Tag Archives: CPA websites for accountants

CPA Site Solutions Found Success with Innovative Methods for Email Marketing System Rebuild

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites for accountants, announced they recently redeveloped their proprietary Email Marketing System using new architecture, methodology, and coding standards.

CodeIgniter Cut Down on Time Spent Coding

The niche web developer opted to use CodeIgniter for the system’s architecture.

“We evaluated several frameworks for PHP web application development. Many of them could have worked, but they really tried to lock you in to their way of doing things,” explains Bob Rayl, Chief Technology Officer at CPA Site Solutions. “They did not offer the flexibility we need to accomplish some of the heavily proprietary functionality we bundle into our systems.”

CodeIgniter is an Application Development Framework for PHP developers. It provides a rich set of libraries for commonly needed tasks. CodeIgniter considerably trimmed the hours developers spent writing tedious code. And because the code comes secured and optimized out of the box, the team saved additional time and resources on those tasks.

The team chose NetBeans, an integrated development environment (IDE), for their new interface.

Localized Server Streamlined Testing and QA

The tech team at CPA Site Solutions chose to use a localized server for code development and testing on which they could “step-through” their code line by line as it was running on an isolated test environment. This enabled them to catch bugs early in the development cycle, resulting in less end-of-development quality assurance.

The team could also access a step-by-step history of the code, quickly leading them to the cause of any new bugs. And with a roll-back function in place, they could return to a previous working version if problematic code reached the production environment.

Finally, the localized server allowed multiple developers to work on the same project without having to trade entire copies of the code. Each developer simply located the latest version from the server to be in sync with other team members. They could also test small bits of code on their own working area of the server, so their testing and QA didn’t slow down the rest of the team.

New Coding Practices Increased Team Efficiency

For the application rebuild, CPA Site Solutions wrote object-oriented, reusable code that extends the basic functionality of CodeIgniter. They also wrote libraries that sit in a separate website but deliver programmatic data to their CodeIgniter applications. For example, getting a firm’s domain information will never need to be written into any given application again; it’s now served via a service the team created and centralized.

About CPA Site Solutions

CPA Site Solutions (http://www.cpasitesolutions.com) provides websites for more than 5,000 CPA and Accounting firms. They offer personalized websites, a dedicated webmaster, a secure client portal, a client newsletter, secure email accounts, search engine optimization, and 109 additional website features designed specifically for Accountants.

Via EPR Network
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CPA Site Solutions Named to Inc. 5000 for Second Consecutive Year

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites for accountants, was named to the prestigious 2011 Inc. 5000 list, a compendium of the fastest growing private companies in America, for the second consecutive year.

“Earning a place on this list for a second time is a tremendous honor,” comments Brian O’Connell, President of CPA Site Solutions. “And, again, I have the company’s dedicated team of webmasters, designers, and SEO specialists to thank,” O’Connell adds.

The $3 million company received a rank of 1736 out of 5,000 companies and achieved a three-year growth rate of 154%. In 2010, CPA Site Solutions was no. 1313 on the list with a three-year growth rate of 223%. The company has grown from 16 employees in 2010 to 19 employees in 2011.

Of the 10 Vermont businesses that were honored on this year’s Inc. 5000, CPA Site Solutions earned the 2nd spot. It is the only honored Vermont company in IT Services.

O’Connell Attributes Success to Management Principle

CPA Site Solutions’s steady growth is a result of how successfully the staff has embraced systems, says O’Connell. Creating systems means developing a particular process for completing tasks so they can be performed identically in the future.

Specifically, all team members document the process they used to complete a facet of their work. The company keeps an online wiki, and each team member is responsible for updating the living document as the systems evolve.

Sections of the wiki include Training New Members, Social Media, and Handling Client Frustrations.

“I highly recommend adopting a systems approach for any business,” comments O’Connell. “With a tested system in place, the team can focus on completing their job quickly and making regular improvements, rather than putting out fires. Having a system in place actually prevents most fires!”

“I firmly believe this is the best way to grow a business,” adds O’Connell.

The Inc. 5000 Distinction

The Inc. 500|5000 list, Inc. magazine’s annual ranking of the fastest growing private companies in America, represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy: America’s independent entrepreneurs. CPA Site Solutions joins Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio, Honest Tea, and Dunkin Donuts as honorees on this year’s list.

In a stagnant economic environment, median growth rate of 2011 Inc. 500|5000 companies remains an impressive 94%. The companies on this year’s list report having created 350,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $366 billion, up 14 percent from last year.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/5000.

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward. Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” says Inc. magazine Editor Jane Berentson.

Via EPR Network
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