Clean and Pristine: Fort Worth-based Clarus Glassboards Changing the Way We Write on Walls

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Ever been ready to brainstorm with your team but you end up spending more time cleaning the conference room’s filthy whiteboard that still has smudges from the past decade? Clarus Glassboards understands that frustrating feeling and created innovative dry-erase glass surfaces so that “Yesterday’s presentation will no longer be today’s distraction.”

What began as an idea born out of a Fort Worth garage in 2009 has since expanded across the country and the globe. Founded by Robby Whites and Jeremy Rincon, Clarus Glassboards’ major clients include AT&T, Macy’s, Apple, Texas Instruments, Tesla, Twitter, and Amazon. The founders, along with Clarus President Andrew Philipp, were recognized in 2015 as EY Entrepreneurs of the Year.

Whites and Rincon started the company after they lost their jobs in the financial services industry. Because of their experience during the Great Recession, they pursued manufacturing instead of high-tech because they wanted to build a product that was more hands-on. As Whites described, “When we lost our jobs, we want to make something tangible; if you dropped it on your foot it would hurt.”

Made from Vitro’s Starphire glass, Clarus Glassboards would not only hurt if you dropped it on your foot, it probably won’t break either. The Glassboards are anti-glare, durable, and as easy to clean as a bathroom mirror. Better yet, these surfaces come in customizable sizes and colors to fit clients’ diverse needs, whether it’s in the classroom, the office, or the hospital. The company even developed a limited edition ping pong table.

Part of the secret to the company’s success? It builds its product right here in the United States rather than outsource. Whites explained, “Clients appreciate our being able to make a product and ship it quick; they appreciate customization; they appreciate high quality. We have to own and control the manufacturing process.” When Amazon requested hundreds of Glassboards within a few days for its newly opened office in Romania, Clarus was able to respond immediately because it manufactured at home. “No one else in the world could have done that for [Amazon],”Philipp said.

Clarus Glassboards’ product and manufacturing process are a result of constant innovation. Did you know the company’s innovative experiments are considered R&D and could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are conducting similar experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and receive up to 14% on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Four Things You Need to Know About the IRS Directive for LB&I Taxpayers

directive for LBI taxpayers

On September 11, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a new directive for Large Business & International (LB&I) taxpayers. The purpose of the directive is to make determining the amounts of Qualified Research Expenses (QREs) when filing for the R&D Tax Credit more efficient while also reducing the burden on LB&I taxpayers and examiners in determining those amounts. The new directive for LB&I taxpayers provides a “safe harbor”.

1. Under what conditions can this directive apply?

There are two main conditions:

  • The directive applies to LB&I taxpayers, namely taxpayer’s assets must amount to at least $10 million
  • The LB&I taxpayer’s certified financial statements must be in accordance with the Adjusted Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 730

2. How does this directive make the process more efficient?

The definitions for QREs outlined in section 41 of the IRS, which comprises the R&D Tax Credit, do not always match the definitions of financial accounts. In common practice, LB&I taxpayers often go through a time-consuming process where different employees need to be contacted in order to determine the QRE amounts. In contrast, the new directive for LB&I taxpayers allows taxpayers to determine the QREs already on the financials and then adjust those amounts. While the adjustment process is still rigorous, this would nevertheless reduce the burden of determining QRE amounts.

3. Are there limits to the directive?

Yes. For one, the directive can only be used for current year QREs. The directive does not apply to research conducted under contract and contractor costs. Applying the directive also requires reducing wage costs. Thus, the directive for LB&I taxpayers may not be advantageous for all.

4. Is this official law?

No. The IRS clearly outlines that the directive “is not an official pronouncement of law, and cannot be used, cited, or relied on as such. In addition, nothing in the directive should be construed as affecting the operation of any other provision of the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations or guidance thereunder.”

Need more information?

With its expertise and experience in the R&D Tax credit, Swanson Reed can help you navigate the changes with the IRS’ new directive for LB&I taxpayers. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

 

“Sitting is the New Smoking” and DFW company Varidesk is helping you quit

This guy needs a Varidesk

An average American will spend 10 hours a day sitting, whether it’s at a desk, in a car, on a bus, or in front of the TV. Add that with 8 hours of sleep and you’ve got an entire population spending nearly 75% of the day not moving. Sitting has been linked to increased back pain and health concerns like obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. To get Americans moving again, Jason McCann and Dan Flaherty came up with a unique standing desk solution for the office: Varidesk.

