Harness the power of your mobile devices
Tommy Stephens shares his top five apps
Rachel Kats | April/May 2022 Footnote
Phones and mobile devices have become ingrained in our personal and professional lives, allowing us to connect, research, read and entertain.
According to data from the Pew Research Center, 85% of Americans now own a smartphone. And consider the following 2022 statistics from reviews.org, a consumer-focused organization that objectively researches products:
- 74% of Americans feel uneasy leaving their phone at home.
- 71% of Americans check their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up.
- 47% consider themselves “addicted” to their phones.
- 45% say that their phone is their most valuable possession.
- 344 times per day is the average frequency in which Americans check their phones.
- 2 hours and 54 minutes is the average amount of time Americans spend on their phones each day.
Despite having vast access and use of mobile devices, many of us find ourselves unaware or underutilizing tools and applications that could improve our workflow processes, security, engagement and client connections.
The natural question becomes, if we’re going to use devices this often, how can we better harness their capabilities to get our work done more efficiently and effectively?
To help answer that question, Tommy Stephens, CPA with K2 Enterprises recently joined the MNCPA’s Technology Special Interest Section to share his top five applications or application types to download in 2022 to maximize the power of mobile devices in today’s climate.
Here are Stephen’s top five apps or types of apps you should consider downloading:
Duet
Over the years, our computer hardware has gotten smaller, but our desktop setups have grown with more monitors and larger monitors.
“We can’t get enough screen real estate these days for massive Excel spreadsheets or Power BI dashboards,” Stephens said. “That becomes a real productivity issue when we are traveling.”
It’s inconvenient to pack a monitor and bring it with you on the road to maintain the same level of output. That’s where Duet comes in.
This one-time purchase app allows you to turn your iPad, Chromebook, Android or other portable device into a second monitor without any lag time between screens. It offers an easy and convenient way to keep working at full capacity while traveling or in other times of need.
Microsoft 365 or Office 365
There may be a time when our only computing device is a smartphone. With Bluetooth capabilities, we can connect digitally to a monitor and keyboard and have the same computing experience as we do now with a laptop or desktop. That’s one of the reasons why downloading a business productivity tool is a good idea.
The Microsoft 365 or Office 365 apps allow you to access Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more while on the go.
Stephens noted that if you’re accessing the Microsoft app with only your smartphone, it’s more limiting, and he doesn’t recommend using it to create something complicated like next fiscal year’s budget. However, it is great for accessing the Office suite to quickly make small changes, check email or consume content.
“One way that I use these apps relatively frequently is when I want or when I need to brush up on a PowerPoint presentation,” he said. “For example, maybe I’m jumping on a plane this afternoon; if that’s the case, I’ll get on my phone, open the presentation and browse through it without having to open my laptop on the airplane.”
Teams/Zoom/Slack
As more and more people work remotely or in nontraditional office settings, employee communication and collaboration apps allow all workers to stay in the loop even while away from their desks and computers.
One such app is Teams. The application allows you to access all your channels, chats and videos or voice calls, Stephens said.
“I have essentially full functionality inside Teams no matter where I’m accessing it from,” he shared with the group.
Zoom, Slack and other communication and collaboration platforms are very effective as well, he said. The one you choose to use will likely depend which platform has been adopted within your organization.
Expense reporting
It goes without saying that it’s essential to keep tabs on the expenses incurred by your business.
There are several apps to help you do that, such as Zoho Expense, Expensify and Concur. These apps eliminate the need to manually enter data. They can also maintain photocopies of your receipts, generate real-time reports, and even use GPS capabilities to log mileage for work-related trips.
“For traveling professionals — and many of us do travel at least on occasion for business — this a fantastic tool,” Stephens said. “It significantly cuts the amount of time it takes me to complete my expense reports.”
Mobile device management
It’s important to consider what would happen if you lost your device. Often, there is a plethora of sensitive corporate and personal information on our cellphones and devices, which means if it’s lost or stolen, there is the potential for a major security issue.
The final tool that Stephen’s recommends is a mobile device management app such as JamF Pro or Scalefusion.
In the event of a lost or stolen device, these apps have the ability to remotely access the device. For example, if you have corporate email access on your mobile devices, as most of us likely do, IT staff can remotely remove all the email from the device if it goes missing, Stephens said.
“Now, that doesn’t take the sting out of losing a smartphone, but at least we haven’t compromised the data that’s on it.”
Honorable mentions
To round out the presentation, Stephens highlighted apps that made his honorable mention list, which includes:
- AirServer allows the user to mirror or broadcast whatever is being shown on their phone to a computer screen. It’s a great app if you need to demonstrate or train from a mobile device.
- Microsoft Power BI unifies data from several sources and offers a way to share reports and dashboards. The app allows you to access your data from anywhere, get notifications and share the content.
- Liscio is targeted to professional service firms, including accounting firms. It offers a way to securely collaborate with clients — it’s secure enough to send sensitive documents, such as W-2s and tax statements.
- Google Authenticator, or one of the many other authenticator options on the market. Passwords are a necessary evil for security purposes but using an authenticator app can simplify logging into accounts and offer greater security than a standard password. n
Join the Technology Special Interest Section
http://www.mncpa.org/SIS
Like what you read? Join the Technology Special Interest Section, which meets quarterly.
The Technology SIS is one of five member-only groups that meet throughout the year. These free events allow members with similar interests to connect, interact, gain knowledge and share insights on topics pertaining to human resources, small firms, women, controllers and technology. They’re open to any member and offer a great opportunity to network. If any of the target areas interest you, sign up to receive emails and future meeting invites.
Additional tech tips
Stay current with today’s technology and register for K2’s Technology Conference. Experts from K2 Enterprises will share practical tips you can use right away. Visit
www.mncpa.org/conferences for details.
K2’s Technology Conference
June 2–3 | 16 CPE | Virtual
Technology has no limits
Hear more from K2’s Tommy Stephens at MNCPA’s Management & Business Advisers Conference. Look for Tommy’s sessions “Accounting Automation” and “Advanced Excel Tips” when you register for MBAC22. Visit
www.mncpa.org/mbac for details.
MNCPA Management & Business Advisers Conference
June 13–15 | 24 CPE
Hybrid & virtual options
