The Chinook team is migrating BLKINC email and phone lines to the new UC platform Wednesday morning.
Optimized for Lync
Raspberry Pi
Level 3
The Internet phone service I use and recommend to clients is provisioned by Chinook Communications through the Level 3 SIP Trunking service.
SOPA Stalled?
If accurate, this would be a positive development.
SOPA Fight Continues
SOPA, if passed, would negatively impact every small business that depends on the Internet. A new congressional hearing has been scheduled, with leading technology executives ready to take the stand next week in opposition to SOPA.
The folks that make WordPress have posted some of their concerns, too.
Deadlines
I am working with clients to meet deadlines this month for Q4 and year-end employment tax reporting.
It’s Free
For business owners that want to reduce software costs, LibreOffice is an open source alternative to MS Office that works on PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. The LibreOffice feature set is comparable and the file formats are compatible with MS Office. Check it out. It’s free.
Conversation History
Lync provides secure instant messaging for project teams, eliminating endless email exchanges on every new issue. All instant messages are automatically logged and saved for reference in a conversation history folder. Here’s a one minute video demonstration.
Upgraded and By The Slice
Chinook is rolling out an upgraded platform of hosted services for 2012. The engineers are migrating BLKINC as I type. At the same time, I am also working with Chinook to ready their new menu for my clients, with everything available by the “slice.”
ES 4
Reminder: For partners and sole-proprietors, estimated tax payment 4 (2011) is due January 17, 2012. Keep in mind that remittance through the EFTPS should be completed by January 12, 2012.
100% Cotton…Computer?
Here’s something new to consider (or wear?) for 2012. Happy New Year!
6.8 Million
Capture
For entities reporting cash basis tax returns, this is the last week to capture expenses for 2011.
SOPA
This pending, controversial legislation would impact all businesses, directly or indirectly.
Access
We are able to help team users access Chinook hosted services and private cloud servers from any device, laptop, or desktop.
2012 Payroll Tax
This could get tangled quickly. I plan to track client payroll software updates throughout 2012.
Out of the Box
SharePoint provides a full set of online collaboration tools, out of the box, including:
- document and photo sharing
- discussion boards
- schedule and task management
- blogs
- issue tracking
- form libraries
- sub-sites
- fine-grained permission settings
The Science of Santa
Here’s the analysis. Merry Christmas!
Where’s the Data?
Working in the cloud requires secure data centers on the ground. Chinook provisions services to BLKINC clients from enterprise-grade data centers. Private cloud servers are managed from Tier3. Voice, Lync, Exchange, and SharePoint services are provisioned from inside the Fortress Colocation Center.
QB Online
Intuit’s Quickbooks Online is a great product and system – one that I have configured for many companies. The feature set is solid and conducive to self-management, allowing owners and staff to handle accounting, budgets, billings, vendors, payroll, and project tracking – all online, from any device, anywhere. As an accounting and tax advisor, having the system online provides an efficient method for accessing the books to help support owners and staff when needed, throughout the year.
Making Plans
Somewhere between just winging it or an elaborate five-year projection, is the opportunity for a common sense business plan. My task, working with ownership groups, is to elicit a few clear goals, near term and long term. We can then quantify the objectives and set up a system to measure the results.
Escalate
Here’s another Lync feature example: a user starts an instant message, chatting with a team member about a project issue, then decides (with a click) to escalate the conversation up to voice; clicks again, to add desktop sharing; clicks again to add video conferencing. Along the way, the user can drag and drop other contacts into the mix, to join the discussion at any point.
Still Using Spreadsheets?
Project managers and administrators often keep spreadsheets tucked away on their desktops and devices. At a minimum, we want these files secured inside SharePoint. Users can log in through their browser, open and edit in the cloud, without having the files touch any local drive. Users can also determine whether or not to share the files. Going a bit further, it is easy enough in many circumstances to use the tools built into SharePoint for managing the same information, without the need for any spreadsheets.
Tightening Up the Projections
With year end at hand, I am working this week and next tightening up projections on federal taxes for owners and entities.