Is your momentum taking you in a positive direction?

flightTake

Hank Levy: tHe accidentaL

accountant

TIps, Trends, and connecTIons for users of Thomson reuTers sofTware Issue 1 | 2014

payroLL centraL payroll, done beTTer

get noticed usIng The InTerneT To markeT your fIrm

2 soLutions issue 1, 2014

Solutions is published by the tax & Accounting business of thomson Reuters, 7322 Newman Boulevard, Dexter, Mi 48130; 800.968.8900. Printed in the united states. Copyright 2014 thomson Reuters, issue 1, 2014. Photo credits: Cover: © ReuteRs/Jason Reed; page 4 and above: © ReuteRs; page 6: © Bryan hoeft (Jordan Kleinsmith); page 7 and above: © ReuteRs/Jo Yong-hak; Pages 8 to 11, above, and cover (inset): © Jake stangel (hank levy); Pages 12 to 13 and above: © ReuteRs/suhaib salem; Page 14: © Media Bakery/hill street studios.

Questions or feedback? email your thoughts to solutions@Thomsonreuters.com.

Join our online users’ forum, at cs.Thomsonreuters.com/community.

Find more on the web, at cs.Thomsonreuters.com.

cs.Thomsonreuters.com/facebook

cs.Thomsonreuters.com/Twitter

cs.Thomsonreuters.com/linkedIn

cs.Thomsonreuters.com/youTube

issue 1 | 2014

4NewsliNe

Roth iRAs for dependents, repercussions of the DOMA ruling, and introducing Payroll Central.

7BuilDiNg BRAND

unexpected strategies for smarter marketing—including a free book offer.

8useR PROfile

hank levy believes his background lets him look beyond the numbers, making him a better accountant.

12iNDustRY At lARge

tips for finding great employees. Plus, the secret to better interview questions.

8

12

4 7

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 3

viewpoInT

where is your momentum taking you? momentum does a lot for us. It helps us coast down hills, it powers us through tedious work, and it makes our kids’ science projects a lot more interesting. all good things. but in the business world, I think momentum is a little more complicated. It’s a force that can take us backward just as surely as it can move us ahead.

I’m reminded of this every time I need to make an appointment with my doctor. he gets it, and his office has an excellent online portal, but his staff is stuck in a pre-Internet, pre-cell phone time warp. They don’t follow the new processes so I’m forced to interact with them by phone. every time I call them for an appointment (between 9 am and 4 pm, closed for lunch), I think about the momentum of doing the same thing year-in and year-out for decades. It’s holding his office back. and frankly, it’s becoming more and more difficult to accommodate a way of doing business that no longer fits the expectations of customers and clients.

It’s frustrating. but it’s a valuable reminder that momentum can push even the best of us in the wrong direction. It’s important to channel it, to use it as a force to drive positive change. and I can’t think of a better example than the firms that have chosen to attend our summit events, which include our popular payroll summits. we’ve hosted thousands of attendees over the past seven years, and new partner summits are underway right now. as you read this, firms are finding new ways to harness their momentum

and use it to fuel new ideas, new partnerships, and new ways to serve clients better.

In fact, we’re taking some of the positive momentum from partner summits and channeling it into new tools that will help firms move their own businesses forward in the weeks and months ahead. we’re creating a variety of new ideas and action plans that will help firms move forward once they’ve chosen a new direction.

but of course, partner summits are just one example of the countless ways to use momentum to create positive change. as we move out of tax season and into summer, it’s a great time to step out of the day-to-day stream of activity and take stock.

where is your momentum taking you? I think it’s an important question for all of us, in the business world and elsewhere. wherever your business is going, I’d like to wish you a prosperous season. we’ve got bright days ahead.

