Professionals in public accounting firms are probably not first on the list when most business people consider the purchase of point-of-sale systems, the combination of hardware and software technology that helps retailers accept payment from customers.

But when they are participants in the Sage Accountants' Network, it's another story, says Jeff Rosengarden, CEO of Hightower, a large Sage reseller that also sells its own Point of Sale Professional, a POS module for Sage's MAS 90 and 200 packages. Hightower has marketed the package since it was acquired from Sage several years ago.

When both CCH and Intuit revealed plans for online professional tax products at the Midwest Accounting and Financial Showcase last week, they made it a trio of major tax software providers that have declared their intention to ramp up Internet-based products this year.

The ball started rolling towards the Internet in late June when Thomson Reuters announced its plans for Software as a Service after a year-long pilot. But it’s about lot more than tax, says Teresa Mackintosh, senior vice president core market, for the Thomson unit that markets the CS Professional Suite..

NEW YORK – A task force of the American Institute of CPAs has told legislators that the system of civil tax penalties needs reform with better administration and oversight of penalty administration, a curb on the automated assessment of penalties, more training for Internal Revenue Service personnel and greater education of taxpayers and professional tax preparers.

The AICPA’s Penalty Reform Task Force, chaired by Rochelle Hodges, issued the report on Friday and cited the increase in automated assessment of penalties as a problem that leads to taxpayer dissatisfaction with the system. With more than 6 million taxpayers subject to automated penalties in 2008, many pay the levies rather than go to the expense of fighting them. Read more...