Online Workplace Innovation - The Use of Wi-Fi 6

What started about 20 years ago seems like an absolute necessity now. The technology of the hour, Wifi 6 is here. The concept of Wi-Fi was first propagated in the late 1990s, and here we are two decades since the advent.

The first consumer release of Wi-Fi provided the speeds of 11 Mbit/s, which is 1,300 times slower than cutting-edge technology today. However, with the latest version, Wifi6 comes with several lucrative and top of the line features.

What is Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax?

To mark this occasion, let us rewind for a minute to the introduction of Wi-Fi. Although Matrix and pop culture dominated back in 1999, back then, many relied on painfully slow internet dial-ups to work and socialize. Wi-Fi has changed everything, and the norm continues to grow and develop to this day.

WiFi 6 is also known as 802.11ax WiFi or AX WiFi, which stands to be the upgrade of the 802.11ac WiFi standard. Where 802.11ac offered 256-QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation) that produced the maximum speed of 6.9 Gbps. AX WiFi (6) works with 160 MHz channels and 1024-QAM to produce ultra-smooth streaming with 9.6 Gbps.

This technology works in sync with a higher level of MU-MIMO. It ensures uninterrupted VR/AR experience, torrenting, downloading and video streaming even when multiple people are using its service at the same time.

YAY Factor

• Users aren't required to blow out the existing infrastructure to plan for Wi-Fi 6. Nonetheless, replacing the older Wi-Fi 4-era routers with Wi-Fi 6 router is a smart bet as companies using this current technology are planning for next-generation connectivity.
• Wi-Fi 6 is the first orthogonal frequency-division multi-access (ODFMA) interface that links more devices to a single access point. This provides a more secure path between the system and the Wi-Fi signal for better traffic flow. It is like adding a lane to the highway instead of raising the speed limit.
• This breakthrough has a potential bandwidth capacity of 14 Gbps and enhanced Wi-Fi security due to the WPA3 requirement.
• Wi-Fi 6 also offers a groundbreaking feature called Target Wake Time (TWT). This provides brief periods of communication between connected devices and access control to conserve the bandwidth and battery of the system. 
  Access points can receive data from connected devices at scheduled intervals and a greater number of Wi-Fi-enabled IoT (Internet of things) devices can be connected to a single energy-efficient network.

NAY Factor

Even though high-efficiency Wi-Fi 6 mesh routers have started to reach the market, they are not the automatic key to the new standard. The computers must either be 6-enabled or fitted with an aftermarket adapter to access Wi-Fi 6.

To obtain Wi-Fi Alliance Certification for 802.11ax, devices must be able to handle a range of different features and stronger WPA3 encryption.

What Wi-Fi 6 means for Businesses?

The Wi-Fi 6 specification may not have achieved its final form, but it is robust enough to be implemented today. It could hit the mainstream by mid or end of 2020. But how much better is it than the new de-facto standard, Wi-Fi 5 or 802.11ac? Here is an answer.

 Wi-Fi 6 is a giant leap forward because of:

• 4x improvement in data streaming especially in crowded areas
• Improved network capacity by more than 4x.
• Significantly lower power usage but with longer battery life in industry tests
• Smooth convergence of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 on IoT networks
• Improved WIFI protection due to WPA3 and 256-bit encryption criteria

Speed: The Most Salient Feature

If you are wondering why Wi-Fi 6 exists, here is the statement from one of the contributors to Network World. The statement states, "The fervor is justified. It is the first Wi-Fi protocol that is built with the speculation that Wi-Fi is the primary interface for devices rather than the conventional network."

Individual users and complete networks are gradually connecting to Wi-Fi rather than plugging in. The architecture of Wi-Fi is acting as a primary network instead of working as a secondary or complementary one. 

The greatest boost that Wi-Fi 6 provides is faster speeds. The next generation of Wi-Fi is four to ten times faster than the existing models and has more available channels to tackle additional problems such as congestion. From the point of view of the customer, this would be a huge change regarding experience.

