At the dawn of office automation some 20 years ago, scanners arose as an essential office business tool to help transition paper files into digital formats. Large, expensive and taking up an inordinate amount of desk space, the scanner was an investment for the office that sometimes exceeded what was spent on a computer and printer. Not so today.

Back in the days of green eye shades and manual accounting, the process known as Engagement and Trial Balance were essential to the practice of both audits and accounting. Trial balance showed a quick snapshot of the validity of the company's transactions during audits and other legations, while Engagement handled to processes of opening, tracking and successfully completing the client work.

Sales and use taxes could hardly be a more simple matter. Calculate your total sales for the month, multiply by the tax rate for the jurisdiction (usually city, county and state) and remit to amount due. If you somehow forget to do it, or miscalculate the amount, that jurisdiction will happily double-check your work and correct your math.