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Getting the Help You Need Virtually

Bookkeeping, Business, Customer Care, Sales and Marketing, Social Media, Time Management, Virtual Assistant News

Getting the Help You Need Virtually

In today's fast-paced business world, accountants and Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) often find themselves overwhelmed by a multitude of tasks. Keeping up with all of the routines can be difficult. There are fifty million things to accomplish in one day with too little time and too few people to help. However, with the rise of virtual assistance, they can now access a valuable resource that can alleviate their workload and enhance their overall efficiency.

When you need an extra helping hand, look to a virtual assistant. Most VAs offer a variety of services, from administrative to technical to creative, and will advertise themselves in their area of expertise. For example, some assistants will focus on designing websites for you and maintaining the website or database after completion.

One of the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant is cost savings. They will work for you from their own home office; they are not employees, so you do not need to pay employee tax or benefits. Partnering with a VA allows you to pay for the work you need and not for idle time. Simply put, if there is no work, you don't pay them.

Finding A Virtual Assistant

Finding a reliable virtual assistant begins with clearly defining your needs and expectations. Consider the specific tasks you want to delegate, such as data entry, bookkeeping, tax preparation, or client communication. Look for virtual assistants with a background in accounting or finance to ensure they possess the necessary skills and understanding of your industry.

You can find virtual assistants through reputable online platforms such as VANetworking, the VA industry's market leader since 2003, that connect businesses with skilled professionals. Take the time to review their profiles, read client testimonials, and assess their qualifications and experience. Conduct interviews to ensure a good fit and discuss their availability, communication methods, and work processes.

Pricing a Virtual Assistant

Pricing for virtual assistant services can vary depending on factors such as experience, skill level, and the complexity of tasks. Some virtual assistants charge an hourly rate, while others offer package deals or retainer-based pricing. Consider your budget and the value you expect from the virtual assistant's support. Keep in mind that investing in a skilled virtual assistant can lead to significant time savings and increased productivity.

Benefits of a Virtual Assistant

Short-term Benefits:

Quick Onboarding: Virtual assistants are experienced professionals who can adapt swiftly to new environments and tools. They require minimal training, allowing accountants and CPAs to experience immediate relief from their workload.

Cost Savings: Hiring full-time staff to handle temporary or seasonal tasks can be costly. Virtual assistants offer a cost-effective alternative, as they can be engaged on an as-needed basis, eliminating the need for long-term commitments or benefits packages.

Diverse Skill Set: Virtual assistants often possess a diverse skill set beyond basic accounting tasks. They can offer support in areas such as project management, marketing, research, or customer service, providing additional value to your business.

Long-term Benefits:

Time Savings: Virtual assistants can handle time-consuming tasks such as data entry, report generation, and document organization. By delegating these responsibilities, accountants and CPAs can free up valuable time to focus on core activities, such as financial analysis, strategic planning, and client consultations.

Enhanced Efficiency: Virtual assistants bring expertise and efficiency to repetitive tasks, ensuring accuracy and timely completion. They can assist with bookkeeping, reconciliations, and other administrative duties, reducing the risk of errors and allowing accountants to work with confidence.

Scalability: Virtual assistants provide a flexible solution, allowing businesses to scale their support according to workload fluctuations. During peak periods, such as tax season, virtual assistants can handle the increased demands, preventing overload and burnout among the accounting team.

Incorporating a virtual assistant into the workflow of busy accountants and CPAs can significantly improve productivity, efficiency, and work-life balance. By carefully selecting a virtual assistant with accounting expertise and considering pricing structures, accountants can unlock long-term benefits such as time savings, enhanced efficiency, and scalability. Additionally, the short-term advantages of quick onboarding, cost savings, and a diverse skill set make virtual assistants a valuable resource for accounting professionals seeking to optimize their operations in today's digital age.

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3 Essential Ethical Behaviors for Accountants

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Business

3 Essential Ethical Behaviors for Accountants

As an accountant, it's crucial to maintain a high level of ethical behavior. After all, you're dealing with sensitive financial information, and your clients rely on you to keep that information confidential.

One of the most important ethical principles for accountants is integrity, meaning honesty and transparency in all your dealings and not engaging in deceptive or misleading behavior.

As an accountant, it is your responsibility to ensure that financial reports accurately reflect your client's financial situation. Therefore, presenting financial information accurately and completely without intentional or unintentional misrepresentations is vital.

