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Seeing Double -- Seeing Green
Just about the time that the last of the manual system bookkeepers have finally converted to computerized accounting, there's a new trend on the horizon. More and more CPAs are
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"Using multiple monitors is the quickest and cheapest way to drive up productivity."
Randy Johnston |
 | increasing their productivity by adding a second, sometimes a third monitor to their computers. Sound excessive? Not when you realize that by using dual monitors you can avoid much of the printing you now do.
Suppose you are working on a client's current year tax return and need to compare last year's return to this year's? Previously you could either pull up both returns, minimize one and have one open, and toggle back and forth. That works, but it is inefficient. Or you could print one and use it for comparison, wasting a lot of paper and ink. With two screens, you can have both right in front of you at once.
How much can you expect to increase productivity by using dual or multiple monitors? According to the AICPA, up to a whopping 50 percent, though others estimate much lower, around 20 percent. But even that is impressive when you consider that it's a simple change.
Accountants use dual or multiple screens for a wide variety of applications --many of which eliminate the need to print -- including:
- Comparative analysis between documents like tax returns or financial statements
- Report creation, reserving one screen for resource materials while typing the report on the other
- Monitoring e-mail on one screen while working on the other
- Researching complex issues while working on a document or tax return
Is going to a multiple monitor system worth the cost? Tech-savvy accountants and other experts say there is no question about that. Depending on the tasks you are doing, the increased efficiency might pay for an additional monitor in a single day. Though most disciples of this way of working like to have similar size screens with the same resolution on each (to minimize the need for your eyes to adjust) they also admit that it's not a necessity. If you regularly upgrade your computer system you may have extra monitors in storage. If you have the desk space, CRT monitors work fine, but of course the flat panel screens are less intrusive.
As for moving between screens, that should just be a matter of pointing your mouse, or using Alt-Tab. If you want a task bar on each screen you may need to get a software program such as Ultra-Mon or Multi-Mon, but that's optional, especially if your computer uses Vista (XP will probably also work).
According to Randy Johnston, CEO of K2 Enterprises, having more than one task bar or additional software programs is unnecessary. But depending on how many monitors you use, you will need a video card with 2 or 4 ports, and 256 or 512MB of video RAM. Johnston himself uses not two, but four monitors. One to help him remain paperless, one to surf the Web, and the two in the middle to run his primary applications. If he's waiting for an important message, he may dedicate one to e-mail. Now, says Johnston, he can't imagine trying to work with just one.
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