2006 Quarter 3 Edition

A Message from Doris:

2006 was a very busy year for DMC. Although our plans for growth were foremost in our thoughts there were many other accomplishments that we are very proud of. Through the many marketing strategies implemented by our Marketing Director we have been able to attain new clients throughout the New England area which escalated only by client referrals and the educational growth of both DMC employees and it’s clients. Perhaps one of our biggest accomplishments would be our Deltek Vision acquisition. It is through this product that we are not only to service our clients better both internally and externally, but it has also made it a lot easier to run the day-to-day operations of DMC as a whole.

As a final message I have this to say:

• Going into the New Year here is a helpful hint to keep in mind.
• Never procrastinate.
• Do you have the tendency to procrastinate? If you do, you are a person who has mastered the art of keeping up with yesterday.
• Write it on your heart: success is the product of today, today's responsibilities fulfilled, today's opportunities seized, today's jobs attended to, today's sales finalized.
• Every morning when the sun rises, it's today! That's when sales are made. That's when the all-important signatures are written on the dotted line.
• Promise yourself your work will be done today, the unpleasant task will be cleared up today. Today you owe it to yourself, your family and your organization to break loose from the bonds of procrastination and leap into the exciting world of today's accomplishments, present achievements, and immediate rewards.

These are the rules that keep all of us here on our toes, and hopefully now it will motivate you too.

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Roedel Companies, LLC: Success is on the Horizon

In the summer of 2006, Roedel Companies, LLC engaged DMC Accounting + Technology to implement the construction and accounting software, Sage MasterBuilder for their affiliate company ROK Builders.

Sage MasterBuilder is a fully integrated software that contains four main areas that are linked together. They are business-estimating, production/project management, accounting and analysis/reporting. These areas equal the integrated process that Sage calls the “ Profit Cycle”. The “Profit Cycle” is created to help a company better manage it’s profitability and jobs throughout a complete project’s lifecycle.

The affiliate company ROK Builders, is a Construction Management company specializing in hotel design and construction. Some of their current construction projects are the Holiday Inn Express in Auburn, MA and Hilton Garden Inn in Manchester, NH. Our firm was engaged to implement, install and train ROK Builders key management and staff on the MasterBuilder product. In a 6 week time frame, DMC was able to define the client need.

Specifically, we worked with management on defining and testing the chart of accounts, CIS codes and job/client setup. With client input, we defined and determined reporting needs and via testing were able to meet requirements in a timely manner. Additionally, we trained all key staff on general operation of the software: subcontract management, daily reporting, AIA billing, daily accounting and reconciliations.

We offer support to our clients post installation remotely via the internet, and in the case of ROK Builders, place them on a post installation monitoring schedule so that client experience is of the highest quality.

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Safeguarding Financial Records-Data Loss Prevention

Computers are here to stay. Computer accounting systems are here to stay, as well. Whether the accounting system is computerized or manual, your financial information must be protected from intentional or unintentional damage or loss. Financial controls (often referred to as internal controls) have been developed to prevent such things ranging from inadvertent data entry errors to employee fraud, and have proven to be necessary to the efficient operation of any accounting system. According to the IRS Publication 583, a computerized accounting system, or any other accounting system chosen by the company, must, at a minimum, have “[accounting] controls…used to prevent the unauthorized addition, alteration, or deletion of retained records.”

Financial data loss is a disaster regardless of how it happens. Whether by natural causes or human error, the results are the same. In certain situations, months or years of hard work can be wasted if a data set is destroyed. The task of data recovery can be as easy as installing a backup copy of a dataset, or as complicated as reconfiguring the dataset from tax records kept at the IRS or tax accountant’s office. DMC Accounting + Technology Group recently intervened in a tragic data loss in which all accounting data was lost. There were no backup copies and recovery of this dataset was impossible, and therefore the company data file had to be recreated from paper records. Sadly, the recordkeeping, specifically the keeping of paper financials, lists, and other key financial data, was at best haphazard, and therefore the reconstruction required enormous amounts of time, effort, and manpower to get the company up and running in order to cut checks and begin a new billing cycle.

In addition to the obvious need to continue with normal business operations, there are several other important reasons to accurately reconstruct your records after a data loss disaster. A recent IRS article, FS-2006-7, January 2006, sites “reconstructing your records may be essential for tax purposes, insurance reimbursement, and (for natural disasters) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Small Business Administration aid.” There are many successful ways to prevent data loss and to make sure the financial information and other key company information is kept safe. Here are several important thoughts on data protection.