regards,

Jon baronmanaging director, professional, Tax & accounting, Thomson reuters

4 soLutions issue 1, 2014

newslIne

cs professional suite®

ACCOUNTING & AUDITINGaccounting cs™

accounting cs client accessadvanceflow™

engagement cs®workpapers cs™

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENTfilecabinet cs®

gofileroom®

MOBILE APPSarne

mobile cs® mypay solutions®

netclient cs®

PAYROLLaccounting cs payroll

mypay solutions®

FIRM & WORkFLOW MANAGEMENT

practice cs®workflow managerTm

TAXultraTax cs®

gosystem® Tax rs fixed assets cs®

planner cs® Toolbox cs®

WEB SERvICESsaas for cs professional suite

Virtual office cs®web builder cs®

netclient cs

Dependent children who earn

income from part-time and

summer jobs will benefit the

most by contributing to a roth

Ira instead of a traditional Ira, since they

usually don’t make enough to be subject to

income tax and would get no tax savings

by contributing to a traditional Ira. while

dependent children aren’t eligible to claim

a personal exemption on their tax returns,

they’re eligible to claim a standard deduction

equal to the lesser of (a) $350 plus their

earned income, or (b) $6,200 on their 2014

income tax return. when they contribute to

a roth Ira, they won’t have to pay taxes on

distributions from the roth when they retire.

even if parents are willing to have their

children keep all or part of their earnings

for spending money, they could make

contributions to a roth Ira on the children’s

behalf up to the amount of the child’s

earnings—but not more than the maximum

roth contribution ($5,500 in 2014). even if

the child contributes his or her entire net

earnings to a roth Ira, a parent can

increase the contribution by an amount

equal to the social security and medicare

taxes withheld from the child’s earnings.

ExamplE (1): danielle is 17 years old in the

summer of 2014. she works 35 hours a week

for 10 weeks, earning $2,800 total ($280/week).

a total of $214.20 is withheld in taxes ($173.60

for social security, $40.60 for medicare).

danielle keeps $500 of her earnings ($50/

week) for spending money, and contributes the

balance of her earnings of $2,085.20 ($2,800

– the $214.20 in taxes and her $500 spending

money) to a roth Ira. To maximize the roth

contribution, danielle’s father gives her $714.20

so the amount she contributes to the roth Ira

will equal her full earnings of $2,800.

ExamplE (2): same facts as in example (1),

plus danielle retires in 2059 at age 62. The

$2,800 she contributed to the roth Ira has

earned income at an average rate of slightly

over 8% a year over the 45 years since she first

contributed that amount. at the time of her

retirement the $2,800 has grown to $90,000.

any amount danielle withdraws will not be

subject to income tax. If the amount had been

contributed to a traditional Ira, all withdrawals

would be subject to income tax.

for more information, visit

Tax.ThomsonReuters.com/Store or

call 800.950.1216.

Roth iRAs for Dependent Children

Provided by the Thomson Reuters Checkpoint Editorial Team

doma ruling Brings Filing Flexibility—and complexity—to taxpayersThe recent supreme court ruling in

windsor v. united states struck down as

unconstitutional one of the key provisions of

the defense of marriage act (doma).

as a result, tax and accounting professionals

have an all-new layer of filing complications

to consider: despite being able to file jointly

for federal purposes, clients in same-sex

marriages may not enjoy the same privilege

for state filing purposes.

starting with tax year 2013, ultraTax cs

aims to keep things as simple as possible

for practitioners and clients by automating

much of the work needed to produce the

tax returns.

practitioners can take advantage of the

merge capability in ultraTax cs to combine

the information contained in both spouses’

prior federal returns, eliminating the need

to create returns from scratch.

for taxpayers who live in states that don’t

allow same-sex joint filing, ultraTax cs

automatically produces the additional state

returns required for separate, single filing.

however, ultraTax cs associates these

returns as a “family,” making them easy

to manage and assemble. by default,

all clients print together and generate a

combined invoice that includes all filings

but suppresses unnecessary documents

to avoid confusion for the client.

Payroll Central: a new opportunity, a Fresh approachpayroll is one of the most dynamic, lucrative

areas of today’s profession, thanks to a

combination of new technology and recent

business and regulatory changes. new

software options make it possible for smaller

firms to offer service that rivals the big

service bureaus, while increasing regulation

has made payroll too complex for many

small businesses to process in-house.

as with any change, new opportunities

create new questions. To answer them, we’ve

created payroll central, an online resource to

help firms plan their approach to payroll and

stay informed about news and developments

in the payroll space. If you’re new to the

payroll business, payroll central uses a four-

step approach to help you find the tactics and

solutions that match your firm’s capabilities

and goals. If you already offer payroll,

payroll central offers news, resources, and

other tools to help you stay current in the

fast-moving payroll space, including The

payroll report, our popular monthly blog.

whether you want to learn about the

possibilities of payroll, implement a

payroll system, keep your existing payroll

practice running smoothly, or even

profit from outsourcing your payroll,

payroll central offers resources to

make payroll more relevant, profitable,

and hassle-free for your firm.