Another critical ethical principle for accountants is objectivity. You must remain impartial and avoid any conflicts of interest. For example, having a personal and financial relationship with a client could create a conflict of interest that compromises your objectivity. In such cases, it's essential to disclose the conflict of interest to your client and take steps to manage it appropriately. Do not let personal or financial relationships influence your work; always remain objective when advising your clients.

Confidentiality is also essential for accountants. You must keep all client information confidential and not disclose it to anyone without the client's express permission. This includes not sharing information with colleagues, friends, or family members.

Similarly, if you encounter a situation where you suspect fraud or other illegal activities, it is not only essential to report it promptly to the appropriate authorities; it is your legal obligation. Failure to do so could compromise your ethical responsibilities and expose you to legal liability.

As an accountant, you must always comply with the law and regulations. Therefore, you should keep up-to-date with any changes in legislation and ensure that your clients follow all the necessary rules and regulations.

It's worth noting that ethical dilemmas in accounting can sometimes be complex and challenging to navigate. In such cases, seeking guidance from a professional organization, such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), can be helpful.

Lastly, remember that ethics extend beyond your office walls. As an accountant, you represent the accounting profession, and your behavior can have a broader impact on its reputation. So, behave ethically at work and in your personal life.

Just remember, ethics are a critical component of being an accountant, and maintaining a high level of ethical behavior ensures that you build trust with your clients and uphold the integrity of the accounting profession.

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Client Management Through Daily Planning & Organization

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Bookkeeping, Business, Customer Care, Goals and Business Planning, Helpful Tips, Time Management

Client Management Through Daily Planning & Organization

What do client management and daily planning have in common? For starters, they are two essential skills for any business professional. When done well, these activities can help you stay organized and on top of your work.

Effective client management is essential for ensuring successful productivity. To make sure all of your clients get the attention they deserve, here are some effective strategies you can use for daily planning & organization. Doing this will help you maximize your productivity and ensure swift service to all your clients.

Strategy 1: Establish Clear Goals and Objectives for Each Client

Establishing clear goals and objectives with each client is an important step in building a successful client relationship. Having clearly defined goals ensures that everyone is on the same page and helps to ensure that the project runs smoothly from start to finish. It also allows you to measure progress and success, as well as identify areas for improvement. By setting specific goals with your clients, you can help them achieve their desired outcomes in a timely manner. Furthermore, it will help you build trust with your clients and ensure that they are satisfied with the services provided.

Strategy 2: Use Automation to Your Advantage, Make Your Job Easier

Automated systems can be extremely beneficial for tracking client progress and scheduling appointments. With the help of a calendar app for clients, digital appointment scheduler, and workflow automation software, businesses can save time and money while providing better customer service. Automation also eliminates manual tasks that are time-consuming and prone to human error. By automating these processes, businesses can focus on more important tasks, such as creating content or marketing strategies. Automated systems also allow businesses to track client progress in real time, which helps them make informed decisions quickly. Additionally, automated systems provide an efficient way to schedule appointments with clients without any hassle or confusion.

Strategy 3: Stay Organized With Technology

Staying organized is essential for productivity and success. Setting priorities and utilizing technology are two of the best practices to help you stay organized. With the right task list manager app, you can easily create and manage tasks, prioritize them using various task prioritization methodologies, and track your progress. This will help you stay focused on what’s important and ensure that you don’t miss any deadlines or important tasks. By utilizing technology in this way, you can make sure that your daily tasks are completed on time and that you remain organized throughout the day.

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Get Out Of Your Head For Success

Business, Helpful Tips, Virtual Assistant News

Get Out Of Your Head For Success

Success in business stems from success in other areas of your life. You can’t really succeed to the extent that you would like to financially without making sure you’re up to par in other parts of your life, such as your mental state and physical fitness.

By keeping up with those parts as well, you’ll be much more well-rounded and able to succeed so much easier. Mental wellness is a very important aspect of your life and it’s extremely important for your success.

Mental health, for many years, was overlooked and not seen as a priority. A new term has emerged in recent years: “high functioning anxiety.” Although it is not yet a mental health diagnosis, it helps to describe something so many are experiencing. It has been shown that mental health is extremely important and is directly linked with your success in life.