In real terms, where Wi-Fi 6 can achieve speeds of up to 9.6 Gbps, its transfer speed is nearly 40% higher than the current one, with 1,320 Mbps. It isn’t something theoretical. When tested, its speed was nearly 1000% than the US's average download speed (119 Mbps).

Wi-Fi 6 provides the basis for what devices and software will need for optimal performance in the future.

Wi-Fi 6 - A New Start

If you're looking to upgrade the wireless network of your business, it might be time to consider Wi-Fi 6. The first step is the implementation of access points built to help Wi-Fi 6. These are already on the market; now with more access points and accessories rolling out in the coming year.

Most individual users are curious about how to make the most of this. It is important to note that the ability to access Wi-Fi 6 allows individual devices, such as a smartphone, to have the right hardware. As users update their devices over time, these features will start aligning with the new standard.

For public organizations that rely on wireless networking, Wi-Fi 6 is a new phenomenon that has set its foothold to take more and more in the future. It is a piece of fantastic news for the present generations as it promises to provide higher speeds, congestion fixes, and improved service delivery for a range of apps.

When you consider potential network plans, be sure to determine whether a move to Wi-Fi 6 will help you achieve your broader technology goals or not.

“QuickBooks Online Down, Users Can’t Login” | Switch To QuickBooks Cloud Hosting

A few days back, the Intuit product, QuickBooks Online, went down. Surprisingly, it was facing an outage at many locations. Many of the QuickBook Online users were facing the same issue. The users took it to different forums to express their concerns regarding the issue. At last, QuickBooks posted “Some customers are currently unable to log in to their QuickBooks Online account. We are aware of this issue and are working to fix it. We will share updates as soon as we learn more. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to get everything up and running soon.”

This kind of issue does come up with QuickBooks Online occasionally, and that is one of the prime reasons for people switching to QuickBooks Cloud Hosting. QuickBooks Online has been developed by Intuit itself, which runs inside the web browser. While QuickBooks Hosting is provided by third-party cloud hosting companies, accessible through an application-based platform. Numerous QuickBooks Hosting providers give 99.99% uptime guarantee and one of the most popular of the lot is Sagenext. That means the server would be running and can be accessed by the user for 99.99% of the time.

Uptime ∝ Productivity ∝ ROI (Return on Investment).

Therefore, the productivity of QuickBooks must have dropped down with the downtime of QBO (QuickBook Online), and hence the ROI. Uptime is one of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of a majority of hosting services as the entire working of the business depends upon it. There comes a lot of additional features as the desktop version is hosted on the cloud, so all advanced features come with it. The switching between the desktop and the hosted version is also really facile.

Pros of QuickBooks Cloud Hosting:

• No effect due to system crash, as data remains stored on the cloud.
• Advanced security is provided by the hosting provider with security measures such as the two-factor authentication, strong password policy, and data encryption.
• There is a cluster of connected servers because of which the failure of a server does not affect the working of the software.
• Saves a lot of your time and effort as most of the things are handled by the cloud hosting team.
• Saves the investment of building a dedicated team for security purposes, the hardware, and the troubleshooting of the failures.

Cons of QuickBooks Online:

• No full-fledged accuracy.
• Issues do come up while importing or exporting from the desktop version.
• The workflow gets hampered with the internet down as it runs inside the browser.
• A significant amount of manual input is required while making changes from the desktop version to the online version and vice-versa.
• Maximum of 5 users allowed at a time.
• Limited tech support.

Several prominent reasons are already mentioned highlighting the reasons to switch from QuickBooks Online to QuickBooks Cloud Hosting. But while choosing the cloud service you should not consider the incompetent service providers as that will only hamper your work.

With cloud hosting, you get the advantage of multi-tier data centers, high-performance computing (HPC) servers that allow multiple users to work simultaneously and overloading does not lead to server crash, advanced security, and monitoring of the traffic for suspicious activity.

Most of the features of hosting maximize the uptime and that boosts up the Return on Investment for the business company with the increase in productivity. The service providers that can be considered should have these basic advantages:

• Advanced cloud infrastructure
• Proper customer support
• 99.99% uptime

Uptime is the most significant factor when it comes to business productivity, and with proper QuickBooks Cloud Hosting you can level up the ROI. When choosing between the different hosting service providers, do read the terms and conditions and the features that it provides carefully.