GET STARTED NOW

at bit.ly/payrollcentral

OPtiMiziNg YOuR “less PAPeR” WORkFLOWThe path toward less paper can be a

changeable one, depending on the time

of year, business needs, and staff. for

those who are ready to make the move,

here are a few suggestions for adopting

a “less paper” business model.

STaRT UpFRONT SCaNNING

Too often tax returns or other

engagements and their supporting

documents are only scanned on

the back end—in other words, upon

completion—for retention purposes.

practitioners aiming for less paper

are missing out on a huge portion

of the benefits if they’re doing only

back-end scanning. Instead, scan up

front and make documents viewable

to any staff member at any time

during an engagement.

ImplEmENT ElECTRONIC ROUTING

while a paper-based process that

includes a routing sheet on each

document folder shows a clear-cut

workflow, an electronic routing tool

reduces the time staff spends physically

routing documents around the office.

aDD mORE mONITORS

many practitioners say they like

having paper copies available, so

they can view it along with whatever

they’re working on. you can get the

same feeling in a less-paper world

with additional monitors. a tablet

is also a great option for viewing

documents, because it mimics the

sense of holding paper in your hand.

for more tips on reducing your

reliance on paper, see our

whitepaper, “from ‘paperless’ to

‘less paper:’ 10 ways to dial down

paper usage” at bit.ly/managedoc

to learn more about the new utilities mentioned above, as well as related irs guidance, visit CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Help and search “doma.”

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 5

6 soLutions issue 1, 2014

behindThescenes

A unique skill setmEET JORDaN KlEINSmITH, product manager of Thomson Reuters

Enterprise Segment. Based in Dexter,

Mich., he joined the company in the

fall of 2006 as a technical support

intern. After working in the

User Services group and as an

account representative, Kleinsmith

now helps develop and refine products.

SOLUTIONS: How would you describe your work in a nutshell?

JORDAN kLEINSMITh: my core responsibility is to know my market, which is the largest firms in the nation. I interact quite a bit with our customers to find out what they want from our software, so I can translate that back to our development team.

You have a wide range of interests, including Austrian Economics. Where did that come from? I took a course in college. austrian economics is a study of human interaction and what incentivizes people. one of the biggest rules I try to live by is that incentives matter. I always try to steer the conversation toward what we need

to do to encourage people to work toward a given end goal.

You also list the U.S. Tax Code as an area of expertise. That must come in handy. I actually dislike the income tax, which is ironic. and as more and more taxpayers are preparing their own returns, I’ve taken an interest in helping our customers shift away from the myopic focus on compliance and filling out forms, so they can become trusted consultants and be more competitive.

On your long list of skills, you include bagpiping. I played in a bagpipe band in college. I don’t play as much as I used to—although I get tapped for weddings and funerals—but one of my goals for 2014 is to play more.

QA

primary PASSIONS

Family life. kleinsmith and his wife, christine, have two daughters: helen, age 3, and sophie, age 1. “no matter how hard my day was, a hug from one of them just makes it all melt away,” he says.

Fitness. physical activity is a regular family activity. “I’ve lost some weight as a result,” kleinsmith says. “I’m not sure my kilt fits anymore.”

Fun. If kleinsmith looks familiar, it’s because he’s half of the duo featured in our entertaining and educational myth-busting video series, where we delve into misperceptions like “ultraTax cs is only for small firms”—found at bit.ly/myth-bust

bUiLdinGbrand

7 strategies for seeking New Clientssmart tips for smarter marketing and business growth tactics.

now that another tax season is behind you, it’s a good time to focus on growing your firm. here are seven savvy ways to boost your business.

