With a number of of us fighting to stay abreast with the frenzied pace at which the world is changing it seems rather unfair that the CPA specialization is becoming so wholly tied to technology. For the folks that can keep up, though, there are amazing rewards to be earned. The good news is that technology can really make work much less complicated and more productive. I’d like to introduce you to a few of my favorite applications to get you started.

Launchy

Definitely a must have and my most used app. After using this tool for a few days I began to marvel at how it didn’t yet exist as a basic tool as a part of every single Operating System. All you have to do is hold down the alt key and press the space bar to open Launchy. Then you just need to start typing. For instance, if I wanted to open Adobe Photoshop I would start typing “p… h… o… ” and then Launchy would start suggesting applications to launch. I would then highlight photoshop, or whatever program I was looking for, and the application will immediately launch. As if that wasn’t easy enough, Launchy will start to learn which programs you use most often. Soon, you’ll only have to type “F” to open Firefox. Any productivity tools that grant you more time to work on your accounting website will certainly be beneficial. Launchy also has add-on tools that you can explore. Soon enough you’ll be trying to use “alt + space” on someone else’s computer and cursing them out for not having Launchy installed!

WinSplit Revolution

The best window organization utility going. Quickly organize your workspace in a nice highly visible grid without anything overlapping. This is reminiscent of the ability to left and right dock windows as in Windows 7. Most of us have too many tasks and therefore, too many windows open at once, on any given work day. Therefore, this tool can always be put to good use. If you spend too much time dragging windows around in order to view everything on your monitor(s) without having any windows hiding, then this app is certainly for you.

UltraMon

This application is for those of us who can’t be contained on one monitor. How often have you become frustrated that your windows taskbar doesn’t span that extra monitor, leaving your primary monitors’ taskbar looking like it’s been squeezed in a vise. UltraMon extends your taskbar to all of your monitors and also adds many useful multi-monitor options. One of my favorite features (probably bad for productivity, but great for aesthetics) would be the wallpaper options. You have the ability to choose different backgrounds for each monitor, as well as one background that spans across all of your monitors. It will even allow you to set custom screen savers and even custom icons.

TeamViewer

Easily the best application for remote access and remote support. This application is very lightweight, doesn’t install a pesky display driver, and best of all its free! Instead of having to remember all of your machines or recording them elsewhere, you can create an account in Team Viewer to store all of that information. Simply select from Remote control, file transfer or VPN and connect. Of course, if you work with multiple clients, not all of them will have TeamViewer installed. This would normally make remote support a difficult and lengthy option, but with TeamViewer, you can ask clients to download the quick installer, which will very quickly generate a user ID and password.

Dropbox

Online storage is a must these days and goes hand in hand with remote access. Dropbox offers great customizability for synchronizing files across multiple machines, as well as folder sharing options. While you may have an amazing CPA website design that already has a file sharing feature, Dropbox is a very valuable tool for the many firms struggling along without access to this technology. They commence their complimentary accounts with 2 Gigabytes of file storage space and extend effortless ways of earning more free space by watching educational videos and referring friends (as much as 8000 MBs total).

They also offer 50,000 MBs for $99 and 100,000 MBs for about $200 a year.