Do not choose a low-cost service for the sake of saving money. This can result in excessive downtime, which will cost you more than the investment. Make the smart choice and you will never have to go to the forums for the downtime issues. 

Common Errors that Taxpayers Should Avoid: TAX 101

It seems like only yesterday that the IRS had opened the filing portal for tax season 2020. Here we are today, where the tax deadline, April 15th seems just around the corner. The tax authorities strongly recommend practicing the electronic filing of taxes. When one chooses to file taxes electronically, software such as QuickBooks and Drake help reduce errors because the tax software does:

• The actual math
• Figures out the calculations
• Flags common errors
• Alerts the taxpayers for missing information or empty fields

The IRS is getting stringent by the day when it comes to tax rules and posing penalties. In order to avoid coming under the IRS radar and penalty lists, it’s best to hire a reputable tax preparer.

Taking the help of an expert such as a certified public accountant, an enrolled agent or someone who has extensive knowledge of tax and is fluently familiar with tax filing can also help in avoiding errors. Mistakes in filing taxes can result in a processing delay, which can ultimately delay getting tax refunds or even worse, put you on the IRS’ letter list.

Here are some of the common errors that should be avoided when preparing a tax return:

1. Fumbled Social Security numbers. Each Social Security Number on a tax return form should be the replica of what’s printed on the Social Security card.

2. Misspelled names. It is one of the most common mistakes to be made on the tax form. The name listed on the tax return form should be the exact match to the name mentioned on the person’s Social Security card.

3. Incorrect filing status. This is an error that can really be avoided by using tax software. Such software helps in flagging out such errors and recommend corrective measures. Some taxpayers get fumbled up and choose the wrong filing status.

Apart from a tax preparation software, the Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) on the IRS website can also help taxpayers in choosing the correct status, especially when a person falls under more than one filing status.

4. Calculation mistakes. A calculation error is another one of the most common mistakes made by the tax filers. These mistakes range from simple numerical errors or addition subtraction to more complex term calculations. Taxpayers should make it a practice to always double-check their calculations. Or an even better option is to go for software like QuickBooks, Drake or Sage that would actually do the math for you.

5. Figuring credits or deductions. Another one of the common errors made by taxpayers is tax deductions and credits. Factors such as earned income tax credit, standard deduction, child care, and dependent care credit add up as mistakes when filing taxes. All the pressure and deadlines, aside from the several norms to be followed, aren’t of much help either.

Taxpayers should be vigilant when browsing these criteria and should always follow the instructions carefully. Again, a taxpayer can use The Interactive Tax Assistant on the IRS website to get help in determining if they are eligible for tax credits or deductions. Attach any required forms and schedules supporting the claim.

6. Incorrect bank account numbers. The fastest way for a taxpayer to get their money is to choose direct deposit when filing for a due tax refund.

However, for this to happen in a glitch-free manner, taxpayers have to make sure that the bank account number entered should be correct. One must make sure to re-check and match their bank account number before submitting the tax form.

7. Unsigned forms. An unsigned tax return is not a valid tax return, it is as simple as that. In the majority of joint filing cases, both spouses have to sign the joint return, even if the signature of one counterpart is missing, it makes the return form invalid.

It should be noted that some exceptions regarding the same do apply for members of the armed forces or for other taxpayers who successfully demonstrate having a valid power of attorney. This error is majorly involuntary and can be avoided by filing return electronically, as there is a provision to digitally sign the document before sending it to the IRS.

Making an effort to avoid errors is for the own good of the taxpayer. As it helps in faster processing of tax returns and an even faster tax refund if applicable. It is a known fact that the tax season can be daunting and demanding.