You can’t go far in life when you’re struggling with things like anxiety because you’ll always be in your own head and unable to make the advancements you need for success. In her book, The Happier Approach, Nancy Jane Smith, walks people through how to get out of their head and into their body. Shifting your focus is sometimes just what you need!

In order to have a healthy mind, you need to give yourself time to relax and decompress, because, if you’re crowding your life with all work all the time, you’re going to get burnt out and start to dislike the job you’re doing. If you don’t enjoy what you do, it’s going to go downhill fast. You’ll put in less and less effort and you’ll never attain that success that you want.

Just as your mental well-being is important, so is your physical health.

Good physical health allows you to wake up each day feeling refreshed and ready to go, something that’s very important for your happiness and for your success. Being physically active and fit is good for your health, and it also helps you find happiness more frequently.

Keeping your body hydrated, properly nourished, and challenging yourself physically are the best ways to keep you in top physical health. I can hear you saying “but I don’t have time to workout”. Guess what, you really do have the time, you just need to find it.

“Workout, workout as hard as you can, and workout without excuses nor apologies. The discipline of tough physical training is obviously great for mental and physical strength, but over time, it also instills many more important lessons in a gradual and subtle progression. … It is the sheer effort but also the rest, nutrition and focus. These same skills, that are so important to our business and personal life, cannot become better engrained than through challenging training." --Itay Rosenfeld, CEO of Voxbone, a provider of Communications-as-a-Service (CaaS)

Without a healthy mental state and physical fitness, life can become a bit stale. Tracking progress in both of these categories is crucial. When you’re journaling or making notes about your day, talk about things that you’ve done to better your physical and mental health and be specific.

By keeping notes on your progress, you can tweak your methods in order to have better results, especially after seeing what worked for you and what didn’t. Everyone has different needs, so what might work for one person might not work for you. Find your balance.

Remember, as tempting as it is to only focus on success, you need to focus on all aspects of your life in order to truly be successful,. Take a look at 33 Daily Habits, which gives you simple, daily habits of successful entrepreneurs. There’s no fun in being financially well-off if you’re depressed and out of shape.

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Hire a Tax Preparer or Go It Alone?

Bookkeeping, Business, Income Tax Preparation

Hire a Tax Preparer or Go It Alone?

Albert Einstein once said, "The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax".

But more and more people are making the move to doing their taxes at home. With programs like 1040.com andFreeTaxUSA available, the process can be simplified and the refund swift in coming. However, going it alone is not always the wisest or most cost-efficient choice.

Let’s weigh some of the key factors in determining whether you should go it alone, or enlist the aid of a professional tax preparer.

Is it worth your time?
For the self-employed, it may be more advantageous to enlist the services of a professional tax preparer or Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Doing your own taxes, especially those related to a business, takes time. And, time is money.

Do you have the knowledge to glean all of the tax-related benefits involved in owning your own business?
Being self-employed may just be one of the greatest tax strategies of our time. As a self-employed individual, you are in control of your taxable income. With the right know-how, you can fully control how much tax you pay. In fact, there are many tax advantages to being self-employed, and, oftentimes, a professional can find tax savings and deductions related to your business that you may have otherwise overlooked.

Ultimately, for the self-employed, it’s a matter of weighing the cost against the advantages of hiring a professional. Keep in mind, however, hiring a professional can often result in tax savings that more than make up for the cost of the service.

What if you aren’t self-employed? What if you are filing for yourself or your family?
In this case, it may be worthwhile to consider going it alone. Programs like 1040.com make it easier for you and will walk you through the process step-by-step and often make receiving your refund a simple and expedient process.

Above all else, though, the best rule of thumb to follow in either situation is to trust yourself. Base your decision on whichever route gives you the most peace of mind. If you are comfortable completing the tax forms and utilizing the programs available for going it on your own, then this may be the best route for you. If however, you have any doubts or concerns, your best bet may be to hire a professional tax preparer.

Whatever you decide, download our Tax Preparation Guide and Checklist to help you better prepare.

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Your Complete Guide to Strategic Task Lists

Business, Goals and Business Planning, Strategic Thinking, Time Management

Your Complete Guide To Strategic Task Lists

Here’s the honest truth for entrepreneurs - your task list will NEVER be complete. There will always be more to do! So how can you manage everything without tasks or projects slipping through the cracks? Use strategic task lists.

