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

Is autonomous flying the next big thing?

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Near Earth Autonomy (NEA) develops technology for a large variety of unmanned flying vehicles from drones to flying cars to commercial planes. Boeing has announced a significant investment into NEA in hope to make autonomous flying the ‘next big thing’.

The investment is in fact part of a broader effort in creating and promoting an industry-wide standard for autonomous flying. Boeing has solidified autonomous flying into its ideal future targets with three specific goals, which are to: Fly safely, land safely and navigate without GPS.

The key factor which makes a vehicle autonomous is its ability to make decisions. It is no secret that commercial planes already have the ability to fly on autopilot, however they still rely on GPS to orient themselves and are unable to analyse their surroundings and adjust to circumstances without the help of a pilot.

NEA have been pursuing technology to aid autonomous vehicles in this decision making process since 2011 and their partnership with Boeing will continue to center around tools to help vehicles synthesize data from their surroundings and output their own plan.

The biggest task ahead for Boeing and NEA in implementing their innovative technologies actually has little to do with the development and is in fact being able to convince the U.S. government that their vision is worth a chance. There the agenda of the companies will be proving to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that their vehicles can be trusted to fly safely.

Boeing is continuing to make significant investments into its vision and goal to making autonomous flying the way of the future; however the question remains whether it can get others on board.

Are you engaging in R&D to build innovative 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.

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.

“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.

Emergency drones used in search of missing toddler in North Texas

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The search continues for Sherin Mathews, a 3-year-old toddler who has been missing from her home in Richardson, Texas since October 7. Emergency drones were deployed yesterday as the latest surveillance measure in hopes of finding the missing girl.

According to the International Business Times, Sherin’s father Wesley Mathews had allegedly left his daughter outside at 3 am as a form of punishment for not drinking her milk. When he returned 15 minutes later, she had disappeared. Police said that though coyotes are often seen in the area, there is little evidence that Sherin was mauled by a bear. Kidnapping also appears unlikely.

Police and volunteers have been searching in fields, creeks, and wooded areas for the missing girl. Locating missing persons is very arduous but every second counts. An officer said, “We’re always hopeful that we can find her alive. But time is our enemy.” Aerial surveillance can offer these extra precious seconds. The North Texas Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Response Team are using emergency drones to search for Sherin. Jamie Moore, Emergency Management Director of Johnson County, stated, “It gives you a much better perspective of what the terrain looks like, what the ground looks like. You can see car tracks for example that might have driven through dirt. You can see where dirt may have been disturbed, and you can see articles of clothing.” While the police cannot disclose all the details, Moore is hopeful the scouting efforts of the emergency drones has provided important information for finding Sherin.

Smaller police departments short on manpower and resources are quickly resorting to investing in drone technology. Compared to helicopters, emergency drones offer air surveillance at a fraction of the cost of an actual aircraft and they can reach areas that aircrafts usually cannot. This week’s search is not the first time drones have been used in police investigations. Emergency drones have been deployed in North Texas since 2015. Earlier this year in March, drones was used in Dallas for the search of 38-year-old Matthew Meinert whose body was found a couple days later. Drones have also been used to hunt down criminals and to scope out critical situations like fires.

Drones are expected to become commonplace in police investigations, especially as the technology advances. “If you can save a life because you were able to locate somebody very quickly, a matter of minutes as opposed to a matter of hours, that’s worth investing in,” said Moore.

Are you developing life-saving emergency drones and aerial surveillance technology through R&D? You could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can receive up to 14% on your expenses. 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

18 billionaires from Dallas-Fort Worth make Forbes’ 400 Richest Americans List in 2017

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Forbes released its annual 400 Richest Americans list on Tuesday, October 17 and the verdict is in: 18 of the 34 Texans who made the cut call Dallas-Fort Worth “home”.

The richest Texan is Alice Walton, 68, the Walmart heiress who resides in Dallas-Fort Worth and whose estimated net worth is at $38.2 billion. She ranks No. 13 on the Forbes 400. She is an active curator of art, serving as Chairman of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas and having supported the Amon Carter Museum of American Art.

Texas’ economy is diverse but its main sources of wealth are oil, gas, and pipelines. The Forbes 400 reflected this with Robert Bass, Ray Lee Hunt, Trevor Rees-Jones, and Sid Bass among DFW residents in the Top 400 whose fortunes were built on oil. Others like Andrew Beal and H. Ross Perot Senior and Junior made their wealth through real estate. Sports also played a role, with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, worth an estimated $5.6 billion, rounding out the top three richest Texans and No. 95 in the country. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has an estimated $3.3 billion, making him the 21st richest Texan.  Cuban is also an investor on the television show, “Shark Tank.”

Bill Gates remains the richest American, with $89 billion. Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, claimed the No.2 spot with $81.5 billion, replacing Warren Buffett who previously held title for fifteen years and now sits at No. 3 with $78 billion. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg rounded the top four Richest Americans with a net worth of $71 billion.

2017 has proven a successful year for the country’s wealthiest Americans. Forbes’ 400 criteria jumped from 2016’s $1.7 billion net worth threshold to $2 billion. The Forbes 400’s total net worth is $2.7 trillion compared to last year’s $2.4 trillion.

Despite the minimum increase, 22 newcomers made the Forbes 400 list with 14 of them being self-made entrepreneurs. Notable innovators include Don Vultaggio, founder of Arizona ice tea and Tito Beveridge who created Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Netflix founder Reed Hastings also notably landed a spot on the Forbes 400 with an estimated $2.2 billion.

Are you an aspiring entrepreneur in Dallas-Fort Worth engaging in R&D to develop new products and maybe one day make the Forbes 400 Richest Americans List? You could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and can receive up to 14% on your expenses. 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

Fort Worth plastic surgeon’s non-invasive CoolSculpting demonstrates R&D in cosmetic surgery industry

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Most people wouldn’t immediately think of research and development when they think of cosmetic surgery, but this Fort Worth-based plastic surgeon’s decision to introduce CoolSculpting in her practice demonstrates otherwise.

In a press release earlier today, Kirby Plastic Surgery in Fort Worth announced that it will offer CoolSculpting as a fat reduction treatment. Citing safety and efficacy for her clients, Dr. Emily Kirby asserts that CoolSculpting has improved in recent years and offers the product needed by clients. FDA-cleared, the procedure reduces fat by using cryolipolysis to freeze the skin and destroy fat cells without harming surrounding tissues. It reduces isolated fat bulges without the need for needles, incisions, anaesthesia, and there is no downtime for patients. From a process of research and development, CoolAdvantage was also developed. Building on the findings of CoolSculpting, CoolAdvantage treats more parts of the body, including thighs, chin, and arms, in addition to the abdomen and flanks. It is also faster than its predecessor, cutting down treatment duration from one hour to 35 minutes.

The procedure is non-invasive and more comfortable than traditional plastic surgery treatments. Dr. Kirby states, “A growing number of patients have expressed interest in minimally invasive alternatives to surgery to address effects of genetics, aging and childbearing on their bodies. My priority is to provide patients the results they want in a safe, predictable way.” Plastic surgery is on the rise, with over 11.6 million nonsurgical procedures conducted in 2016 in the United States, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. New technologies are constantly being developed.

Are you also developing new or improving existing body sculpting technologies? Did you know this constitutes R&D? If this sounds like you, you could be eligible for an R&D Tax Credit, even if your experiments and trials haven’t been 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.