Brought to you by
ICPA

ICPA is a professional organisation for accountants in practice.

Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Apps and websites: three of the best

29th Jul 2016
Brought to you by
ICPA

ICPA is a professional organisation for accountants in practice.

Save content
Have you found this content useful? Use the button above to save it to your profile.

Simon Chaplin recommends three must-use apps and websites for today’s accountant and explains how they can help you

As accountants, I believe it is very easy to get distracted by the shiny new toy, whether that be the latest bit of tech, hottest cloud-based technology or newest way to make more money spouted by the experts!

So here’s my top three tried and tested pieces of software that I have just not been able to live without over the last few years.

Have a look and see how they can help you.  

 

Toodledo (free)

This piece of software revolutionised my life. If you only do one thing this year, get yourself an electronic “to do” list! It is the first website I open every day.

Every single thing I have to do goes into this site and then gets prioritised, ready for action.

If you write a manual “to do” list and only complete some of the actions, you then have to rewrite the list. Toodledo does this automatically for you. You simply set the deadlines and the list sorts itself into that order. You can even set it up so that you get a daily email reminder of everything you have to do that day!

With the upgraded paid-for version you can share your “to do” list with others, so if you have a team you can set it up so that you can see how they are getting on with their actions.

It is even possible to dictate actions and email them to your list. Just don’t let your partner know the email address, like I did, or else all sort of things will be popping up on there!

It coordinates across all your devices, including laptops, tablets, android or iPhone.

And that’s not all. As well as the “to do” list, there are notes, outlines (to map out written documents like blog posts), lists (I use mine for shopping) and a very motivational “habits” section.

If you try just one piece of software in 2016, I’d strongly suggest it is this!

 

TimeTrade ($49 a year)

I often wonder how I survived before I discovered TimeTrade! This simple piece of cloud-based software has saved me countless hours going backwards and forwards on email or voicemail trying to set up appointments with customers.

After you have registered with the site, all you do is set up a default calendar of the times you are available. You can set up different default calendars for different meeting types. For example, I have ones for thirty minute calls, one hour calls and ninety minute meetings.

That calendar syncs with your normal calendar to make sure you don’t get doubled-booked. You can send a link to your online calendar to the person who wants to meet you and they can pick a time that suits you both.

Once they have done that, you both get an email confirmation the appointment has been made and it is automatically added in to your normal calendar.

Seamlessly!

 

RoboForm (www.roboform.com)

Do you struggle to remember all your different online logins? Do you have to keep asking for passwords to be reset? Do you use either the same password for everything or the “remember me” button on websites?

If you have answered “yes” to any of those questions, you need RoboForm.

RoboForm allows you to record all your website logins in one place so you only have to remember one. It appears as a handy toolbar in your web browser and as an app on your phone.

You can even ask RoboForm to generate a random password for each site (increasing security) which it then saves for you.

That way no matter where you login from, whether it is your PC, tablet or iPhone, you have all the details you need. You can even save your bookmarks and favourites, too, so they follow you around the world!

Finally, you can also set up multiple “identities”. I have one each for home, GreenStones, and Socks Up Simon. RoboForm will pre-fill online order forms with your relevant personal details, which saves loads of time as you don’t have to type in the same details over and over again.

Of course, there are lots of different versions of the types of software I have mentioned and if you are passionate about one that you use I’d love to hear about it. Just email me on [email protected]

• Simon Chaplin –AKA Socks Up Simon, is the author of “My 21 Tip Top Pieces of Savvy Software to Help Accountants Save Time, Money and Face!” and you can get your copy at www.socksupsimon.com

This article is taken from “Accounting Practice” the ICPA quarterly magazine. Dedicated to supporting and promoting the needs of the general practitioner. You can find us at www.icpa.org.uk or email [email protected] or by phone on 0800-074-2896.

Tags:

You might also be interested in