Understand the need for safeguarding data “I maintain stacks of backup disks at home, just in case” says Darleen, Vice President of finance at a local games developer. “Several years ago, my staff was not well informed on the need for backing up data entry. Well, as it turned out, we had been working on a Saturday during crunch time. There was a tremendous of amount of data entered, but no backup was made that day. Monday came and for some reason there was a computer malfunction and the dataset was lost, including Saturday’s work.” Fortunately for Darleen, a backup was taken on the previous Friday, so restoration was relatively painless.

Have a proper data backup, storage, and monitoring plan in place Depending on the amount of transactions, data backup should take place either daily, weekly, or at a minimum, monthly. Some companies will be relatively simple in there approach to data backup and may simply make a copy of the dataset and store it offsite, perhaps at the owner’s house at night. Other companies may have a process of tape drive backup from a server. Another approach may be to have offsite storage via an internet connection. Check with an information technology expert or accounting software provider when implementing new software as to the best way to protect the data. Finally, with any plan there must be monitoring in place. Periodic restorations of backups must take place to ensure the integrity of backup data.

Insurance protection against data loss Liability insurance for lost or damaged financial data is crucial to any business with a significant amount of financial data to be protected. Make sure proper coverage is maintained and check with the provider at least yearly to update policy if necessary. DMC Accounting + Technology has recently Using our network to serve our clients’ individual needs has also kept us quite busy. We’ve introduced a number of you to FAS, our fixed asset software of choice. Expanding our clients’ software options and thus expanding the possibilities for their business remains a priority for us. The knowledge we’ve gained in 10 years can be priceless and we’re always willing to give an unbiased opinion on what you can do to make your accounting software work for you.

Lastly, we’re working on making our user groups bigger and better than ever.seen an example of a successful insurance claim for lost financial data. Keep paper copies of key financial information, including contracts, lists, employee payroll records, and tax returns As in the above example, in the event of a computer crash or accidental data loss, paper copies of important financial records can be used to recreate a dataset.

Record retention timeframe How long should a company keep financial records? Depending on your industry, type of transactions, and whether or not your company may be subject to special rules, for instance Sarbanes-Oxley Act, SEC17FCR, there are varying lengths of time for recordkeeping. According to IRS Publication 583, “Starting a Business and Keeping Records”, “…a company must keep records as long as they may be needed for the administration of any provision of the Internal Revenue Code.” A more in-depth guideline can be used such as the one provided by the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s, which outlines retention periods for such items as cancelled checks (10 years) and tax returns (permanently).

It cautions, however, that “there may be several situations, for historical or reference purposes, for example, that necessitate longer periods than legally required”. The ultimate responsibility for safeguarding financial information lies in the hands of the owner, or owners of the company. The controller must maintain data integrity as part of internal controls. If the controller is not knowledgeable regarding computerized data backup, then training must be provided at a minimum, and if not, an outside IT source must be in place to protect the data. Expressions such as “It can’t happen to us,” “We don’t lose data,” “My controller knows what he/she is doing,” are all too common in the business world, even among experienced business owners. Your accounting data is important to you. Whether you have just a “small” QuickBooks file, or a larger dataset, the financial information must be safeguarded at all cost.

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Client Success Story

Every once and awhile a project comes along that helps all of us a DMC Accounting + Technology realize why we’re in business. At the end of a hectic and chilly February, we were contacted by Hadeer, a young woman whose start-up technological research and analysis company needed our expert advice and service. A kinship quickly grew between Doris and the entrepreneurial young woman and during the initial meeting they exchanged contacts, advice, ideas, and a data set. DMC found a young company with great potential and Technology Solutions Experts, Inc. had found the solution they needed. A DCAA audit can be a daunting obstacle to even the most experienced businesses.

The young entrepreneurs handed over their QuickBooks data file and also entrusted DMC with the task of helping them pass the DCAA audit. Without a successful outcome to the audit, Technology Solutions Experts, Inc would not be able to land the government contract that would help launch their start-up company and put them on their feet.

After their financials were in proper order and a step-by-step guide created for the audit, DMC and the founding members of the new company met their DCAA auditor and knocked his little governmental socks off! With this overcome, we look toward the future with TSE Inc, as we do with all of our clients. Anticipating possible needs and pursuing solutions happens to be a specialty of our firm. DMC will work with Technology Solutions Experts to ensure that their company blossoms and thrives.

DMC Accounting + Technology is celebrating its 10th year in business and some of us on staff still remember the early days, just as Hadeer and her team at TSE will always remember the excitement of starting their own small business.

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