An audit trail is a chronological record of all your transactions.   It is vital that you maintain this record for a number of reasons; three of which are the ability to monitor all activity for fraud, find and enter lost transactions again, and supply documentation for internal and external audits, especially government audits.  The last reason is especially important for a non-profit organization because you are much more open to scrutiny from outside agencies.

This is a break down of SaaS (Software as a Service) so that you can make an informed decision about if it is the right solution for your business accounting needs.

You most likely work in an environment that is comprised of a mix of generations. How do you think this affects the communication that takes place in your workplace? You probably realize there is a difference between the way your generation communicates and the way other generations communicate around the office. Much of this has to do with the way each generation was raised and the circumstances surrounding their experiences.

Most people donate to charities around the holiday season which is at the end of the year. The economy has been tight for the past few years which has impacted charitable donations as people are watching their wallets more closely, and being more choosy who they are donating to. So how do you know who to donate to this year?

When you take on any kind of fundraising, it’s important to have a concrete plan. Without a plan, it can be hard to keep track of goals and objectives, which tasks are complete, and who is responsible for tasks that need to be done.

The primary purpose of a physical inventory is to verify that the on-hand quantity of each item in a distributor’s computer system reflects what is actually on the shelf. This in turn contributes to a smoother ordering system that will help salespeople be more confident when they sell items and keeps happy customers coming back. Now, the key to successful physical inventory is planning, even before the actual physical inventory count takes place.

In June 2011 the IRS announced that 275,000 nonprofits lost their tax-exempt status because they failed to file an annual information return or notice with the IRS for three consecutive years. Read this article to find out if you are on the list, how to file, and how to get retroactively reinstated.

Have you come across the situation where you sold a company; or a branch of the company; or otherwise needed to dispose of several assets at one time?

We believe the true value of your accounting software purchase comes when you have successfully implemented the solution and your employees are happy and efficient using our software. Our price is competitive, and we contend that our commitment to your success is the best on the market.

Story telling has been a part of our culture since the dawn of man. In France, twenty thousand year old cave drawings tell us stories of daily life for the people of that time. Many of the ancient religious texts are written as to teach through a collection stories or parables.

It is the start of your organization's fourth quarter and the dreaded budget question arises – What are we going to do next year? Sound familiar. With many organizations, budget time can be a daunting task that involves multiple individuals and days, maybe weeks, of compiling and crunching numbers just to get the base set. Then comes the approval process and the back and forth of numbers – you can have the indicated amount for office supplies, but not the one for travel and meals, and your administrative expenses can't be nearly this high. Of course, we cannot forget the biggest question for most nonprofits: From where is our funding going to come. The remainder of this article presents some ideas to help you answer these dreaded questions.

A solid inventory system should help you grow your business. What follows is a must have list of features that will help lower your costs, increase your productivity, and make your business more competitive.

Here are three basic things every computer user can do to make sure their computer is running as well as it can. These include running an updated anti-virus program, maintaining regular back ups, and paying attention to computer messages.

Have you thought about whether your business has outgrown your accounting solution? If your accounting package isn't meeting your needs, decreasing workloads, and providing beneficial tracking and monitoring options – it's time to change.

Tobacco Stores and Smoke Shops have their own unique set of requirements in a Point of Sale System and POS Software. Cougar Mountain Software has successfully implemented many Tobacco POS Systems and is familiar with the particular needs of the industry. Cougar Mountain Point of Sale with Back Office along with Specialty Shop offers Cigarette Store Software that successfully accommodates the requirements.

If you are an accountant, bookkeeper or software vendor, you probably get the question, "What accounting software should I buy.” If you recommend Cougar Mountain Software and they buy, we’ll give you 20% of the net software sale. It’s that easy.

Many people have a difficult time reconciling what they really need in their POS software and want to know the key benefits of adding software before they plunge into a purchase.  This White Paper is going to look into and answer some of those questions for POS users who want to upgrade to touchscreen technology; why should I go through the hassle of setting up new hardware just to add touchscreen ability?

Nonprofit organizations have a special power to create miracles in the lives of those they serve, but the first step in the act of creation is having a clear mental picture of the end results you want.  The vision is seeing the future in what you are doing today.

As a member of Microsoft’s Partner Program there are many benefits for partners of all levels. Imagine being able to have all your Microsoft software licenses provided at no charge, as one benefit. For some organizations, the savings can be as much as $13,000.00.

Can new technologies such as mobile devices impact a company’s bottom line and ability to compete?

There is huge growth in mobile everywhere. Every day we see this by the proliferation of fancy mobile devices like iPhone, Android, and iPad, but what we might not consider as strongly is how we all shift more and more of our internet activities over to mobile devices.

Gratitude is the cornerstone of the nonprofit community and is often taken far too casually.The nature of nonprofit work is built on the generosity of people who want to make a difference in the World. < Donors see their gift as an investment in special organizations that they believe can have an impact and will use their gift wisely. Most gifts come in the form of financial gifts, volunteer time or through passionate employees who work in understaffed organizations for low pay.

Read how Cougar Mountain Software supports its customers from the perspective of our Systems Administrator. Software support is not just about the systems. It's about the people who have to use them.

One statement I consistently hear new business owners say is "I don’t need a point of sale system, I’m just going to use a digital cash register.” This may seem like a savvy business decision, after all a PC based point of sale (POS) system including hardware and software will typically cost $1,500 - $4,000 while a basic digital cash register can cost as little as $200.  So the question is: what benefit does a business, especially a brand new- cash strapped business, receive that would justify spending all that money? 

"If your business hasn't been paying attention to your documentation, you're ignoring a sales tool and a revenue generator and you need to rethink your priorities.”

Fraud perpetrators have one thing in common they are morally flexible. Some are serial embezzlers, leeching what they can from a victim organization before moving on. Most are otherwise honest people who see the opportunity for easy money, and take it.

Should I process payroll in-house or should I outsource? This is an important question with cost and liability considerations. You may be suprised to find that in-house payroll processing is not only less expensive, but with the right payroll processing software can be secure and hassle free.

BarTender 9.4 adds several exciting new features. Seagull Scientific has been a trend-setting innovator of label software and bar code technology since 1985. Their industry-leading BarTender design and print software for labels, barcodes and RFID tags is an essential tool for hundreds of thousands of users in more than 150 countries.

Cougar Mountain Software is always integrating new tools to help CPAs fulfill their client’s needs efficiently and effectively.

Training yourself and/or your employees to use your business accounting software is one of the most cost effecitve decisions you can make.

Start 2011 off right by saving yourself time and money by eFiling your W-2s, state and federal taxes by using our CMS Professional 2011 Payroll software that links directly to Aatrix eFile Center. EFiling has never been easier, and it’s simple and secure.

Here is how you do Year-End steps to close out your CMS software for the year. These steps cover six modules; AR, IN, OE, PR, AP, and GL ¨C close the GL module last. Before starting, it is important to do a CMS backup of your data (in the Main Menu, click Options > Back Up Company > Backup, check the Data checkbox, then click OK).