Why You Should Use a Strategic Task List

A strategic task list is a list of tasks that can help you achieve your goals. It is a tool that can help you stay organized and focused on what you need to accomplish. It can be used for a variety of purposes and is one of the strongest time-management tools you can have in your arsenal.

Strategic Planning:

Use the list to organize your thoughts and plan out your agenda for the day or week with each item representing an action or project you want to complete.

Goal Setting:

The tasks on the list are those things that support your goals, making it easier to remember what needs to be accomplished in order to reach them.

Resource Management:

This type of task list is often used by people who need reminders about what’s happening at work so they know which meetings they need to attend, identify gaps, and maximize capacity.

Change Your Strategy by Having a Strategic Task List

If you have a task list, you are more likely to complete it within time limits which will lead you to accomplish your goals faster.

With a written strategic task list, you are less likely to be derailed or distracted by small tasks that may not seem urgent but actually are urgent. Being able to identify what needs immediate attention is important for an organization’s success.

When there is clarity about what needs to be accomplished time gaps are eliminated and you achieve maximum productivity levels.

Create the Perfect Strategic Task List

Creating the perfect strategic task is easier than you might think. Following these simple steps will ensure that your task list is effective:

First, do a brain dump! Using a pen and paper, set a timer for 15 minutes. Write down EVERYTHING that you need to do - business and personal. Do not assign deadlines, edit or prioritize yet. When the timer goes off, try to go for another 5 minutes.

Next, prioritize the tasks using the time management matrix:

Urgent + Important: Must do tasks with a clear deadline such as paying taxes, paying bills, completing work on a deadline. If this isn’t done - there is a clear consequence!

Urgent + NOT Important: Time-sensitive tasks that should get done such as replying to your emails, client communication, working with your team. This is an excellent area to automate and systemize.

NOT Urgent + NOT Important: These are tricky tasks because these are the ‘should do’ tasks we say yes to without determining if they really help us reach our goals. Learn to say NO to these tasks. Outsource to another to handle this area.

NOT Urgent + IMPORTANT: This is where you want to play! Focus your time and energy on important revenue-generating tasks such as marketing, sales, or developing new revenue streams.
Many of the tasks should be based on your goals. I find it helpful to keep a printed copy of my goals on my desk, usually in my day planner, for quick reference.

Finally, check your daily task list at night and prioritize the remaining tasks based on what you should be working on first. Create a fresh list every morning pulling forward the unfinished tasks from the day before.

It is important for any organization to have a strategic task list. Whether your company has 1 employee or 100 employees, using strategic lists will help them understand the steps needed to reach the end goal and thus, provide stability and consistency in your strategy.

To help you get started with your strategic goal planning, grab this FREE Goal Planner:

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Are You Realistic About Your Goals?

Business, Goals and Business Planning, Strategic Thinking

Are Your Realistic About Your Goals?

People often struggle in both life and business with the process of goal-setting—more than likely, you’ve read a lot about creating SMART goals. SMART is an acronym for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. SMART goals give direction and focus to your efforts. If your goal is without focus, or if you are unable to tell if it's working, odds are you'll be wasting time.

Let's Be Clear

If there’s one thing that keeps people stuck, it’s a lack of clarity.

You know you want to quit your soul-sucking day job in favor of the freedom of self-employment, but you aren’t clear on the steps to take. You want to take an exotic vacation, but you aren’t sure where to go—or how to make it happen. You want to grow your business but aren’t even sure what that means.

The truth is, with ambiguous “goals” such as these, in five or ten years, you’ll still be right where you’re at today. But with a little clarity, you can achieve any goal you can conceive. The first step is simple, visualize what you want.

Start With A Vision

A vision board is a planning tool that allows you to unleash your creativity and daydream in a tangible format. Vision boards can serve to keep you inspired when boredom strikes and remind you of why you’re working so hard when all you want to do is take a nap. Best of all, creating a vision board is easy—and fun!

Start by collecting images that represent your biggest goals. Gather pictures from magazines, photos from a favorite vacation, ads of products you want to have. I had a postcard from the New Yorker hotel I used to keep pinned on a board above my desk. I looked at it every day and knew I would be there one day. Four months later, I accepted a position at a start-up company in New York City!

Use images, graphics, photos that express what you want. Dollar signs, or a specific figure, to represent your desired bank account balance. Phrases and quotes that inspire you. Add it all to your new vision board.