The idea came to them in 2012 when Varidesk chairman Flaherty was diagnosed with sciatic nerve pain. A physical therapist suggested using a standing desk at work and Flaherty experimented with different standing desk options. Varidesk CEO McCann recalled, “He would literally put a brown box on top of his desk and felt a lot better.” But the range of standing desk choices were limited and so the two innovated their own alternatives. McCann said, “I remember Dan sitting there describing the product: ‘Can it come out of a box and sit on top of my desk and not have to be bolted down? Can it just pop up in a second?’”

And with that, Varidesk was born. The company has since created a series of different standing desks to fit a variety of needs in the workplace. With a patented spring lifting mechanism, each Varidesk is easy to lift and alter to find the right ergonomic fit. The company’s product line ranges from fully adjustable desks to smaller desktops that can convert existing desks into standing ones. You can also find solutions for tight cubicle spaces and laptops. At present, Varidesk has 50 new products and 200 more in the works.

Coupled with an efficient shipping process, Varidesk has become a huge success and is making the office workspace healthier. In 2017, McCann and Flaherty were awarded EY Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southwest Region. The company made its millionth sale this month and can proudly claim that over 95% of the Fortune 500 are their clients. Their latest high-profile client is the Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks.

Did you know Varidesk’s experiments and prototyping are considered research and development, and are therefore eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are conducting similar experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and receive up to 14% on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

 

Fort Worth Entrepreneur Making Things a Little Sweeter with Lisa’s Lemonade

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Lemonade was a family favorite in Lisa Freeney’s home. Yet, as a single mother of a son diagnosed with ADHD who cannot consume sugar and preservatives, Freeney understands the importance of a healthy diet for her family. She hoped to find a product suitable for her family’s needs but the market failed to provide one.  And so, Freeney decided to come up with her own recipe. The result? Lisa’s Lemonade.

Launched only just last month, Lisa’s Lemonade has already made quite the splash in the organic food market. With frozen lemonade mixes from carrot ginger to strawberry lemonade, the company offers a unique, organic, and sugar-free take on the American classic drink. Most of her products are sold out on the company’s website.

With her son as the first client, Freeney knew she had to come up with a beverage that was healthy without compromising on taste. It took years to develop the right balance. Freeney described the process as challenging: “My file with failed recipes is packed, dog-eared and now filled with so many great memories of ‘No, not that one!’ with puckered faces and half-finished glasses of lemonade down the drain.” After much trial and error, she discovered the right recipe. As she stated, “Eventually, the perfect recipe emerged and after an almost year’s search for just the right organic sweetener manufacturer, I found them as well. So I’ve done the work, you just sit back and enjoy the flavor. Deal?”

The company maintains that its products are made without pesticides and with organic ingredients, including the sweeteners such as Stevia, erythritol, and a dash of agave. Lisa’s Lemonade is on track to securing the USDA Organic Certification soon.

Speaking at the Entrepreneur Summit in Fort Worth earlier this week, Freeney said, “I had a real passion for this. It was not just to make a product but also to make a difference.”

Did you know Freeney’s trial and error process, even the failed recipes, is considered research and development, and is therefore eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are conducting similar experiments, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and receive up to 14% on your expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

Dallas-based AT&T collaborates in Project Loon effort to reconnect Puerto Rico back to the communication grid

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After Hurricane Maria, 95 percent of Puerto Rico’s cell towers were wiped out, leaving the island without access to communication with the outside world. In an effort to reconnect Puerto Rico, Dallas-based AT&T is working with Google’s parent company Alphabet’s X division as well as Apple to introduce a provisional band of LTE.