1 Forge unexpected strategic partnerships. referrals from bookkeepers, attorneys, and financial planners are great, says Jennifer martin, a business consultant with Zest business consulting in san francisco. but don’t overlook other professionals. “Think: doctors, dentists, life coaches, and yoga teachers,” she says, for example. “These out-of-the-box relationships can prove extremely valuable, especially since most of your competitors won’t even think of approaching them.”

2 Offer some free advice. give presentations on topics like tips for new business owners or how to save on personal taxes. It sets you up as a knowledgeable resource. martin suggests aiming for one or two presentations a month outside of tax season.

3 Get noticed with Google adWords. buy a spot in google searches—but skip the obvious and use keywords your competitors don’t. Instead of “tax returns,” promote your work in service areas that could set you apart, such as “tax audits” or “new business consulting.”

4 Target specific industries. If you do a lot of business with certain markets, flaunt it. martin recommends having a page on your website that’s optimized for keywords related to those industries. do the same with blog posts. once you’re well-established in an industry, add testimonials to your

website and target some marketing to related professional associations.

5 Spread the word online—for free. “many accountants and cpas entirely overlook a lot of great do-it-yourself opportunities,” martin says. This includes yelp, google+, linkedIn, and facebook. many websites let you set up a free listing, gather testimonials, and even make coupons, all linked back to your website.

6 ask for referrals and follow up with past clients. have a system in place to ask for referrals from current clients,

and don’t forget to stay in touch with anyone else you’ve worked with in recent years. “I know this seems obvious, but accounting professionals don’t always do it,” martin says.

7 pick up a free copy of Marketing Mondays. a compilation of Jack larue’s Thomson reuters marketing blog for accounting professionals, this book is packed with smart, creative advice on everything from mastering face-to-face networking to boosting referrals. find it in the online version of this article at bit.ly/seek-clients

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 7

8 soLutions issue 1, 2014

a one-time political activist turned

successful business owner, Hank Levy is proof that life is what happens

while you are busy making other plans.

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 9

accounting wasn’t hank levy’s first love, or even his first career. he admits he “backed into it” while studying for a master of business administration degree. but it’s certainly his passion now, and his unique approach and at times unconventional viewpoint are serving him well.

founder of The henry levy group in oakland, calif., hank levy, cpa/abV, cfe/cff, firmly believes that his background as a political activist and independent thinker—with a liberal arts focus formed while he earned his bachelor’s degree in history—have shaped the work he does now. and ever since he first opened his own firm in 1991, he’s been bucking the system.

“among left-leaning political activists, going into business was kind of seen as verboten,” he says. “but when I started studying for my mba I had to take a lot of economics and accounting classes, and it really interested me.”

his affinity for healthcare and pension benefits made him attractive to accounting firms, but it didn’t take long for him to figure out that his independent streak wasn’t a good fit with their more traditional culture.

“I kept quitting or getting fired and my wife said to me, ‘either you have to find another profession or start your own firm,’” he explains. “so that’s what happened.”

aN aCTIvIST’S appROaCH TO aCCOUNTINGwhen levy started his firm, his skills were primarily focused on taxes. but he had a lot of relationships with labor unions and nonprofits from his activist days, and his practice took off quickly.

over the years, the firm has grown substantially to include a staff of more than 20, including some independent contractors. levy now has three partners, who will take over the business operation when he decides to retire. he’s 65 years old, but keeps finding new interests in his work that make it hard to walk away.

although The henry levy group offers many of the same services every accounting firm does (see firm facts), levy has found niche industries that reflect his continued interest in activism. one in particular that’s proven to be a differentiator for the firm is serving the tax and accounting needs of medical marijuana providers.

GROWING lIKE a WEEDThe firm’s work with medical marijuana providers—which levy says is “growing like a weed”—started back in 1996, when california first set up its medical marijuana program. Through a referral, medical marijuana providers began coming to levy for advice. he immediately recognized that their retail

The

ac

cid

enTa

La

CCO

UN

TaN

T

10 soLutions issue 1, 2014

operations needed to be treated just like any other retail business. although selling marijuana is still technically a federal crime, levy’s clients in this arena all want to pay their taxes properly and follow the regulations set up by the states they operate in, which have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.