Your vision board is a living document. Your dreams and goals will change. Some you will achieve and remove from your board to make room for bigger and better dreams. Some you will decide no longer matter, and you’ll trade them for some others. It’s your vision, and it’s entirely up to you what dreams you choose to follow.

Keep your vision board within sight; you’ll be better able to focus on the steps necessary to reach your goals. I keep mine hanging on my wall directly opposite my bed. It’s the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see before going to sleep.

Now, Create Your Goals

Using your vision board as your roadmap, create three SMART business goals and at least two SMART personal development goals. Quantitate each goal and include a deadline date. Write your goals out and keep them visible. If this is not feasible, make sure they are easily accessible.

Keep It Real

It’s fun to fantasize about becoming a millionaire or making a high six-figure salary while sitting on the beach. The problem with this is that it’s just not that realistic. It’s not to say that no one has ever done it, but more than likely, they already had tons of resources like money and contacts that allowed them to delegate while they were lying on the beach.

When you come up with a figure or a measure for your goal to track, you want the number to be realistic and not just pulled out of thin air.

To be accurate and realistic about how much you can earn, you need to figure out the order of operations at your business. How many hours will you have available for clients, and how many hours will be set aside for business administration? A typical 40-hour workweek will probably give you four or five hours billable in a day, and the rest of the time, you’ll need to work on marketing and other aspects of your business. If your billable rate is $40 an hour, that will provide a gross income of $1,000/week. Reduce that by business expenses and personal draw to reach your net income. Will that be enough to sustain and grow your business?

Perhaps you can find other ways to increase your billable hours, such as outsourcing or hiring full-time employees. The main thing is that you should not leave these numbers to chance. Design your entire day and determine what is realistic for your goals in each case. Don’t just pull a number out of the air. Think about the number and how it can happen or not happen before you put it in writing.

Personally Speaking

Use the same process for your personal development goals. Think about what skills you want to improve; how long will it take to develop? Are there classes you can take? A good freelance education source is Freelance University. You can find any skill development course in their extensive library. Now, create a SMART goal. For example, perhaps you want to become more efficient with Excel to maintain your financial plan or even automate some of your tasks. You could write, “By March 1 (or any date you choose), take an Excel course to increase efficiency with some of my business administration tasks.”

Review Your Goals

Now that you’ve taken the time to create some fantastic goals set up a schedule to evaluate your goals. I suggest reviewing your goals quarterly at a minimum. Assess where you are, is the goal progressing as anticipated; are you on track to complete as stated? Make any necessary alterations and note why the changes are required.

Planning and working towards your goals should not be a source of stress if you remember to think about what you want and how you will get there. This step helps clarify expectations and ensures that the goal is SMART and worthwhile.

To help you get started with your strategic goal planning, grab this FREE Goal Planner:

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Effective Daily Planning: Getting Things Done

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Business, Goals and Business Planning, Helpful Tips, Time Management

Effective Daily Planning: Getting Things Done

It's no secret that the world is a fast-paced place. We're constantly inundated with new information, technology, and change. For many Accountants and CPAs, this pace can be overwhelming. If you don't take the time to plan your days, you can easily lose focus and become less productive. This can lead to even more stress and anxiety as you try to play catch-up.

Not planning your day can lead to missed opportunities and goals and can hurt your client relationships.

Learning to be more productive in your everyday life is important to combat this. And while there are many different ways to increase productivity, one of the most important is learning how to effectively plan out each day.

First, you must define what "done" means to you and your staff if planning their day. Knowing your "done" will help you plan realistically (and stop when it's 'done' – no perfectionism allowed). This may mean setting a daily or weekly goal for what you want to achieve. For example, if your goal is to complete your continuing education plan, "done" could mean completing two hours daily. If your goal is to engage more with your followers on social media, "done" could mean posting and interacting three times a week. Once you clearly understand what "done" looks like, you can start to really plan your days.

Next, you must decide what end results would make the day a success for you and your team. This will help you focus on what's truly important and let go of anything that isn't. This step involves really thinking about what you want and need to achieve. If you don't know what results you want, it's pretty hard to plan your day effectively!

The next step is to break down those desired results into tasks - the actions you need to take to make the day a success. Be mindful of what you choose to prioritize, you don't want to waste time doing tasks that won't help you achieve your daily goals. This is also a great time to note any tasks that you can delegate to your virtual assistant to lighten your load.