All these numbers, calculations, and data might seem to press against you with the deadline fast approaching. Being calm and vigilant is the key and to ease your task you can always use accounting software or tax software. Switching to E-filing always helps in mitigating errors and processing faster. Reading Suggestion: Tax Preparers’ Boon: 5 In-Vogue Features of Drake Software

QuickBooks Cloud Hosting: The Exterminator of Local IT Setup

QuickBooks is one of the highly recommended and sought software in the accounting industry. Where QuickBooks Desktops have become a favored accounting tool, Quickbooks Cloud Hosting has also emerged as a potent platform. Preferred primarily by accounting professionals like us, cloud Quickbooks hosting platform is quickly turning out to be the ‘apple’ of their eyes.

Looking at the provisions, an extensive IT set up stands on the expensive ground. This not only curbs the chance of business expansion but also offers a partial assurance of better solutions and fewer hassles on its way. On the contrary, if we look at the Quickbooks cloud hosting, it gives a free pass to users like us and takes care of every IT related hassles.

Now, before you think it to be a rumor and cast this information sideways, take a look at a few on-premise IT hassles and how QuickBooks cloud hosting takes care of it.

1. Hardware Deployment

While looking into expanding your business horizon, it is also important to manage and set up the local IT infrastructure in your accounting firm. Larger the IT setup, more space would be required for setup completion. This simply means a big chunk cut out from your wallet.

With QuickBooks Cloud Hosting, one can shrug the stress related to underlying hardware costs. As QuickBooks is hosted on the cloud, the entire data remains stored on the cloud server. This eliminates the need for a local set up. All you need is the basic hardware requirement such as a computer or a laptop.

2. Hardware Maintenance

Buying a piece of hardware is one aspect, but maintaining it on a regular basis is another ball game. You need to maintain and service the hardware setup regularly to increase its longevity. Being an accounting professional, you already have enough on your plate.  Being concerned with the maintenance part would be the last thing you need as an added responsibility.

With QuickBooks on the cloud, all this effort is made by the hosting provider on their end. As all the extensive hardware setup lies with them, you don’t require lifting a finger.

3. IT Infrastructure

In order to run QuickBooks on your hardware setup in an efficient manner, you would need a supporting IT infrastructure. This would include the required power supply to run your system server, cooling equipment, and cables. In addition to that, network equipment like routers and switches also add up to the IT expense.

Contrary to that, when you opt for cloud-hosted QuickBooks, extra IT expense and infrastructure set up is borne by the hosting provider. The data center where the accounting data resides has an industry-grade infrastructure maintained by the cloud service provider.

4. Security

The accounting data is a vital and vulnerable part of an organization, mirroring the image of its finances. Any data breach can lead to compromising some exceptionally sensitive and catastrophe creating information. In the local IT setup, your data is more vulnerable to a breach; even due to a hardware crash. Moreover, implementing the latest security methods to your local setup would turn out to be a challenging task altogether.

Whereas, QuickBooks on the cloud provides a secure environment for all your data. As most of the reputed cloud hosting providers deploy the latest security safeguards such as multi-factor authentication, data encryption, Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDPS), access controls to name a few. All of this ensures that your data is under multiple folds of security and is safe even in case of local device malfunction.

5. Backup

Having to deploy a local hardware setup is surely a painstaking process. Taking into account the critical and vulnerable nature of QuickBooks files, you would require putting additional efforts for proper data backup and installing backup servers.  Moreover, if an unfortunate event takes place at the local office location, the major toll would be on the backup servers, causing a threat of data loss. This risk can be abated by opting for QuickBooks hosting. With cloud QuickBooks, you get an added benefit of multi-tier and multi-location data backup. Most of the hosting providers have their data centers installed in different geographic locations. This ensures that if any physical disaster were to take place in any one location, your data would remain unaffected. The cloud hosting providers also deliver prompt ‘Disaster Recovery’ solutions.

Where a few accountants are churning out their energy and saying goodbye to their sanity by fostering local IT setup, smarter ones are using Quickbooks and achieving more. Contrary to the array of problems and restrictions from local setup, cloud Quickbooks allows accountants to focus on their clients instead of wasting time around IT-related issues.

On the whole, hosting QuickBooks on the cloud helps to increase your billable hours and productivity. But before you gear up and move your accounting operations to the cloud, make sure you choose the right hosting provider by asking the right questions and make an informed decision.

Why QuickBooks Hosting Is An Affordable Option?