The firm now also serves clients in colorado, washington, and other states that have legalized marijuana. In fact, levy set up a new firm to handle this service line exclusively (see sidebar).

THE CampaIGN TRaIlanother significant portion of The henry levy group’s business is political campaigns. In fact, it makes up about 25 percent of the firm’s business.

The firm handles back-office tasks for about 150 clients, including state and federal candidates based in california, as well as campaigns related to ballot

measures and organizations such as political action committees.

levy says the firm is one of the largest providers of services to political campaigns in california, with its business centering mostly on regulatory compliance and working with data.

data is already established as an essential component of any campaign strategy, yet it’s a field with plenty of growth potential. campaigns use data to identify likely voters, target messaging efforts, track donations, and even to create the lists used to knock on doors and make phone calls in an effort to get out the vote.

“what makes us special is that we’re very focused on the data side of it, and we’re currently thinking through ways to expand what we do in that area,” levy says.

The firm’s interest in data isn’t strictly limited to political campaigns, though. levy is working on ways to bring better data analysis

tHe HigH road

serving medical marijuana

providers has become such a

significant portion of The henry

levy group’s business that

hank levy is expanding the

firm’s operations in this arena.

In partnership with a colorado-

based cpa, levy has created a

new national accounting firm

called bridge west cpas, llc.

The firm, which is just getting

established, will specialize

in clients who do business in

states where recreational or

medical marijuana is legal.

levy expects this market to

grow beyond retail providers to

include peripheral industries

such as cultivation, extraction,

manufacturing of edible

marijuana products, and more.

What makes us special is that we’re very focused on the data side of it, and we’re currently thinking through ways to expand what we do in that area.

to every client who is interested in that kind of value-added service.

a FORWaRD-THINKING mINDSETeducating clients on new approaches and technology solutions is an ongoing focus at The henry levy group, which is always looking for innovative tools to get the job done.

“we’re aggressive with new technology, and that includes communicating with our clients so they understand the efficiencies that could be created and how to save money through it,” levy says. “I think, in those ways, they’re going to appreciate us more.”

The firm has a top-notch website, designed to reinforce the practice’s brand identity and entice users, particularly to the client portals. having added netclient cs portals and filecabinet cs to the firm’s mix of Thomson reuters tools, levy says the response from clients indicates that their experience has been good.

he’s a big fan of practice cs—the software that brought levy to Thomson reuters in the first place. “we have a lot of custom fields and it’s super-powerful,” he says.

The firm also recognized the value of accounting cs after using it to populate four years of back tax returns for a client. according to levy, it took three or four hours to set up the first one, but just 45 minutes each to handle the rest.

“It proved what I always thought about the software, and our intention is to map out the books of our other business clients to do the same,” levy says. “another goal is to use Thomson reuters’ mobile offerings better.”

levy shows no signs of slowing down just yet, even as he considers how the firm will carry on once he finally decides to retire. he holds on to the “liberal arts” view he’s had of the world since his days as a young political activist, and he wants that legacy to be part of the firm’s future.

“I think my background has made me a better accountant, and it’s something I’ve looked for in the people I’ve hired,” levy says. “our clients expect us to be really smart, and our perspective gives us a broader view so we can understand everything that might be going on with a client—not just the numbers.”

CS.THOmSONREUTERS.COm 11

FIRm FaCTSBaSICS: founded in 1991,

The henry levy group is based

in oakland, calif. with four

partners and a team of more

than 20, including independent

contractors, the firm’s offerings

include tax services for small

businesses, nonprofits, and

individuals, bookkeeping

services, political campaign

services, litigation support,

and valuation.

WEBSITE: The firm offers

a wide range of services—

including financial tools,

reference materials, and

secure client portals—at

www.hlgcpa.com. designed

to be user-friendly, the website

features a series of educational

videos for clients.

