As financial adviser, CPA and dinner host, I use a lot of technology but I'm still tired.
I use technology in almost everything I do. From my car's GPS to my iPhone, Ticketmaster to DVR, my VOiP phone to Skype, it's an endless list. As much efficiency as technology adds, it has not done much to relieve my workload during the last few weeks prior to April 15.
Among the many hats I wear, I'm a certified public accountant. So, prior to April 15, I was buried in tax returns, working 12 to 14 hours a day. I have a CPA employee and an intern to help. LaCerte is my program of choice for tax return processing. This year, we even used online Tax Organizers, meaning that many clients entered their own tax data. Our office is paperless, so all client information is scanned and saved to Junxure. It's all very efficient and high tech. But, it still takes time.
In the midst of tax season and "normal" work, the first day of Passover was April 15! Somehow, I also needed to manage a Seder dinner for 25 at my home! I used Evite for the invitations and sent my grocery list to my cell phone so it would be available any time I could fit in shopping. I ordered the rental tables and dinnerware online from bed after a long day's work. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an app to do the cooking!
When Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah fell on the same day, it was called Thanksgivikkah. Nobody made a big deal of April 15 falling on the first day of Passover. I called this special day "Taxover."
This week, I will be joining Jews from around the world in celebrating freedom. For me, I will also be celebrating the end of tax season. Maybe after Taxover, I'll get a good night's sleep.
Sheryl Rowling is chief executive of Total Rebalance Expert and principal at Rowling & Associates. She considers herself a non-techie user of technology.
