Get faster closes with process improvements and automation

This podcast features guest author Steve Bragg discussing the key steps to closing the books on schedule and with greater accuracy. Host Jack Boyer of Boyer & Associates touches the surface of Bragg's book Fast Close. They highlight automating the banking reconciliation, optimizing the chart of accounts, and the importance of centralized accounting.

Jack is also giving randomly giving away 5 copies of the book to those who e-mail him from companies based in Minneapolis and Chicago. Just e-mail Jack at jboyer@boyerassoc.com with "Fast Close" in the subject line.

Boyer & Associates is a Microsoft reseller of the Dynamics product line. Jack is a CPA and veteran of accounting business process analysis and improvement implementation.

Financial Accounting Software Seminar - September 6 in Chicago

It’s the equivalent of the WWF Super Slam or the final round of American Idol, well kind of. On September 6, 2006 from 8:30 am until noon (central time), four veteran consultants will present the best of Microsoft’s financial applications. This is an opportunity to see the most comprehensive accounting and financial packages in one session and grill the experts about how these packages can best address challenges in your business. Jack Boyer from Boyer & Associates is one of the firms presenting at this seminar.

This unique format was tested in Minneapolis with great success. In a single morning you can conduct competitive analysis on four financial software products geared to addressing the needs of the professional services industry. Any company that is looking to record time, labor, billing, and expenses more efficiently will benefit from this seminar. There is no cost to attend.

To register call Jack Boyer at 312-907-6968 or email registration@boyerassoc.com.
The seminar is being held at the downtown Chicago office of Microsoft at
77 West Wacker Drive suite 2300.

All Things Accounting: An Interview with Steve Bragg

Transcript of Podcast

In this podcast episode, Jack Boyer speaks to the author of the Accounting Best Practices book series on all things accounting. Steve Bragg is a noted author dealing with the best practices in all phases of accounting.

In this podcast they touch on best practice accounting methods dealing with activity-based costing (ABC), obsolete inventory and cross docking inventory. Steve Bragg shares his expertise on policies and procedures on these issues and Jack Boyer helps to relate these to software.

To learn more about Steve Bragg's accounting best practices visit http://accountingbestpractices.com/. To purchase his newest book, Accounting Control Best Practices, click here.

You can learn more about the Microsoft business solutions associated with implementing Jack Boyer's best practices at www.boyerassoc.com/.

Accounting Can be A Comedy of Errors if You Don't Know What the Numbers Say

Transcript of Podcast

What do comedy and best accounting practices have in common? Timing. That's right, timing. For example the closer a company adheres to best accounting practices for closing the books, the quicker those financials will be ready.

For Jack Boyer, CPA and president of Boyer & Associates, closing the books quicker is just the beginning. Boyer contends that once those books are closed, the real work begins to examine what those numbers reveal. Is the company reaching strategic goals? What are the keys to achieving greater profits? "And there is much much more," sayd Boyer about digging into the details of month end reports.

Boyer uncovers some of them in this podcast. If you have questions please visit the Boyer & Associates Answerline at www.boyerassoc.com/ or email Jack at jboyer@boyerassoc.com.

Business Portals Next Best Thing to "Beam Me Up Scottie."

Portals are not some transporter from the Starship Enterprise, but they sure make everyone in an enterprise smarter, more efficient, and productive. Jack Boyer, CPA and President of Boyer & Associates is a proponent of portals, a web-based tool to keep everyone in synch. These portals are being used for remote timecard reporting, project tracking, invoicing, and many other enterprise functions.

Since they are web-based everyone in the field can be as up to date as those in the office and visa versa. The browser based tools are easy to understand and use. Here's Jack Boyer on the advantages of using Microsoft's Business Portal in conjunction with other products to get the most from your most important investment, your people.

Dig Deep Into Analyzing Financials Using Project Accounting Techniques

Transcript of Podcast

Jack Boyer, President of Boyer & Associates, highlights ways organizations can clearly identify what makes money and what does not. Using project accounting techniques, even in situations that are not typically considered a "project", impose a discipline that reveals more details about costs, resources, and progress.

Anyone in a business responsible for controlling costs, estimating new business, or understanding profitability will benefit from listening to this podcast. This clarity is provided by a combination of business processes and capable software. According to Boyer, project accounting also gives businesses greater accountability about what, and who, performs to the level necessary to achieve the organization's goals.

Boyer & Associates is a Microsoft Certified Business Partner and expert on Solomon and Great Plains applications. Send your comments and questions to jboyer@boyerassoc.com or get an immediate consultation using the Boyer Answerline.

Total Time of this podcast 7:00

Driving Profits with Better Estimates and Project Management

Transcript of Podcast

Wouldn't you like to know with certainty what your profit will be on a project when you estimate the job? The key is having the historical detail of previous projects in order to both create a proposal to get the job and, more importantly, one that you can make money on.

Jack Boyer, CEO of Boyer & Associates, discusses the data necessary to make these winning estimates. He also highlights some of the Microsoft accounting solutions that are best able to give this detailed project accounting reporting.

Boyer indicates that getting to a more accurate project proposal requires an in-depth business process review along with a gradual approach to refining those processes where necessary. "It is better to tweak a business system than to create chaos by changing everything in one shot," according to Boyer. Give a listen to this 10 minute conversation and call Jack at (763) 412-4300 or email him at jboyer@boyerassoc.com. Visit Boyer & Associates web page www.boyerassoc.com.

Expense Reporting Can Add Up

Transcript of Podcast

The way your company handles expense reporting can be a drag on record keeping, or it can make a tedious task more enjoyable. This best-practices conversation with Jack Boyer, CPA, and president of Boyer & Associates, highlights some of the key areas in which your company can streamline expense reporting.

It also provides insights that will save your accounting department time and reduce errors. Lastly, Jack recommends ways to input expense data only once, something many companies don't do today.

E-mail your questions or comments for future topics to jboyer@boyerassoc.com or call (763) 412-4300. Boyer & Associates is a Microsoft Business Solutions Gold Certified partner.

Timecards: The First Step Toward Financial Clarity

Transcript of Podcast

In this first installment of the Best Accounting Practices podcast, Jack Boyer, CPA, discusses how important it is to follow best practices with timecards. His conversation highlights the need for most any organization to track the work done by employees or contractors and where their efforts are applied.

Daily completion of timecards and capturing at least 40 hours per week enable project managers to see progress daily, and allows managers to determine milestones against the company’s strategic goals. The old adage "are we doing the right things, or are we doing things right?" begins with timecard best practices.

Accounting Best Practices - From Boyer & Associates

This blog will host articles and podcasts on best practices in accounting software. Its authors are Jack Boyer and his team of project accounting consultants who are among the best in the country.

Project accounting is a growing field. Its primary benefit is to help companies reconcile the expenses and revenues generated from their business to better identify profitable projects. The method for doing this is to integrate all aspects of resources, inventory, sub-contractors, and revenue associated with a specific company endeavor be it external or internal projects. "You don't need to be a project type company to benefit from project accounting," according to Jack Boyer, a CPA and President of Boyer & Associates.

"Just about every company has multiple expenses associated with the production of revenues. The discipline of project accounting forces companies to examine those expenses in relation to the revenue leading to a clear profit and loss picture for the company."

Project accounting best practices will highlight all of the aspects of cash flow, balance sheets, profit and loss statements and many more aspects of a business that contribute to profitability. It will also cover best practices in business portal, customized reporting, and business process integration.