SOFTWaRE: The henry

levy group uses a variety of

software tools to be as flexible

as possible in meeting clients’

needs. Its suite of Thomson

reuters software includes

practice cs, accounting cs,

ultraTax cs, netclient cs,

filecabinet cs, workpapers cs,

and financial analysis cs.

an ALL-AMERICAN pastimewhen he’s not at work, one of hank levy’s favorite places to be is on the baseball field.

for years, he’s been an umpire for teams of all ages, at the high school and college level and beyond. he’s umpired in cooperstown, ny, home of the national baseball hall of fame, and for a tournament at san Quentin state prison where a visiting team played the prisoners. recently, he umpired for a league that plays under 1886 rules, which are significantly different than those used today.

levy kept his hobby a secret at first. “I’d leave work during the day and not tell anyone where I was going—I’m sure people thought I was having an affair,” he says with a chuckle. “after a year, I finally admitted what I was doing.”

now, levy says, he tries to be a role model for having interests outside of work, even during tax season.

“It’s a stress reliever and I think it’s important to do these things because I enjoy them,” he explains. “I encourage other people to do the same.”

indUsTRYaTLaRGe

looking for guidance on finding—and keeping—great employees? your search is over.

HelpwanTed

12 soLutions issue 1, 2014

if you want to attract and retain the very best staff, your firm needs to be recruiting every single day.

That’s the top-line advice from sandra wiley, chief operating officer and shareholder at boomer consulting in manhattan, kan., a widely respected expert in hiring and training for cpa firms.

“It’s no longer enough to recruit during part of the year,” she explains. “you have to be recruiting all the time—both outside your firm and within. and you can’t wait until you hit a pain point and need to find people. Then it’s too late.”

pain points are the place to start when looking at your hiring and retention goals. what are your concerns? what kinds of talent do you need to recruit? know the answer to that before you do anything.

FOCUS ON THE mIDDlE GROUNDThere is no one-size-fits-all approach, but wiley says most people she talks with are struggling to find mid-level, experienced staff.

“maybe there aren’t as many of those people as we would like and they’re not moving as fast as we’d like,” she explains, “but they are out there, no question.” you’ll find good mid-level talent outside your firm but, equally important, many of those people are at your firm already, just waiting for an opportunity.

It’s essential to create a firm environment where up-and-comers know that you’re interested in their future. communication is key: make sure your staff knows you’re listening and responding to their interest in growing with the firm and staying there. foster a culture of continuous training and development.

“If you’re in an environment where people are talking with you about your career and telling you how important you are to the firm, you’re less likely to leave,” wiley says.

SEll yOURSElFyou have to attract employees before you can retain them. That means putting your best foot forward. It’s about marketing, wiley says. you’re selling your firm to prospective employees. make it look like a place where good people want to work, no matter where they are in their careers.

“have a great website where you show off who you are—and let people submit resumes,” wiley suggests. “gen X-ers and gen y-ers go to social media before they go anywhere else, so they’re going to search your website to see if it’s a firm where they want to work. make sure your recruiting efforts there are stellar.”

don’t overlook other social media resources such as linkedIn, monster.com, and even craigslist, and keep your branding consistent across all channels. “you need to be where job-seekers are going to be at the time they’re going to be there—that’s why it’s so important to be recruiting every single day,” wiley says.

DO yOUR OWN THINGnot every firm has the same objectives. It’s essential to know your firm’s core values and communicate them clearly to potential employees.

for example, wiley worked with one firm that isn’t focused on career growth opportunities. but they do offer very high salaries, and the chance to work directly with partners and clients very quickly.

“It’s not for everyone, but the emerging talents I talked to there said they weren’t interested in partnership—they wanted a lot of cash and they were getting it,” she says. “It was working for the firm and their staff, because the core values were clearly defined.”

so whatever your firm’s objectives may be, identify your core values, communicate them clearly before and after hiring, and deliver what you promise. It’s a sure-fire strategy for finding and retaining people who are a perfect fit.

naiLing tHe INTERvIEW

when you’re meeting with prospective employees, you’re listening carefully to their answers. but are you asking the right questions?

There’s one key thing missing from most interviews, says sandra wiley, coo and shareholder at boomer consulting, which serves high-performing cpa firms.

“we have to quit asking the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ questions,” she explains. “we’ve got to get prospective hires to tell us their story.”

Instead of asking how they liked their accounting classes in school, ask questions that will prompt a more detailed response. Try “what was the accounting class that really got you excited—and why?” or “what was the one class in college that you would go back and take again because you loved it so much?”