The initiative incorporates Alphabet X’s Project Loon, a fleet of balloons that serve as cell phone towers in the sky. First developed in 2013, the technology relies on solar energy and can stay afloat for more than three months. The balloons were initially vulnerable to wind but Alphabet X recently developed ways to move the balloons into the desired places. The purpose of the balloons is to allow those living in remote and rural areas to have internet access, and in the wake of Hurricane Maria, to reconnect Puerto Rico.

However, the balloons extend an existing cellular network, and do not create an independent one. As a result, Alphabet X needed a cellular provider to partner with Project Loon. Dallas-based AT&T which provides service on the island agreed to work with Alphabet X.  AT&T said, “We’re using both traditional and innovative technologies, and are collaborating with humanitarian groups, local and federal governments, and organizations like Project Loon who are bringing additional resources to Puerto Rico to assist in the recovery efforts.” Apple is also working with Project Loon to connect iPhone users on the island.

Because of these joint efforts, AT&T announced it was able to reconnect more than 60 percent of people in Puerto Rico and 90 percent of those in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those numbers are likely to grow.

Are you working on innovative ways to extend internet service and provide access during emergencies like Project Loon’s efforts to reconnect Puerto Rico? You may be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can receive up to 14% on your expenses, even if your experiments were not successful. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

Got the Green Thumb Itch but live in the Concrete Jungle? Dallas-Based Gardenuity combines tech and earth to offer a Customized Gardening Experience

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Anyone living in Dallas can tell you that the urban space is not conducive to growing your own crops. But one Dallas-born entrepreneur hopes to change that. Donna Letier with cofounder Julie Eggers kickstarted the lifestyle tech company Gardenuity to cleverly mix modern technology with old-fashioned gardening. Hailed as the “Blue Apron” of gardening, Gardenuity helps urban dwellers get in touch with their green thumb.

“With technology we are changing the language of gardening,” Letier said. With its Gardenuity Match app, similar to Tinder but for plants and gardeners, users can find their ideal plant based on their zip code, food preference, and lifestyle. Geared towards newcomers to gardening who don’t live near agrarian spaces, Gardenuity then sends clients a customized gardening kit complete with pre-portioned soil, custom compost, the plant itself, a portable container, and planting instructions.  Letier explained, “We won’t sell you something that it’s not the right time to plant. We also create custom compost based on your ZIP code, what you’re growing and the time of year. We’ve really customized it down to the ZIP code, which is really cool.”

The company also developed a “concierge” to assist clients through reminders, weather alerts, and growing tips. For instance, if you are keeping plants on a balcony and a heat wave is coming, the concierge would inform you to bring your plants indoors. As well, the app sends recipes to give you ideas for what to cook from the crops of your garden. Through its coaching, Gardenuity hopes to make gardening a little more convenient. Letier said, “Everyone is busy, the one thing no one has figured out how to grow more of is time, but the desire for people to connect with nature continues to grow. Gardenuity can make everyone a modern-day gardener.”

As Gardenuity shows, gardening and technology are not mutually exclusive. Letier and Eggers collaborated with horticultural engineers and seed breeders to develop Gardenuity’s high quality products. They also partnered with technicians to construct their customized state-of-the-art technology. They are constantly in search of developing new ways to improve their products. The company truly lives up to its namesake of “gardening meets ingenuity.”

While gardening isn’t typically associated with R&D, Gardenuity clearly demonstrates that it developed its current models through a rigorous process of experimentation with software, horticultural engineering, and app development. Did you know this experimentation is eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are also conducting similar trials, even for a company that isn’t explicitly “R&D”, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

“Data is the New Oil” – Dallas Entrepreneur Develops Brainspace to Sift Through All that Information You Don’t Have Time For

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Imagine trying to make sense of millions of emails, text messages, slideshows, and company reports. Sound daunting? That’s what Dallas-born and bred entrepreneur Dave Copps thought. His solution was Brainspace, a new software that does the grunt work of sifting through heaps of information.

With a processing and analyzing speed of about 1 million documents in 45 minutes, Brainspace gathers unstructured information like human language and converts it into a visual representation that makes sense for users and helps them identify patterns. It allows companies to better understand the frequently scattered conversations going on within the organization and to protect those conversations from unwanted hackers. It has also proved useful in lengthy legal investigations and counter-terrorism intelligence.  Used by consulting firms, intelligence agencies, and Fortune 500 companies, Brainspace is transforming the way companies share and analyze information.