Would it be fine to have excuses for all the delayed work and unmanaged accounts, finances and lacking business skills? There’s always an affordable and considerate option called ‘QuickBooks hosting’. Accounting is a thankless job, you have to spend hours dealing with numbers, sheets, and files. But like every problem has a solution, this query also has a solution. You can perform all your accounting and finance using one efficient accounting software i.e QuickBooks. And to have your running business on cloud nine, you can take your QuickBooks application on the cloud that will bestow extra-ordinary benefits.

But what’s difficult to manage when you have a small business or you deal with medium-sized corporations? It’s money, the money you spend and the return on investment you get.

Now, the question is how your money is saved when you choose to host?

Have you ever thought about how much your business is improved when you will be able to do multiple tasks that too with just a click? How much you will save when you will not have to worry about security measures all by yourself? Yes, QuickBooks cloud hosting comes with all these tech boons.

Affordable prices on QuickBooks hosting not only define the credibility and work efficiency but it also ensures that you are working on the cloud that has its own inbuilt beneficiaries. When you work on the cloud, you get the flexibility of working with multiple users on the same file which saves time and also the chances of errors are reduced. As you can access your data remotely, there’s no need to look for an office that solves the money hassles for location and rents.

Adding to the difficulties, it’s true that a huge amount is lost in hardware maintenance and majorly when you host a local server, the maintenance is excessively hectic. While you decide to host your QuickBooks application, you don’t need to pay extra to IT experts and all your hassles are already took care of by the hosting providers.

No, all your queries related to data security are never solved but you are at least close when you decide to choose QuickBooks hosting. The security you get on hosting saves your business from all kinds of data theft and you don’t need to seek additional anti-virus or firewalls, it’s all managed by the hosting providers. You don’t lose customers when you ensure the security of their financial data and this, in turn, saves money for any further data loss.

Get affordable hosting for your QuickBooks software

For better business, it’s quite an ideal option to get hosting services matching up to your expectations. Sagenext is one of the industry-leading hosting providers with a decade of experience in cloud hosting and has served many small and medium-sized businesses. Along with really exciting offers on hosting, they provide all-time support to their customers.  You can easily reach the website and see how affordable QuickBooks hosting is and what all you get with well-versed hosting services.

Tricks To Grow Your Tax Business

It’s tax season and the only right time to grow your tax business is now. The most important thing that tax professionals often forget is how to deal with clients and how to enhance their tax skills.

Here are the ways how you can develop your tax business:

Grow network

Networking is the key factor that affects the tax business as the tax preparation runs on networking as much as dealing with taxes and files. To get new clients as well as to build a better relationship with the older ones, networking plays a major role.

You should start meeting new clients and to get in the field. You can connect people on LinkedIn or other social media platforms like Facebook. Collaborating with business organizations or joining new groups is a great way to build networks. Moreover, you can attend seminars or major achievements to learn better networking skills. 

Content marketing

Tax business also demands marketing as much as networking. A great website having all the information about your business as it marks your online presence. Marketing is essential for every kind of business and the same goes for tax preparation. You should come up with content that invites people to join your business, generate leads for you and build your business online.

One of the most important things to keep in mind while to decide to build a website is a great CTA(Call to Action). You should ask your online viewers or visitors to subscribe to your youtube channel or anywhere you are available. Choosing email marketing and staying in touch with people over mails is one of the best options. 

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is one of the best tools to develop your tax business and yes it goes parallel to content marketing. A website having good SEO ranks at the top of search engines which shows that it is mostly searched by the people. This invites more customers to your business and you would be having a better reputation.

Using tax programs

You can use tax programs for saving time and easily managing all your tax work. From tax filing to submission, a software makes everything easy. If you need to ease up your tax business, even more, you can rely on tax software hosting where you get the flexibility to do all your work on the cloud and you can do your work anywhere, anytime you want. There are various tax software hosting providers out in the market, one of the best is Sagenext offering tax software hosting to revolutionize your tax practices.

