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www.CreativeSolutions.Thomson.com
Thomson Creative Solutions offers what is arguably the most comprehensive line of applications for public accountants that includes its UltraTax CS professional tax compliance suite, as well as tax planning, fixed asset management, writeup, trial balance, practice management, engagement, financial analysis, paperless document management and client accounting. All of these programs share data from the same database, allowing excellent cross-application integration with the tax suite and thereby reducing data entry and ensuring consistency of information. The tax suite supports all federal year-end income reporting as well as those for all states and municipalities that require returns. An UltraTax CS license meeting the filing needs of our four-person professional prototype firm (defined on page 12) would cost about $6,200 including e-filing costs. Creative Solutions offers each of the modules individually and also has a pay-per-retum option.
Thomas J. Longman of Thomas J. Longman, CPA, PA (www.tomlongman.com) based in Miami, Florida, selected Creative Solutions because his firm was looking for a company with good standing and market share. They needed a product that would help reduce training time due to turnover, offer reliable software integration, good tech support, software updates, education, etc. "Most importantly, we were looking for a company that could add 'real value' to our firm instead of just buying from another product vendor," Longman says.
Longman refers to Creative Solutions' integrated software approach as the "Jon Baron Approach," and says it has enabled his firm to reduce training and high labor costs and increase productivity and efficiency to clients, which in turn has led to increased profitability. "This certainly has brought about a better quality of life, which has been an issue/goal for us in the past," he says. "I feel it is the only way a small to medium firm can operate and compete effectively in today's market." Longman also believes that implementing just one or two software pieces to your platform is like driving a car with two wheels. "Partial implementation may be ineffective and costly long-term," he says. He also advises potential users to...