During its development stages, it was technically challenging to teach the software to understand human language, especially since humans typically use jargon, puns, and speak sarcastically. To bypass this problem which affects other language systems, Brainspace does not isolate words and meanings. Rather, it gathers information on how that word is used in relation to other words and determines meaning from that context. In one instance, many employees had misspelled “manager” as “manger”. Eventually, Brainspace was able to learn that “manger” meant “manager” because of the context surrounding the word’s use. This technique is useful in finding information that some people try to conceal by using code names. Copps said, “If someone is doing something wrong inside a company and trying to get away with something, they never speak explicitly about what they’re doing wrong. They try to use code names. There’s no history. But it doesn’t matter for us. We see that made-up word, that new word, that slang and we start to associate it with all the words around it and all these different instances where it occurred. Then, we can very quickly tell you what it is.”

This ability to extract information behind concealed meaning is a gamechanger in the counterterrorism field. Copps explained, “It’s really the same problem, but a different data set: How do you take information that you collect about bad guys and find out who they are and what you can do about it to thwart it? Of all the things we’re doing, that’s the one that has me most excited: knowing we can help prevent terrorism.”

Brainspace was absorbed into Cyxtera, a cybersecurity, data center company earlier this year. Cyxtera developed a new version of Brainspace software this year, allowing it to learn over 300 languages including Mandarin and Farsi. Innovation for Brainspace doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Copps said, “Data is really the new oil. If you have information, that’s one thing. But if you have information and can understand it and be able to do things with it, that’s a competitive advantage over anyone else.”

Experimenting with software and codes to make sense of unstructured information like Brainspace? You could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can get up to 14% on your R&D expenses, even if your experiments were not successful. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

 

Luck should have nothing to do with it: Lessons from Hurricane Harvey about Resilient Technology

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Restoration projects continue in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey which had devastated Houston’s infrastructure. Although the destruction was not as bad as it could have been, experts believe that with the increasing likelihood of future deadlier storms, the Lone Star state should invest in more resilient technology. Karl R. Rábago, executive director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center, said in regards to the disaster in Houston, “We’ve dodged a bullet. We should honor our good fortune by not relying on it next time.”

This resilient technology should be directed towards flood management, sustainable power, and ensuring that critical services like fire stations and hospitals could continue to operate in the midst of disasters. During Hurricane Harvey, the W.A. Parish Electric Generating Station, one of the largest power plants in America, had been unable to generate power because of flooding. Water had clogged the station’s conveyor belt, preventing coal from moving throughout the plant and from generating electricity. Consequently, for the future, Joshua D. Rhodes, a postdoctoral researcher at Austin’s Energy Institute at the University of Texas, said, “We’re going to design power plants and oil and gas refineries with flooding in mind. Anything you don’t want to get wet, you move up.”

Diversity of power sources are important as well. Daniel Cohan, a civil and environmental engineering associate professor at Rice University, asserts that Texas should invest in other types of power technology, not just coal and nuclear. Cohan does not believe the solution to resilient technology is to have “a 90-day mountain of coal next to the power plant.” Rather, renewable energies should also be considered.

Additionally, microgrids could help maintain the utility grid, especially near critical services. Because they are local, onsite power generators that are disconnected from traditional power grids, microgrids can still supply electricity into neighborhoods even when the main grids are cut off. According to the Department of Energy, “Depending on how it’s fueled and hot its requirements are managed, a microgrid might run indefinitely.”

Are you engaging in R&D to build more resilient technology? You could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can get up to 14% on your R&D expenses, even if your experiments were not successful. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

 

When Business Insider said In-N-Out, not Whataburger, is Texas’ #1, Texas responded: You don’t mess with the Lone Star State or its Whataburger

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Business Insider announced yesterday it has identified the most popular fast food chains in every state, with Chick-fil-A sweeping most of the country. However, when Texans saw the article’s map, they quickly noticed a major mistake: the article dared to claim that In-N-Out was the Lone Star State’s number one, not Whataburger.