Promote your best skills

You are not a tax pro when you know all about the process, you are a pro when you know how to embrace your skills. If you are good at filing tax returns or you are quick with tax numbers, you should start a campaign highlighting this point. If you are unbeatable when it comes to making no errors, you can highlight this point in your business campaign or ads. While you promote your skills, you are developing your business by letting people know what you are best at. 

With these tricks, you can easily grow your tax business that too with fewer efforts and less time consumption.

Collaboration, Mobility, and Security with QuickBooks Hosting

The year 2020 is going to be the year of new rolling tech and the year of progressive steps. For the majority of businesses now, QuickBooks hosting on the cloud is a matter of ‘when’ instead of ‘if.’ With QuickBooks on the cloud accountants and CPAs get the freedom of accessing their data anywhere anytime through the internet. Cloud technology is set to be the new normal for businesses in the coming days.

Collaboration Benefits of QuickBooks Cloud Hosting

Collaboration in the cloud has more to it than just a coveted environment where users can access a particular software. It is an intuitive and smooth platform for SMB owners that provides flexibility in terms of time and remote workspace.  There are numerous benefits of QuickBooks on the cloud in terms of collaboration. In the face of collaborative working, it provides an accessible, affordable, and customizable toolset for QB users to interact easily with due access control being vested with concerned authorities for diligent security measures. QuickBooks cloud hosting has resulted in increased productivity and efficiency.

A recent Forbes survey stated that cloud collaboration enables easy interaction with clients across varied geographical regions or outsourced employees and all of this has become the keystone for a company’s success. 

QuickBooks on the cloud makes it an absolute breeze to interact with customers and share data. QuickBooks hosting encourages collaboration among team members by allowing files sync, remote access, larger file storage, and version control. These vital features rendered by the cloud help in eliminating time-consuming transition of files through fax or emails. 

Mobility Benefits of QuickBooks Cloud Hosting

Cloud technology’s impact on the accounting industry is deep throttled. Another one of the benefits of taking QuickBooks on the cloud is enhanced mobility. Erstwhile accountants and CPAs had to bear the restraint of logging in to a particular physical system to access QuickBooks and other data files. With cloud hosting, today, files can easily be accessed through a web browser or an RDP connector. The latest updated version of any file is stored in the cloud and is very easily accessed by users with any device. This results in increased productivity thus making accounting much faster and easier.

With cloud hosting, you can have access to your data even via smartphones and other smart mobile devices. This is a great way to keep all the employees of a firm in a loop despite having crunching busy schedule. This is of vital importance in an era when employees want flexibility in the work environment.

Security Benefits of QuickBooks Cloud Hosting

As a progressively increasing number of businesses are moving their QuickBooks on the cloud, the question of security looms upon the business owners. Security is becoming the top priority of SMBs QuickBooks on the cloud is just the right choice for them.

With cloud-hosted QuickBooks, there is multi-level control in network infrastructure that ensures the utmost data security. Security is rendered in the form of Data Encryption, firewalls, data protection, DDoS (distributed denial of service) protection, regulatory compliance. All of these practices are taken into account by diligent cloud hosting providers in order to provide the best in class security for Quickbooks users. Data encryption drastically reduces the possibility of data theft and round-the-clock support offered by hosting companies to help keep in check any small discrepancies that might creep up. With QuickBooks hosting on the cloud you get access to stronger physical security measures as compared to in-house data, and these security measures ensure that data is always under proper protection. Reputed cloud hosting providers are equipped with apt infrastructure to prevent data loss due to natural disasters or power outages with a diligent disaster recovery plan. The security solutions that these hosting providers have are quite flexible and affordable. This tech-pro era has brought along with it the threat of data breach and ransomware attack and other cyber attacks, and this is just the perfect time alignment to host your QuickBooks on the cloud, as it offers added layers of protection to your data. 

Conclusion

One thing to keep in mind when concerning security for your data is to choose your cloud hosting provider only after rigorous research and fetching around in the market. As the quality of service provided by the cloud hosting provider can make or break your QuickBooks experience and productivity. Choose a cloud hosting provider that offers comprehensive coverage for all your hosting requirements. Mobility, collaboration, and security are three perks provided by cloud hosting that are the capstone of modern-day technology.