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 Top Ten iPad Apps Val Steed, CPA.CITP, founder and shareholder of technology training company, K2 Enterprises, shares his favorite iPad apps. K2 will present two technology programs for MACPA in December – Advanced Excel on Dec. 1 and Tech Tools for Preventing and Detecting Fraud on Dec. 2.
GoodReader is a well-known document reader. I prefer GoodReader to any other, as it is cheap, fast and easy to use. I can easily annotate a PDF and store the annotations in the file or as a separate file. Free for up to 2GB, Dropbox is probably the best synchronization tool I have ever used. I have it loaded on my iPad, laptop and desktop. All files sync in seconds and are available across all systems. Be sure to have strong Windows passwords and invoke the security keys on the iPad. In seconds, I can create a file on my desk system, access it in Dropbox on my iPad, and then open it in GoodReader. This is a free speed test. There are many speed test apps so be sure to get the right one. Only the one from Ookla is this good with great graphics and reliable results. You would be surprised at how often the speed of your Internet connection changes. No doubt, FaceTime is one of the best communication tools ever invented. The only issue is that the person on the other end of FaceTime must have an iPad or iPhone 4 or newer. Despite the fact this is an Apple app, and comes with your iPad, do not overlook its power and capabilities. This photo storage app offers 2GB of free cloud storage and an interface that works great across all devices. The key to Photobucket is that it becomes your library of photos and videos that you can easily link to for Facebook, LinkedIn or any other website posting. I am a baseball fan so this ranks high on my list despite the fact that you have to buy an annual subscription to the service each year for around $15. You get to see any game, not blocked by blackouts, in HD (Internet connection permitting). Truth is, I love weather and especially like to know what I am headed for when traveling. This is the best of the weather apps to date as it gives you HD radar. Try zooming in/out and you can examine the world in detail, even ocean beds! Not free, Keynote is the Apple app that serves as the PowerPoint of the Apple line. If you want to do presentations from your iPad, this is the tool. Create the presentation in PowerPoint on your PC, transfer the file with Dropbox, open with Keynote, and present. Voila, it is that easy… but it will cost you $9.99. Dragon is free and the best voice recognition app to date. You talk, it types; this can help with email responses, especially when they become lengthy, on the iPad. The app is free; the account with Concur will not be free. You can get a personal free account by signing up for the Concur Accountants program. See http://www.cpafirmsoftware.com/cpaprograms.html click on the Concur Accountants Program and join. Then you can use this app on your iPad to help track and report expenses. We have our entire company signed up and this is a great tool.
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