Planning and Preparing

Now that you've decided what "done" looks like, selected your goals for the day, and broken them down into tasks, it's time to start planning and preparing.

What does that look like? For many, it involves planning out times throughout the day for specific prioritized tasks. Start with the most important tasks first.

Part of the planning process also involves preparing. Ensuring you have all the necessary resources is an important piece of the productivity puzzle. Try sketching out a general plan for the week in advance and list the resources you need to obtain or access for each task. Especially if it’s something you need from someone else or if you need to provide it to a staff member so they can do their task. Preparing in advance allows time for you to get all of those things together.

Another part of the process is to plan ahead. Use a weekly or monthly planner in addition to the daily plan. Planning ahead allows you to allocate your time appropriately to achieve your goals. If you want to complete a large number of work tasks, but you also have several doctor appointments, meetings, kids’ activities, etc., scheduled that week, you’ll quickly see that you do not have as much time as you thought and you can prioritize tasks accordingly.

Bonus tip: Publishing the company's weekly or monthly plan also helps your staff better plan their day!

You can also use productivity technology that's available to you to make your tasks easier. Many tools are available today that can automate processes or at least make them simpler or faster to complete. Digital planners, Google Calendar, productivity apps, AI tools, scheduling tools, etc., are all technology resources you can utilize to make your life (and work!) easier. Don’t get so caught up in finding the “perfect” technology to use either – the best tools are the ones you will use consistently.

If you are not as productive as you think you should be or if your staff hangs out more at the water cooler, using a strategy like the ones shared above can be an excellent way to get things done by focusing on the goals and tasks most important to your accounting firm. And finally, check your plans often to ensure they match your goals and adjust when necessary. What works in the summer months may not be realistic during Tax season.

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Anatomy of a Data Breach

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Business, Cybersecurity, Helpful Tips, Online Security, Tech and Security

Anatomy of a Data Breach

Arguably no phrase has dominated the tech world in the last 24 months more than the term "data breach." The past two years have been saturated by headlines of cybersecurity mishaps, from breaches that have impacted critical infrastructure like the Colonial Pipeline to hackers compromising healthcare records at UC San Diego Health. Yet, despite the prevalence of the breach-centric news cycle, many everyday individuals may not know what a data breach is, how they typically start, and why they occur.

According to IBM, the average time it takes to identify that a breach has occurred is 287 days, with the average time to contain a breach clocking in at 80 days. And with 81% of businesses experiencing a cyberattack during COVID, individuals must be familiar with the anatomy of a data breach to keep their data and their client's data safe.

With that in mind, here is some helpful background on data breaches and why they are so problematic.

What is a data breach?

While it may seem complex, a data breach is straightforward to explain once you clear away the jargon fog. According to Trend Micro, a data breach is "an incident where information is stolen or taken from a system without the knowledge or authorization of the system's owner." And while data breaches can result from a system or human error, a vast majority of data breaches result from cyber attacks, where a cybercriminal gains unlawful access to sensitive system data. For example, 92% of the data breaches in Q1 2022 resulted from cyberattacks.

What kind of data can be breached?

Unfortunately, cybercriminals look to get their hands on any information they can, ranging from more sensitive information such as social security numbers and credit card information to more obscure data like past purchase history.

What are some of the tactics used to execute data breaches?

Cybercrime is getting more sophisticated each day. However, cyberattack tactics do not have to be cutting-edge or advanced to be effective. Here are a few examples of popular tactics used by cybercriminals:

Phishing: Phishing is when a cybercriminal pretends to be a legitimate party in hopes of tricking an individual into giving them access to personal information. Phishing is one of the oldest tricks in the book for cybercriminals, but it is just as effective as ever. For example, 80% of security incidents and 90% of data breaches stem from phishing attempts.
Malware: Another tried-and-true method for cybercriminals is malware. Malware is malicious software that secretly installs itself on devices – often by a user engaging with fake links and content – and quietly gains access to the data on an individual's device or a business network.
Password Attack: Through password attacks, cybercriminals seek access to sensitive data and networks by "cracking" user passwords and using these credentials to get into networks and extract data from a given network.

The best way to stop a data breach is to stop it before it even starts. This includes taking steps from making sure passwords are long and complex to reporting all suspicious emails. If you suspect you have been the victim of a breach, immediately contact your IT department or device provider to notify them and follow subsequent protocols to help them scan, detect, and remediate any issues.

