Centennial Associates understands the unique needs of tracking assets in healthcare institutions. With efficient and effective asset management, your organization will spend less time locating assets and more time on your patients.

We can help you:

• Increase equipment availability
• Spend less on labor to locate hospital assets
• Enhance equipment utilization
• Reduce operating and maintenance costs
• Lower cost and time for compliance reporting
• Improve equipment maintenance and allocation
• Reduce replacement costs

For many school districts and institutions of higher learning, assets are distributed widely across dozens of schools or departments, and the resources available to keep track of them are spread thin. Centennial Associates makes it easier for property managers to keep their data clean, organized and accessible. Our automated processes drastically reduce the time it takes to complete actions such as initial tagging, transfers and surplus requests. By incorporating all processes into the system with no more paper forms, every transaction and approval is marked on the history of the record. In addition, Our software includes the security and accounting functionality you would expect in a world-class asset management system.

Article from: http://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com
Real Asset Management Announces Full Compliance with 2009 Stimulus Act

With the Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 newly signed into law, developers of business management software are moving into overdrive behind the scenes to ensure that their programs help companies maximize efficiencies and decrease tax burdens.

Because the stimulus act effectively allows companies to take a larger portion (50%) of the depreciation in the first year, now is an important time for organizations to gain complete and accurate control over their fixed assets.

The Asset4000 module, from Real Asset Management International, has built-in features that automatically implement the 2008 and 2009 fifty percent bonus depreciation and Section 179 expensing rules. Companies using Asset4000 can be confident that they will automatically maximize the Stimulus act benefits.

“It’s relatively easy for specialist finance software developers to set the system up to manage the new federal Section 179 and 50% bonus depreciation rules,” said Marcus Scholes, VP of US Operations for Real Asset Management International. “However, there is a significant investment in time, insuring that the system is not only compliant with federal blanket rules but also with the depreciation rules that each of the individual 50 states may subsequently enact, since states often mirror their tax law with the federal government’s.”

The 2009 stimulus bill, aimed at revitalizing the U.S. economy by providing investment incentives to businesses and mortgage relief to consumers, follows several similar bills enacted in recent years.

“Although the scope of the 2009 legislation is broader, these frequent changes to tax law, particularly depreciation treatments, can make it very difficult for the financial management at a corporation to make sure they are not only following the proper rules, but also optimizing their depreciation strategies,” Scholes said.

According to a recent study, many companies, even some in the Fortune 500, still rely on inefficient techniques like spreadsheets to manage their assets. Automated asset management systems like RAMI’s Asset4000 not only help businesses keep on top of tax law changes, but also provide dramatic cost savings through more efficient tracking, maintenance and utilization of fixed assets, as well as through reduced insurance costs by ridding the register of “ghost assets.”

“Fixed assets are often one of the largest items on a company’s financials, yet they are poorly managed, potentially costing hundreds of thousands annually,” according to Scholes. “With the current recession and the changes to depreciation rules in the 2009 Stimulus Act, it has never been more important for organizations to implement an automated asset management system that helps them to more efficiently manage their asset bases.”

For more on Office relocation visit centennialassociates.com

1. Assess your needs and current situation: You need to be clear about the purpose of your office relocation (e.g. lease break, lease expiry, planned growth or contraction) in order to define your needs and map out the appropriate office move plan. There are some big decisions that must be agreed upon as the starting point and which will form the basis of the subsequent planning process, including the details of the existing lease and notice period and your current obligations and liabilities.
2. Be clear about your requirements: A clear understanding at the outset of your basic strategic and operational requirements will make the whole moving office process go more smoothly – and save time. Don’t worry too much about the technical specifics (as that is part of the advice given by the external property move professionals). However, you must have an overall idea and consensus from the decision makers about the key drivers of the office move including:
   • Where you want to move to;
   • how much space you need; when you need to be in by;
   • what key features you need your new office to have;
   • what your planned business objectives (including growth plan) the move needs to satisfy;
   • and type and length of lease you want.
3. Build the right office move project team: An office move is a major undertaking and a collaborative effort is needed for a successful outcome. Putting together the right project team is critical and should include people who will help facilitate all aspects of the move. It will need to comprise both internal and external members. A project leader must be put in charge of the move process as soon as the decision to move office has been made. This person must have enough time to devote to the office move project and should:
   • have the trust of senior management;
   • the authority to act on behalf of the company;
   • be senior enough to be able to make decisions;
   • be a good organizer of people and processes;
   • have experience of setting and working within budgets;
   • and be a good communicator.
4. Start early: There’s a lot to do, so the earlier you start, the greater the chance of achieving the smooth move your company expects. It is impossible to plan too far ahead. Once the project leader has been appointed, work should start. You should start reviewing your options 9 – 18 months prior to your lease expiration regardless of whether you are considering renewing, renegotiation or relocation. It is vital that you allow enough lead-time to increase the amount of leverage and competition between the various options, which can result in substantial savings for you.
5. Create a realistic budget: Creating a realistic office move budget is a critical planning tool that will help you assess your costs and manage them throughout the process.
6. Engage the right office move professionals: The whole moving office process can be complex, stressful and time-consuming. After people costs, property costs are most companyies’ next biggest expenditure. The decisions you make will have an impact on your company’s profitability. Working with the right professional team is the single biggest must-do for any company thinking of moving office. They will guide you through the process, save you money in the long run and also make sure you don’t make any critical mistakes.
7. Don’t sign any lease documents without getting legal advice: Your Property Solicitor will negotiate the detail of the lease documentation to minimise your exposure to potential liabilities, and subsequently, to advise you on the implications of the detailed terms in the final documents to ensure you are aware of your ongoing responsibilities.
8. Communication: Internally, change can be unsettling for staff and this can certainly be the case with an office move. At the same time as the office move process is going on, your company has to continue to run its business and focus on its existing workload and commitments. However, moving office is a great opportunity to affect positive change management, improvement in business performance, increased morale and momentum. Externally, there are many moving parts to an office move and you need to ensure that everyone involved in the project is regularly updated, especially if there are any changes. If you keep the lines of communication open to all interested parties, internal and external, your office move will have a much greater chance of success.
9. Take advantage of the opportunity: Clear out old files and purge all storage areas of unneeded items prior to moving. Also consider scanning any documents no longer needed in hard copy (remember to dispose of unwanted files securely). Secure storage and/or archiving of documentation is a flexible, safe and cost-effective solution to free up valuable and more costly office space. It can be accessed at any time by arrangement and provides excellent off-site backup for damage limitation in case of fire or other disaster. You should also take the opportunity to consider the following:
   • Upgrading – Moving office is an opportunity to update to modern, efficient and space-saving equipment;
   • Review existing suppliers – Moving office can provide a trigger for renewing/switching supplier contracts on favorable terms.