of filing tens of thousands of fraudulent returns.

His firm, ATAX New York, is said to have billed. $15 million over the last three years. Alvarez, based in Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.  acquired the nickname “The Magician” for his ability to make clients’ tax debts disappear.

Alvarez was charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and making false statements, four counts of aiding and assisting preparation of false and fraudulent U.S. individual income tax returns and attempting to interfere with the administration of the internal revenue laws and aggravated identity theft.

 A New Jersey tax preparer has been accused of seeking more than $150 million in unmerited refundsfrom the Internal Revenue Service.

An indictment alleges Leon Haynes of Teaneck, N.J., filed more than 1,600 fraudulent tax returns for himself and clients claiming Covid-19-related employment tax credits.assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, five counts of mail fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and two counts of tax evasion. 

Haynes and his clients allegedly received $40 million in refunds based on the returns he filed. He allegedly collected a percentage of tax refunds as a fee with many clients paying Haynes in cash at his request.

Hayes is also accused of receiving tax refund checks totaling $1,428,592 based he submitted relating to his businesses

 The Iris Software Group has named Neel Lee Chauhan as chief product officer. 

Iris owns several accounting firm products, including Practice Engine, Iris Star Practice Mangement, Doc.It. and the AccountantsWorld product line.

Chauhan is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Iris portfolio of more than 100 products and will work with the engineering, product, and commercial teams to execute a product roadmap.

He previously worked at FiServ for four years three months where his titles included GM and VP of product management for credit and retail processing. Before that, he had leadership roles at ADP and Google, working slightly more than four years at each.

Centri Business Consulting has named Pavlo Ageyev as a partner. Ageyev joined the Philadelphia, Pa.-based firm in January.

Centri cited Ageyev’s experience in the technology, life sciences, manufacturing and distribution, retail and consumer products, and media and advertising fields in its announcement. 

Ageyev  joined Centri from BDO USA, where he most recently served as an Audit Partner within the firm’s Technology, Retail, and Consumer Products industry groups. He was with BDO from October 2007 through December.

Cherry Bekaert has named Brian Moore as managing partner of tax services. He succeeds Christine Price, who is retiring after holding the position since 2018.

Moore will focus on managing the strategy and execution of the tax service line for client service, talent management and financial operations.

He previously worked at Grant Thornton, which he joined in May 2006,  before joining Cherry Bekaert this month

Frazier & Deeter has made new appointments of its leadership team, includes  naming managing partners for two of the firm’s offices.

A partner in Assurance Practice Jerry Johnson, CPA, has been appointed Managing Partner of the Tampa Office. The leader of the firm’s public company practice, Johnson joined the firm in September 2017 after an almost 20-year career at KPMG, where he was a managing director.

The new Nashville Office Managing Partner Brandon Sherman, CISA, MBA mis a leader in the advisory practice. Sherman provides risk advisory, digital transformation and strategic consulting solutions to a variety of organizations of all sizes. Sherman, who became a partner in 2015, worked at Deloitte the prior nine years.

John Hightower, MBA, co-founder of Arch + Tower, an FD Company, and partner in the firm's advisory Practice, has been named chief growth officer. Hightower co-founded Arch + Tower in September 2017 and came to FD with its acquisition of that business.

 Amber Schrock, CPA, CISA, has been named the Las Vegas Market Leader. She is a principal in the FD advisory practice with expertise in gaming, hospitality and leisure, manufacturing and distribution, technology and utilities. Schrock has been with FD since July 2015. She had served the previous four years and eight months as risk advisory and consulting director.

Avalara has established a online portal of a key part of its new partner program. 

The indirect tax company say the Avalara Partner Portal, provides access to such services as technical support, sales and marketing resources and the engagement desk. 

In its statement, Avalara said, “Partners have access to a richer portfolio of financial incentives that allow them to reach their full potential when bringing opportunities to Avalara.” Other incentives include co-marketing and training.

The company’s channel is comprised by accountants, consulting partners, and technology partners who participate through three primary methods: referring, expanding services and building integration

States are reducing transaction thresholds for tax online goods and services, according to Avalara Tax Changes 2024 special report. 

Driven by the volume of inexpensive goods that could be taxed, the change is likely to be assisted by the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Governing Board which is encouraging members to elimination transaction thresholds.

“The SST states are the majority of states that have a transaction threshold,” Scott Peterson, Avalara’s VP of government relations, and former Executive Director of SST, said in a prepared statement. “If they get rid of it then very few states will have it.” 

Peterson notes that since the Wayfair decision from the U.S. Supreme Court gave states the right to tax online sales from companies outside their borders, states have realized there are many very inexpensive products which produce an amount of tax less than the cost of compliance.

Fourteen states—largely south and southwestern—never imposed thresholds: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Another ten estates—heavily northern—have reduced thresholds California, Colorado, lowa, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin

Thomson Reuters has acquired 60 percent of the shares of Pagero, a Swedish company that markets software for the e-invoicing, which is increasingly required by countries around the world. The growing importance of e-invoicing was underscored by a press released from Avalara, which withdrew its bid for Pagero last week.

“E-invoicing is the clear direction for the future of compliance. It’s important to remember that countries that don’t have mandatory e-invoicing requirements now will have them in the future,”  Alex Baulf, VP of E-Invoicing at Avalara, said in a prepared statement . 

Thomson beat out two rivals in the indirect tax software space, Vertex and Avalara. 

 The value of Thomson’s purchase of 53.8 percent of the Pagero has been estimated at $627 million. However, since it won the bid, the stake has been raised to 60 percent of Pagero shares, Thomson CEO Steve Hasker said ina recent investor webcast.

Thomson noted that more than 80 countries have required or announced plans for e-invoicing, which gives governments greater insight into the amount of revenue and indirect taxes generated by sales.

 Avalara says it is improving data import for Avalara Returns for Accountants and Avalara Managed Returns for Accountants. The indirect tax software company says this is being accomplished via five new API extractors.

"The goal of the extractors is to create a more streamlined and efficient way for firms to import data into the Returns console," the company said in a prepared statement.

These capabilities were announced simultaneously with additional integrations of its products with ERP systems.

Avalara is providing its ninth integration for the Salesforce Service Cloud, which will enable sales tax calculation on service- and product-related line items within the Service Cloud and gives customers the ability to easily map custom fields from Salesforce to Avalara AvaTax.

In addition, Avalara E-Invoicing and Live Reporting are now available for Oracle Cloud Fusion ERP. ELR was introduced this year to enable companies operating in other countries to simplify compliance in these areas.