“get them to tell you the stories behind the answers,” wiley says. “That will tell you a ton about a person, especially if they’re leaving another job to come work for you.”

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 13

14 soLutions issue 1, 2014

By t

he

Nu

mBe

rs

7,267Total number of community members

% growth in community membership in the past year

82%

290

number of Ideas

completed in 2013 (a record!)

number of Ideas completed since the communities were launched

625

we think it’s safe to say that accountants like numbers. so allow us to throw a few numbers at you about our popular Ideas communities, which give cs professional suite users the opportunity to submit, comment, and vote on user-submitted ideas for product enhancements.

Cs PROfessiONAl suite iDeAs COMMuNities

*All statistics are current as of April 9, 2014

428completed Idea That had

the most Votes (ultraTax cs Idea #6,

estimate filing Instructions enhancement)

number of Ideas communities• Accounting CS • NetFirm CS• Practice CS• UltraTax CS• Web Builder CS5

It’s easy to join an Ideas community—just access them directly from your application’s help screen, or visit CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Community and select your product’s link from the Ideas community section at the bottom of the page.

cs.tHomsonreuters.com 15

sUPPORTcorner

Meet Your Customer service RepSUSaN STaCKpOlE Team leader, customer service

susan started at Thomson reuters in february 2006 as a tax analyst on the Tax development depreciation Team. In early 2011, she became a team leader in support. she crossed the aisle to customer service in march 2013, when she moved into her current position of Team leader, specializing in accounting cs and practice cs.

lIFElONG lEaRNERask susan for an interesting fact about herself, and she won’t hesitate to reply: she absolutely loves to learn! her curious nature constantly drives her to understand the hows and whys of the world, and in pursuit of that passion she’s taken classes in mosaic, art, spanish, website design, ceramics, and more. right now she’s working on her master of science degree in human resources and organizational development.

susan is also very generous with her knowledge, happy to share whatever she learns with others. That’s why she tutors ged students in math in her spare time.

not surprisingly, susan loves to read, especially about other cultures, and her dream is to visit the cultures she reads about with her husband Jerry (pictured below).

the Help & How-to center spotlight:SEARCh FUNCTION

In upcoming Solutions issues, we’ll highlight features that can make your help & how-To center experience more productive.

for instance, did you know that the help & how-To center’s search function is based on the same tech as the google search engine? That means you can use the same strategies to search the help & how-To center that you use when you search the Internet with google.

by default your search is limited to the help & how-To center, but from any page of the help & how-To center, you can click the Search Options button to open a page where you can perform the following searches:

• Use the Select an application field to search the help & how-To center for information on any application.

• Use the list of categories you’ll see when you select an application to focus your search.

• Use the Search CS.ThomsonReuters.com option to search help & how-To center content for all cs professional suite applications and content from the rest of our website (for instance, product profiles and descriptions of training courses).

Visit CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Help to try out these search strategies for yourself.

sYneRGY 2014november 5-8, 2014 national Harbor, md registration opens June 26

The 34th annual Thomson reuters users’ conference for professional Tax & accounting firms

Join us on the banks of the shimmering potomac river near washington, dc, for synergy 2014. The spectacular gaylord national resort & convention center, which is just minutes away from all three dc–area airports and a water taxi ride from the heart of our nation’s capitol, will serve as a dramatic backdrop to four days of learning, networking, and fun.

2014 REGISTRaTION FEES aND DISCOUNTS• Conference Registration Fee:

$1,295 for the first firm attendee• Additional Firm Attendee: $1,195• 2013 Attendees: Deduct $50 from

registration if you attended synergy 2013• Early Bird Registration: Take an additional

$150 discount when you register by august 31, 2014

• Free Pre-Registration Financing: available until august 31, 2014

To register, or for more information, visit bit.ly/synergy-2014

you can also book your hotel room when you visit—just select the hotel tab for our special rates and a reservation link.

Questions? give us a call at 800.968.8900.

Tl 27433

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDBolingbrook ILPermit No.17897322 Newman Boulevard

Dexter, Mi 48130CS.ThomsonReuters.com

Hear nationally recognized speakers, attend workshops, training sessions, and product demos, and earn CpE credits.