Texans stormed Twitter to express their disagreement and highlight the flaws in Business Insider’s methodology. Business Insider had collaborated with Foursquare, a local search-and-discovery app, to gather data by dividing the number of food chain locations in a given state by the total number of visits to each chain. However, the visits were based on who had checked into the restaurant via Fourquare and not using other metrics. Critics of the study argue that Foursquare is not an accurate source to support Business Insider’s rankings because the app’s popularity has decreased significantly in recent years.

Others pointed out that in terms of number of restaurants alone, Whataburger surpasses In-N-Out on all counts. The latter is a newcomer to Texas, arriving on the scene in 2011, and is concentrated only in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and San Antonio with a total of 35 restaurants. Whataburger, on the other hand, has hundreds of locations throughout Texas, with nearly 200 in Houston, 150 in Austin, and 134 in North Texas. Whataburger first started in 1950 by Harmon Dobson in Corpus Christi and has expanded to nearly 670 locations in Texas. Whataburger is famous for its distinct burger design: the five-inch bun and tasty, 100% beef quarter-pound patty make for a flat, wide burger that doesn’t fall apart when consumed. It’s a Texas classic.

Case in point: in January 2017, a Fort Worth groom was caught on video dancing with a Whataburger during his wedding. The video has gone viral on Facebook:

 

https://www.facebook.com/CandleLightFilms/videos/1370585132971845/

 

 

In 2016, Texas Monthly conducted a blind taste test between Whataburger and four other fast food chains. The result: Whataburger earned 45 out of a possible 55 points and was the clear winner. There’s no dispute: Whataburger in king.

Part of the company’s success is due to Whataburger constantly developing new ways to improve its manufacturing processes and create new food products. Did you know these processes are considered R&D and could be eligible for up to 14% back on the R&D Tax Credit? If you are also conducting experiments to build the next best American food chain, you could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit.To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is Texas’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firm, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program in Texas, from claim prep & audit compliance to claim disputes.  

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative

DFW-based Methodist Health System adopts Epic Electronic Health Record to integrate patient records

AI and R&D tax credit software

The exchange of health information between patients and providers has come a long way in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) region, especially with the adoption of the Epic Electronic Health Record, but it still has a long way to go.

Earlier this year, Pamela McNutt, senior vice president and Chief Information Officer of the DFW-based Methodist Health System, launched the Epic Electronic Health Record (EHR) across the system’s 46 facilities, consisting of hospitals as well as teaching, specialty, and community practice clinics. The goal was to integrate patient records and allow patients to be on one portal. Prior to Epic’s implementation, the Methodist Health System used MEDITECH and NextGen but these did not always serve the system’s needs. McNutt explains, “[W]e really felt like we needed an integrated record. That was number one. Also, so many other people in the Dallas-Fort Worth region had Epic already, so physicians had experience using it.” With 190 million people on Epic worldwide and with most Texas providers already using Epic and its web-based service EpicCare Link, McNutt noted integration has become more accessible: “We are exchanging thousands of records every day. This exchange is happening with non-Epic providers, too.”

Of course, there are still improvements needed in the exchange of health information. Physicians are often burdened by the amount of documentation they need to do in addition to their regular practice. McNutt expressed hope that the Epic Electronic Health Record and other new technologies could assist with that burden on providers in the future, “whether it’s a tap-and-go-single sign-on with a badge, or using best practice templates.” She further added that IT systems need to be constantly upgraded to meet the changing needs of the healthcare market. Innovation is also key.

As the software company behind the Electronic Health Record, Epic is no stranger to innovation. For one, the company has introduced smartphone access to its software. It also offers programs to help patients know the risk of developing certain diseases, such as diabetes. As well, Sumit Rana, Epic’s senior vice president of research and development, imagines that tele-health will become an integral part of health care by 2018, allowing patients to participate in video appointments with their healthcare providers. Part of Epic’s success could be attributed to the fact that the company invests 50% of its operating expenses in R&D.

Did you know Epic’s R&D experiments are eligible for the R&D Tax Credit? If you are doing similar product developments like Epic, you could be eligible as well and can receive up to 14% of your R&D expenses. To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE credits as well as CPE credits for CPA’s.  For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.