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Douglas Millington

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Certified Public Accountant, Douglas F Millington, CPA LLC

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I graduated from Cornell University's world renowned School of Hotel Administration in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree and began working in a Washington, DC CPA firm (Salter & Company) in 1979. I passed the CPA exam in 1981 ...

I graduated from Cornell University's world renowned School of Hotel Administration in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree and began working in a Washington, DC CPA firm (Salter & Company) in 1979. I passed the CPA exam in 1981 and have been working with small businesses in the Washington, DC metropolitan area ever since.

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WEB: Samll Business Blog

Feb. 8, 2012

Douglas Millington and 6 other people answered this question

What are some great payroll accounting software systems?

My answer will probably not help Brook since she asked her question back in June 2010 but for all the newcomers it may help.
I agree with Tom Markham up to a point. Unless you need to allocate payroll to jobs (job costing) then my ... more

Accounting Software

Feb. 6, 2012

Douglas Millington and 2 other people answered this question

How do I find the right outsourcing company for my accounting needs?

I'm not sure my answer will help Rick since he asked the question over a year ago but for those coming late to the party it may help.
If you do not have a full-time bookkeeper or accountant and are looking to outsource those tasks ... more

Accounting & Audit Services

Accounting Firms

Accounting Services

Dec. 16, 2011

Douglas Millington answered this question

Is Quickbooks integration necessary for both 3D Cart and Authorize.net, or is that redundant?

Anytime a company offers QuickBooks integration it is critical to dig into the details and find out exactly what information is imported and how the import/integration happens. If you are not familiar with the details of exactly how QuickBooks processes and records transactions you need ... more

Oct. 27, 2011

Douglas Millington and 7 other people answered this question

Is there any reason not to use QuickBooks?

Hi Chris - If you are looking for more complex reporting with QuickBooks you should have a look at the third party add-on market place at http://marketplace.intuit.com/
One of the other benefits of using QuickBooks is that there are companies whose entire business model is creating ... more

Oct. 19, 2011

Douglas Millington and 2 other people answered this question

If the U.S. Postal Service goes bust, how does this effect the workplace?

Here are a few facts about the Posy Office:
The USPS is legally obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality.
United States Postal Service delivers some 660 million pieces of mail to as many as 142 million delivery points each day. ... more

Human Resources

Oct. 19, 2011

Douglas Millington is now following Scott Albro and 1 other person

Oct. 18, 2011

Douglas Millington answered this question

Private cloud accounting: what's the proper accounting treatment for private cloud environments?

The accounting treatment for building, deploying, and managing a private cloud computing environment is similar to website development treatment. There are three phases - planning, development and operating.
Planning - Costs incurred in the planning phase are expensed in the current period.
Development - Costs ... more

Information Technology

Oct. 15, 2011

Douglas Millington and 4 other people answered this question

Accountants: What is the entry for receiving a post dated cheque?

Although the Uniform Commercial Code Section 4-401(c) does state "A bank may charge against the account of a customer a check that is otherwise properly payable from the account, even though payment was made before the date of the check, unless the customer has given ... more

Sept. 18, 2011

Douglas Millington recommends this answer by Brooke Snow

Google Maps erroneously 'closes' your business, but you are still open: What do you do?

Our business has actually had this happen twice and we have dealt with the issue for clients - so I'm quite familiar with it. It is actually a lot more simple to fix the issue than contacting Google. There are a few courses of action ... more

Information Technology

Aug. 24, 2011

Douglas Millington and 1 other person answered this question

How do I determine if I am providing GAAP statements?

Anyone who asks this question will not be able to determine on their own if they comply with GAAP. You need to get a CPA to look at your financial statements and accounting systems and make any needed adjustments to produce GAAP compliant financials. more

April 16, 2011

Douglas Millington and 1 other person answered this question

Have IFRS standards helped standardize the accounting industry?

In the short term the answer is No. Looking in the future 5+ years from now it might help public companies but for most, if not all, small and medium businesses that do not do business internationally they are meaningless.
You have to know that according ... more

International Financial Reporting Standards

April 14, 2011

Douglas Millington and 6 other people answered this question

How can SMBs collect payments faster without alienating customers?

Getting paid timely begins with the initial contact with the business you are extending credit. You need to be clear, friendly and firm that you expect to be paid within the time frame agreed to by the customer/client. I always ask specifically if they agree ... more

April 6, 2011

Douglas Millington and 25 other people answered this question

Do you really read electronic newsletters that hit your inbox?

Right now I probably oversubscribe to newsletters and as a result sometimes delete some of them and only scan the rest for an interesting article.
However the beauty of a daily newsletter is that of all the ones I receive I do read each one, although ... more

March 18, 2011

Douglas Millington and 18 other people answered this question

What is your favorite software for small business accounting?

I have been following the discussion via the Focus notification emails and I went over to Tom Coyes website and was looking around and clicked on "The System."
If I didn't know what site I was on I would think that I was reading the ... more

Accounting Software

March 18, 2011

Douglas Millington and 21 other people answered this question

3 ways to handle and work for an autocratic, micro-managing and de-humanizing boss?

I have one word - QUIT - and move on as Chris Selland said "Life is too short." more

General Management

March 11, 2011

Douglas Millington and 3 other people answered this question

What are the 3-4 most common mistakes that SMBs make when filing their taxes?

This question should be "What is the one mistake that SMB businesses make when filing their taxes?" because when it comes to preparing your own 1120, 1120S or 1065 the bottom line is you shouldn't - you need to get it prepared by a professional. ... more

Accounting Software

Business Finance

March 11, 2011

Douglas Millington and 2 other people answered this question

Any bookkeepers on here?

Even though I'm a CPA and enjoy practicing the art of accounting I'm a bookkeeper at heart. I love debits and credits and something about the phrase "the books are in balance" just makes me smile. It doesn't matter if you're keeping the books for ... more

Feb. 26, 2011

Douglas Millington and 6 other people answered this question

We just launched a redesign of Focus.com. What do you think of it?

I'll try - I just don't think the drop down menus are as user friendly and easy to work with then the old design - plus to me the term "suggested" means their might be other topics available but I can't access them because they ... more

Release Management

Feb. 25, 2011

Douglas Millington and 5 other people answered this question

What are the top things that SMBs should consider before purchasing accounting software?

I see a lot of small businesses that buy accounting software and then try to make it fit their business processes - when they should be evaluating their business processes and looking for accounting software that will meet their needs.
But let's talk about basic requirements ... more

General Management

Accounting Software

Feb. 25, 2011

Chad Massaker selected a best answer for

Thoughts? '[IRS] wins court case after arguing that CPA used ploy to avoid payroll taxes'

From the Article: ____________________________________________________________________________ There's a saying: Pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered. The Internal Revenue Service surely hopes that includes tax hogs. That is the message of a recent U.S. district court case won by the IRS against David Watson, a CPA in ... more

Financial Services

Feb. 24, 2011

Douglas Millington and 1 other person answered this question

What is the best way to reconcile cash to remits in managing accounts receivables?

That sounds like a reconciliation nightmare. At least when someone sends a check and pays a different amount than invoiced you know what customer to apply the payment and can then get in touch with the customer to resolve the underpayment issue. There is no ... more

Feb. 5, 2011

Douglas Millington recommends this answer by Tyler Wells, CPA

What is the biggest mistake small business owners make in the first year?

Not budgeting enough cash for operations. In your first year you are usually dropping cash left and right and revenues, when they come, come at a trickle. If you don't have deep pockets, great credit, or an effective plan you could soon find that your ... more

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