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Cloud computing – running applications online rather than on customers' own premises – is one of the most important developments in information technology in the past 10 years.

"The use of a true software-as-a-service model allows the development team to evolve the product rapidly,"

"That's especially important when it comes to keeping systems up to date with changing tax legislation."

As if significant savings on electricity bills weren't enough, IT managers have another reason to embrace environmentally friendly IT practices: a bevy of federal, state and local tax incentives that could tip the scales to make green IT projects financially attractive. However, companies have been slow to take advantage of the available incentives, essentially leaving money on the table. One reason is that many tax incentives are for solar energy, which is still expensive. Another reason is that CIOs -- who don't often talk with tax experts -- may not be aware of what's available. Among the federal tax incentives is the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction, part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. (Subsequent legislation extended this deduction through 2013.) Companies can claim a tax deduction of $1.80 per square foot on new or existing buildings by installing interior lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation or hot water systems that reduce a building's total energy and power costs by 50% or more. "If an IT manager is looking to retrofit or construct a data center, this particular incentive is absolutely appropriate -- almost a given," says Jenny Bravo, a director at Deloitte Tax LLP. "A 50% reduction [in energy and power costs] for a well-planned data center is absolutely doable."

There are several functions in the finance team of hotels, each serving a different purpose in hotel financial management. Whilst some of these may overlap, they include: financial accounting, cost accounting, tax accounting, auditing and managerial accounting. With the advent of technology, hotel accounting software has gained a significant role in helping these finance function of hotels.

Reservations ― features are integrated with other functionality such as profiles, cashiering and deposits. This property management software module provides a complete set of features for creating and updating individual, group and business block reservations, including deposit handling, cancellations, confirmations, wait listing, room blocking and sharing.

Reservations ― features are integrated with other functionality such as profiles, cashiering and deposits. This property management software module provides a complete set of features for creating and updating individual, group and business block reservations, including deposit handling, cancellations, confirmations, wait listing, room blocking and sharing.

Reservations ― features are integrated with other functionality such as profiles, cashiering and deposits. This property management software module provides a complete set of features for creating and updating individual, group and business block reservations, including deposit handling, cancellations, confirmations, wait listing, room blocking and sharing.

What should hotels look for in their financial management system then?Handling currency complexity

Handling multiple languages

Handling multiple entities

New HVAC technology called VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume system), also known as VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow), is substantially reducing hotel and apartment building energy expenses. This new technology began to mainstream into the U.S. market after the enactment of the Energy Policy Act and is now being widely recommended by the architecture, engineering, and HVAC industries.

there are tax deductions of up to $0.60 per square foot for each of the three major building subsystems: lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning), and the building envelope.

VRF/VRV is an air conditioning system most efficient for commercial buildings because of the ability to individualize control for different zones/rooms, whereas conventional systems condition a building as a whole. The system is very beneficial for buildings with varying cooling needs and different zones.

It is designed to help the make the club's human resource and employee administrative work fast, efficient and, most importantly, accurate.

The Lost Tree Club of North Palm Beach, FL will begin using ClubPay's payroll and HR management solutions.  In addition to biometric time clocks, real time labor management and payroll processing, Lost Tree Club will benefit from ClubPay's new "HR and Benefit Essentials" online portal .  It is designed to help the make the club's human resource and employee administrative work fast, efficient and, most importantly, accurate

In addition to biometric time clocks, real time labor management and payroll processing, Lost Tree Club will benefit from ClubPay's new "HR and Benefit Essentials" online portal