For more information on protecting your data, your client’s and your family, visit our Cybersecurity page.

#BeCyberSmart

LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOU AND YOUR CLIENT

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4 Easy Steps to Keep You Secure

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Business, Cybersecurity, Helpful Tips, Online Security

4 Easy Steps to Keep You Secure

Cybersecurity has become one of the biggest hot topics inside and outside technology circles over the last two years. From securing learning devices due to a rise in digital learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to coping with the fallout of high-profile breaches of national infrastructure such as the Colonial Pipeline, there is a seemingly endless news cycle dedicated to cybersecurity mishaps and concerns.

And with this onslaught of negative news, it can be easy for everyday individuals to become overwhelmed and feel powerless in the face of the “insurmountable” threats posed by cybersecurity. But in actuality, nothing could be further from the truth.

With all of the jargon that is typically thrown around about cybersecurity, there is a longstanding misperception that cybersecurity is beyond everyday people and that it should be left to professionals. Moreover, there is a prevailing sense among the public that breaches are simply a fact of life and that we should just learn to deal with them. But this just isn’t true. In fact, everyday people have a huge role to play in cybersecurity threat prevention, detection, and remediation. For example, according to IBM, 95% of breaches have human error as the main cause. Therefore, everyday technology users are very much the first line of defense when thwarting cybercrime. Unfortunately, many individuals are unaware of some of the best practices for boosting cybersecurity and how easy they are to use.

With that, here are a few key best practices that everyday people can implement today to enhance their own cybersecurity and create a more secure world for everyone.

Watch Out for Phishing

Phishing – when a cybercriminal poses as a legitimate party in hopes of getting individuals to engage with malicious content or links – remains one of the most popular tactics among cybercriminals today. In fact, 80% of cybersecurity incidents stem from a phishing attempt. However, while phishing has gotten more sophisticated, keeping an eye out for typos, poor graphics, and other suspicious characteristics can be a telltale sign that the content is potentially coming from a “phish.” In addition, if you think you have spotted a phishing attempt, report the incident so that internal IT teams and service providers can remediate the situation and prevent others from possibly becoming victims.

Update Your Passwords and Use a Password Manager

Having unique, long, and complex passwords is one of the best ways to immediately boost your cybersecurity. Yet, only 43% of the public say that they “always” or “very often” use strong passwords. Password cracking is one of the go-to tactics that cybercriminals use to access sensitive information. And if you are a “password repeater,” once a cybercriminal has hacked one of your accounts, they can easily do the same across all of your accounts.

One of the biggest reasons that individuals repeat passwords is that it can be tough to remember all of the passwords you have. Fortunately, by using a password manager, individuals can securely store all of their unique passwords in one place. Meaning, you only have to remember one password. In addition, password managers are incredibly easy to use and can automatically enter stored passwords when you visit a site.

Enable MFA

Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) – which prompts a user to input a second set of verifying information such as a secure code sent to a mobile device or to sign-in via an authenticator app – is a hugely effective measure that anyone can use to drastically reduce the chances of a cybersecurity breach. In fact, according to Microsoft, MFA is 99.9 percent effective in preventing breaches. Therefore, it is a must for any individual that is looking to secure their devices and accounts.

Activate Automatic Updates

Ensuring devices are always up-to-date with the most recent versions is essential to preventing cybersecurity issues from cropping up. Cybersecurity is an ongoing effort, and updates are hugely important in helping to address vulnerabilities that have been uncovered as well as in providing ongoing maintenance. Therefore, instead of trying to remember to check for updates or closing out of update notifications, enable automatic update installations whenever possible.

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Outsourcing: The Key to Success

Accountants, Accounting Firms, Bookkeeping, Business, Goals and Business Planning, Real Estate Agents, Sales and Marketing, Social Media, Strategic Thinking, Time Management, Virtual Assistant News, Working From Home

Outsourcing: The Key to Success

Think back to when you first set out to build your accounting business. Do you remember what your “wants” were? For most, whether building a small business or becoming an entrepreneur, the first need, or “want,” was to have a successful business that provided the income you needed without overtaking your life. Working in the Corporate world was sucking your life away. Sure, you had an awesome career, maybe an excellent salary and title, but at what cost? You were missing out on the joy of life for long commutes and long hours. So you decided to take matters into your own hands.

