Smart accounting is as cool as a smart home, but not as easy to show off

The latest gadget addition to my home is the Amazon Echo, a speaker that responds to voice commands similar to Siri and Cortana, but is completely hands-free. By default, the Echo goes by the name of Alexa. For example, she reads the day’s NPR news briefing if I say, “Alexa, what’s the news today? ” It responds to commands to play music, read the weather report, tell me how bad traffic is, set timers, and many others. Beware if you have toddlers at home, as my young sons have conspired with Alexa to add a number of toys to my shopping list. The Echo is especially useful connected to other smart devices in my home. Paired with my Nest thermostat, the Echo can help me set the temperature without having to get out of my bed. With my WeMo switch, I can turn the light on by just saying, “Alexa, turn on the bedroom lamp.” Guests to my home are amused by the magic show, but the benefits of these smart devices goes far beyond being able to show them off. For example, I can turn on the air conditioner a half-hour before coming home or have the lights turn off automatically when I leave. A smart home can conserve energy. I am equally excited about today’s accounting software add-ons and apps that reduce data entry and gather all my documents in one place, as well as banking features like mobile deposit and autopay.  Sadly, it’s not as easy to show off.  For one, accounting documents contain personal information that someone might not want the rest of the world to see.  Second, accounting apps can’t tell jokes like the Echo can. Someday, I’d like to say, “Alexa, what were my sales yesterday and what bills do I have to pay? … and tell me in a Donald Duck voice.” Both my kids and I would certainly be impressed by that.

An accountant’s favorite number

Someone recently told me that an accountant’s favorite number is zero.  After spending approximately zero seconds pondering the statement, I asked why.  Her response was that when reconciling an account in QuickBooks, if the difference line is $0.00, it is reconciled correctly and her work is done!  I agree that it is a great feeling.  (Just say “no” to reconciliation discrepancies, which is what happens if the difference line is not zero.) Come to think of it, zero is a solid number of choice for accountants.  I can think of a few of my own reasons:
  1. An accountant’s heaven is zero data entry nirvana (see Doug Sleeter’s comment in my post)
  2. An accountant can add, subtract, and multiply by the number zero without having to punch it into a calculator.
  3. Despite what you may have learned in elementary school, accountants are so good at math that they can divide by zero.  Well, maybe not… but they know what #DIV/0! means.
  4. The easiest numbers to account for have zero decimal places, with the value being exactly as displayed.
  5. Zero is a great price.  After all, an alternative acronym for CPA is “Cheapest Price Available.”
  6. A zero looks like a doughnut.  Accountants love doughnuts.
  7. Bring a box of doughnuts to an accountant’s office and, like magic, there will be zero left by the end of the day.
Finally, sometimes my blog posts serve absolutely zero purpose besides hopefully making you laugh and linking back to older posts where you can find some good information.

Why Google Analytics is so much fun

While I’m not a power user of Google Analytics like those who track e-commerce and advertising performance, I know my way around it well enough to discover fun and interesting facts about my blog’s visitors.  Below are a few insights into my blog’s statistics:
  1. I love maps!  The Demographics-Location screen shows that my blog has nearly spanned the globe.  It’s no surprise that the United States is the darkest shade of green, which means that it is the country with the most number of visits.  The countries in grey have yet to make a visit.  I am still waiting for Greenland to turn green.  If you have friends there, send them my way. Google Analytics map
  2. It is always interesting to see the search keywords used to get to my site.  “Should I…” is a very common search phrase.  Sure, I can explain how to enter credit card charges correctly into QuickBooks, but don’t expect too much more from me.Should I
  3. Below is a graph showing the value of my investment portfolio.  Just kidding!  The graph shows the number of daily website visits.  It is satisfying to see an increase in web traffic over time.  This is a good lesson for people just starting to blog to not be discouraged by low numbers.  Loyal readers, links from other sites, and search results accumulate over time, so don’t give up!Web Traffic Graph