Have you ever considered throwing your scanner out the window?

 

Recently I had to scan something outside of work, using my 10 year old scanner and its 10 year old scanning software.  The experience resulted in an almost irresistible itch to throw my scanner out the window!  So after this crazed outburst it occurred to me that other people must be feeling the same frustration.

With so much of our lives being conducted on the computer and with more and more focus on the environment and running paperless systems, we should be considering updating our old technology to make our lives easier.

So here it is, my spiel about the wonderful capabilities of a program ‘Paperport’ which we use here at Overells -  and before you start shaking your head the program is only a one off payment of $100 – well worth it to make your life a little easier!

Some of the many features of Paperport include:

1.     The ability to handle and adjust scanned documents a lot more easily and with more features than are normally available from other scanner software, including

·         resizing documents to a smaller file size

·         adding annotations

·         highlighting information

·         rotating documents that are in landscape

·         adding stamps, notes and arrows

2.     You are able to add a security function to the actual PDF document when you want a higher level of security

3.     Once you have scanned a document to Paperpor, you can convert this into a Word document or into an XL spreadsheet.  An example of where this could be useful is to scan in your old bank statements and then convert these to XL, where you can easily sum and fiddle around with it.  So much better than the informationt being static on a piece of paper stored in your ancient filing cabinet, never to see the light of day!

4.     Have you ever had a form you have downloaded online and then had to print it out, complete with a pen and then rescan the document?  There is a built in feature of Paperport called ‘PDF viewer plus’.  Just drag your PDF to this and then you are able to type directly into the PDF document, saving you the hassle of printing and rescanning (and messy handwriting if you are anything like some of my colleagues!)

 5.     You don’t need to be a whiz on the computer to work it out (lucky for me!)

 Click here to go to the manufacturer’s website

If you don’t want a whole program such as Paperport, but you do want convert your Word or XL documents to PDF in an easy manner, why not consider using a PDF printer driver, such as Cute PDF, which is available for free - click here for a link to the website to download the program.

If you are interested in hearing more about either of these programs please feel free to contact us.

Written by Emily Dransfield

Tech highlight - Praemium

For the past two years we have been using Praemium, a portfolio admin service, which allows us to efficiently and accurately process a client’s portfolio for year end tax purposes.

Key advantages include:

•    fully automated corporate actions to handle situations such as demergers and consolidations
•    automatic broker feeds and upload function to record buys and sells efficiently

If you have a portfolio which consists mainly of term deposits, listed shares or other equity investments, then Praemium portfolio reports may well assist with your investment performance reporting and management.

Praemium has another online feature, V Wrap Investor, which allows access to reports and graphs of:

•    daily trade info
•    portfolio performance
•    performance for any listed security
•    estimated dividends/distributions
•    market activity showing top twenty upward moving securities
•    broker trades analysis by security

If you have a portfolio already set up with us, it is free to access once we have given you a log in.  Watchlists and alerts can also be set up.

So please feel free to contact us if this interests you.

(download)

Written by Carinne Foong  

As if paying tax is not bad enough!!!

The ATO has warned you may get stung by any of a number of refund scam emails currently circulating.

These emails claim to come from the ATO and offer a tax refund.  Generally, they link to a bogus ATO website asking for personal and credit card details.  The emails may differ in their appearance and level of sophistication but will generally state that you are eligible for a refund and instruct you to click on a link to submit a form to receive it.  

One version of this scam contains an attachment infected with a virus.  Typically, you will be asked to complete a form or click a link allowing scammers to steal your information or infect your computer with malware.  Malware (short for malicious software), consists of programming designed to disrupt or deny operation and to gather information which leads to a loss of privacy or exploitation, gain unauthorised access to system resources, and other abusive behaviour.

Be aware that the ATO SMS and email messages will never include, or ask you to provide, personal information and do not require any form of reply.

And you are not safe on the phone either!  

From time to time the ATO may contact you by phone but you should be wary of unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from the ATO and offering you a tax refund.  Increasingly these scams use names and addresses that have some correlation to actual ATO officers and buildings.  If in doubt about the authenticity of a call that you receive from the ATO we recommend that you contact the ATO on one of their publicly listed numbers to verify the legitimacy of the call.

Under no circumstances should you give personal information including credit card or banking details. Anyone who has received a suspicious phone call or email should contact the ATO immediately.

Written by Cherie Powell

Upgrading your computer

With all those Windows 7 ads out there, it’s no surprise that some of our clients are upgrading their software.  What has been a surprise though is that various programs have not transferred properly! 

Accordingly, I have asked our IT guru, Damon Fealy of Veracity, how clients can ensure their upgrade is successful

Damon’s first recommendation is to always ensure that you backup your data and, if you have an IT person, give them a call before finalising any purchases.

The most common upgrade he is doing at the moment is a migration from a Windows XP machine to a new Windows 7 machine and he has provided a guide from Microsoft on how to do the upgrade.  Click here to view the processes, noting we can’t take any responsibility for the information and it should not be taken as advice (as virtually every computer configuration will be slightly different).  BUT it is the Microsoft process so one would hope that it’s accurate!

In addition to the above, I would also suggest making a note of the programs that you have in your ‘start menu’ and ensure that, at the end of the upgrade, they are all still there.

Taya

Mobile Phone Technology

I recently read an interesting article in The Financial Review BOSS magazine (Vol 12 published in June 2011) about changing telephone technology.
 
Rachel Botsman discusses the future and the value of your mobile phone being an interactive device covering three key areas:

  1. Payments
  2. Banking
  3. Commerce

PayPal transactions via mobile have increased from 1% in 2010 to over 11% over the past year.

The NAB predict that with its current rate of mobile banking growth, by 2014 internet logins via mobile devices will exceed desktop logins which is being driven by ease, speed & choice.

The head of PayPal Australia claims your phone is more secure than your wallet – because of GPS tracking and the ability to lock the phone remotely (with the overriding comment that most smart phones offer this security but you need to activate it).

Comments were made regarding a number of issues including:

  • Real time spending visualisation – ready access to your bank statement
  • Wave & Pay – wave your phone across a store reader to make payment
  • Bump Payments – e.g. one person pays the restaurant bill and the others reimburse via the bump of telephones
  • Mobile phone credit billing
  • Text payments
  • Phones as credit card processors
  • Remote cheque deposits

Open the attachment for the full article.

Peter Flemming

Click here to download:
Pay_as_you_go.pdf (5.85 MB)
(download)