What should hotels look for in their financial management system then?Handling currency complexityRapid globalisation means that hotels are likely to report in more than one currency. Thus it would be a tremendous help if hotel accounting software can handle multiple currencies. However, it is worth noting that currency translation is not as simple as it looks. Complexity arises when different categories of exchange rates are required depending on circumstances. This is especially problematic when hotels have to follow more than one set of accounting and business rules. Handling multiple languagesEven though English is the default business language globally, it is not necessarily the case that everyone in an organisation grasps all English terminology and statutory reports, especially those that handle day-to-day operations. They are more likely to do the work in their own language. Moreover, different countries have different units of measurements and formats, which need to be reported as well. Hence, it is vital that hotels’ financial management software can handle all of these. Handling multiple entitiesA hotel chain with various branches in different countries or jurisdictions has the extra workload that entails complexity. As a helping tool, a hotel financial management system should be capable of consolidating results from discrete entities for statutory reporting and tax purposes. In other words, it should help the mother company and its subsidiaries keeping track of one another’s financials without interfering with their various legal structures.Supporting multiple charts of accountsAccording to Ventana Research 2011, “maintaining multiple charts of accounts may prove to be both simpler in the long run and more productive” despite some saying that it is best to have one chart of accounts only. The rigid approach of a single chart of accounts is especially unsuitable for companies with different lines of businesses, those in joint-venture arrangements or those acquiring businesses in different countries. Thus, accounting software for hotels should be able to handle simultaneous charts of accounts.Handling multiple calendarsIt is a fact that businesses around the world do not operate on the same fiscal year. To save time from having to recast figures into different calendars, hotels with multinational operations should implement a financial management system that can create local, regional and consolidated reports as needed for management or statutory purposes.Handling tax complexitiesFor hotels operating in various countries, their accounting software should be able to handle the complexities associated with different tax regulations and help defending tax audits. Apart from addressing issues such as multiple entities, charts of accounts, calendars and depreciation schedules, their system should be configured to be tax-aware. In other words, it should provide hotels with automated maintenance of rules and rates.Reporting using multiple accounting standardsGAAP, IFRS and local accounting standards require different accounting treatments. Thus, accounting software for hotels should allow different books for recording transactions under these various accounting rules. Automating the process from closing these books to creating financial statements and reports using multiple accounting standards also helps hotels save time and effort without risks of errors.Supporting different levels of corporate reportingA multinational hotel’s accounting system should be able to create a consolidated headquarters view as well a consolidated statement of several subsidiaries at an intermediate level. Management should be able to view and analyse these reports right at the source.Supporting global accessFinancial management software that allows web-based access can help hotels avoid incurring costs from installing the system individually at all branches or at branches with limited on-premise support. Having a system that can be installed locally, deployed centrally and accessed globally gives hotels a competitive advantage without compromising security and reliability.

With a POS system:You can analyze sales data, figure out how well all the items on your shelves sell, and adjust purchasing levels accordingly.You can maintain a sales history to help adjust your buying decisions for seasonal purchasing trends.You can improve pricing accuracy by integrating bar-code scanners and credit card authorization ability with the POS system.

Ease of use. Look for software with a user-friendly graphical interface.

Entry of sales information. Most systems allow you to enter inventory codes either manually or automatically via a bar-code scanner.

It could affect hiring if restaurants continue to be faced with additional costs and burdens to comply with government mandates and regulations,”

thanks to an IRS ruling, restaurants are being thrown into the debate — and are faced with a decision of their own: Should tipping for large parties be left solely to the customer or should the restaurant tack it on to the bill?

“When they spend $200 and leave $20, you’re losing out on about $16 or $17 when we already pay a tip out to a host, bartender and bussers. It really makes the income of a server go down.”

Meetings are all about business:  they develop relationships, generate leads, close deals, and create new customers.  More than that, meetings impact local economies.

anyone that works at a convention venue (anyone, in any capacity); anyone in the hospitality business that caters to conventioneers (staffs at hotels, restaurants, and night clubs); taxi drivers; meeting planners; meeting suppliers; transportation companies; exhibit designers and builders; association and show managers; corporate exhibit managers …

Trade shows and meetings create an enormous economic impact.

Abacre Hotel Management System is a new generation of hotel or motel management software for Windows. It is a complete solution, beginning with reservations and check in or check out, and ending with billing and tax reports. The user interface is carefully optimized for high speed input and the prevention of common mistakes. It is designed for using on multiple computers, and contains reliable and secure authorization levels. The program can be set up for any currencies, taxes, and gratuities. Payments can be accepted by cash, credit cards, or checks. For managers, there is a rich set of reports that shows a complete picture of hotel operations and life cycles: sales by room, sales by room type, sales orders in restaurants or retail, payment methods, and automatic tax calculations. By standardizing the entire hotel management process, the software radically improves the quality of guest handling and accounting. It's easy to install and easy to use. Very affordable licensing allows this software to be used in any environment from small family-owned hotels to large chains.

HRIS is a database or a combination of databases that share information.

HRIS has three basic components

employee information, payroll and benefits.

Innovative carbon-capture projects are ready to launch in the U.S., according to experts gathered yesterday by the Atlantic Council, but they are waiting for IRS guidance expected since fall.

The guidance should resolve uncertainty over how companies can take advantage of the carbon capture tax credit in Section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code.

we think is the next generation of carbon capture.”

An HRMS includes separate HR modules to take care of specific HR and admin tasks leaving HR staff free to focus on creating a better workplace. These are the core functionalities of an ideal Human Resource Management System:

odule to track and monitor applicants

inbuilt accounting module, automated tax computations, frequent audit & reporting tool, tabular data storage, and configurable rule-based engine.