Fast forward – six months? One year? Five years? Are you enjoying your business success and living that full and rich life, both professionally and personally? If you are, Congratulations! But I’d be willing to bet you are still overworked. So how do you build that successful business and get everything you want? The key is outsourcing.

My Story

My story is very similar to many independent contractors. I was in the Corporate world, living the dream. I had an excellent, well-established career, a fantastic salary and benefits, and a commute from hell. But I loved my job. Then my company had a corporation-wide restructuring, and I found myself without a job. Trying to land another job in an unstable and volatile employment outlook proved futile and frustrating, so I stopped looking and decided to build my own business. My first thought was, “what do I want to be when I grow up.” After careful deliberation, I knew what would make me happiest would be helping others. I thrived when I was employed as a secretary, an administrative assistant, and even an assistant manager. I was at my best in these positions because I was helping, I felt needed, and I knew I was making someone’s life a little bit easier.

So I did what makes sense to me, leveraged all my years of experience and skill set, and became a virtual assistant. Now I help accountants and CPAs like yourself with those annoying daily tasks, so you have the time to focus on growing that business you worked hard to build. This is the number one reason why virtual assistants exist and why we outsource our skills to you. Keep on reading to learn how outsourcing helps your business.

How Will Outsourcing Help My Business?

GROW
Outsourcing can improve your efficiency, cut costs, speed up product creation, and give you time to focus on the important planning and directing that a business owner must do, aside from doing the actual tasks in the business.

BOOST RESOURCES
Outsourcing adds key resources and skills to your arsenal. No need to learn how to manipulate Excel or take a coding class when you can hire someone to do it when you need it.

SAVE MONEY
Outsourcing means you pay your independent contractor only when they are working on your tasks, and you do not pay for non-productive hours.

REMOVE BOTTLENECKS
When you start to outsource tasks in your business, you’ll notice bottlenecks start to clear up, and tasks are being completed more efficiently. Because the truth is, in most small businesses, the bottleneck is the business owner.

FREE UP YOUR TIME
As a business owner, you have a lot to do, but you don’t have to do it all. You started your business to offer your expertise and your point of difference, not spend your day on mundane and overwhelming tasks. By hiring a virtual assistant, you focus your talent on doing things that only you can do.

IMPROVE CUSTOMER CARE
The truth is, someone else can probably do some things better than you. Because of that, if you outsource to the right people for the right things, you can improve your offers, thus improving your customer satisfaction dramatically.

How Do I Outsource Successfully?

Before you start the search, define what it is you want to have done. Being clear on the parameters of your project is half the battle. Here are seven tips to help you along:

Know What You Want – Prepare a detailed job or project description highlighting the expected deliverables, timetable, and budget.
Hire More Than One – Outsourcing based on the parts of a project, such as writing, editing, and formatting, may turn out a better product. And bonus, if one gets sick, the project doesn’t come to a halt or fall back on you.
Know Your Budget – This is a very important step. You need to know the range you are able to pay for the projects you’re trying to outsource.
Do Your Research – Visit their website, check out their social media pages, read their reviews and testimonials. Remember the saying, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.” Always check up on anyone you plan to work with, especially if they will be associated with your business name. You would do this if you were hiring an employee, and you should do it anytime you plan to have someone work for your company, no matter the status.
Respect Their Business – Chances are, your independent contract will not be exclusive to you as they are not your employee. How many active clients they have or how they produce your deliverables is not any of your concerns. Use a non-compete statement in your contract to protect your business and clients.
Communicate Regularly and Quickly – A regular touch base is important, especially with long-term projects or retainer bases services such as office admin and management. When your virtual assistant has questions, try to respond back as quickly as possible with the answers.
Pay on Time – This is probably the top three if not the number one complaint most virtual assistants and independent contractors have. If you promise to pay them a certain amount of money for their service, pay them according to your agreement. Don’t hire people if you don’t have the funds to pay at that moment.

Outsourcing is the biggest key to your freedom. Remember that many things you need to be done can be done by someone else. You really can hire experts remotely for a lot less than you think and increase the capabilities of your business fast.

Need a virtual assistant? Schedule a call with me personally! Let's talk about your business and how I can help you.

Not sure what you can outsource to a Virtual Assistant? Download my helpful checklist and discover all the tasks you shouldn't be doing!

Outsourcing: The Key to Success Read More »

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