CPA Practice Advisor - 18

REVIEW: CLIENT PORTAL SYSTEMS
THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION involves a lot of paper. While that
are numerous accounting firms out there that are not using client
portals. While firms reluctant to offer portals typically offer a variety
of reasons why they're not offering them, one of the myths that have
continued to perpetuate is that they are just too complicated for both
staff and clients.

OCTOBER 2019 ■

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Mary Girsch-Bock is a freelance
writer specializing in business
and technology issues and is
the author of her first book,
several HR handbooks, training
manuals, and other in-house
publications. She can be reached
at mary.girschbock@cpapracticeadvisor.com

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visits to drop off paperwork
become a thing of the past,
freeing up the schedules of
staff members and clients,
while the possibility of lost or
misplaced documents drops
to near zero.
In this issue, we reviewed
several client portals, with
many of these portals
designed specifically for
the professional accounting
firm. The products reviewed
include:
■ AccountantsWorld Client
Portals
■ CCH Axcess Portal
■ Citrix Share File
■ Imag ineShare from
ImagineTime
■ SmartVault
■ Thomson Reuters NetClient
CS
As always, a features
chart is included in the
review that indicates which
features are found in each of
the reviewed products.
Before you start looking

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providing preliminary work
papers, firms can also share
completed returns with
clients via the portal, where
they can access, electronically
sign, and return the return
for filing. Most portals today
are compatible with mobile
devices, so staff and clients
can easily upload or download
a document when necessary.
While increasing efficiency and productivity,
web portals also reduce the
mounds of paperwork that
can bog down even the most
efficient CPA office. Portals
also eliminate the need to
copy stacks of document
and be sure those copies are
routed to the correct staff
member. While easier for
accounting firms, clients
also love the convenience of
having access to documents
at their convenience, as well
the additional security that
web portals offer. In office
appointments and multiple

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If you spend just a few
minutes looking at the
products included in this
review of Web Portals, you'll
see that using a portal is
relatively simple, and can
provide a number of benefits
that accounting professionals
can truly appreciate.
Another myth is that
web portals are only useful
for larger accounting firms.
And while they are certainly
useful for larger firms, they
can prove to be just as useful
for smaller firms that have
limited resources.
Web portals can drastically reduce the time it takes
to obtain documents from
clients. Instead of waiting
until a client faxes in or
emails a document, firms
can provide their clients with
a list of documents required,
which the client, in turn, can
simply upload to the portal,
where they are accessed
by firm staff. In addition to

ACCOUNTANTS WORLD
CITRIX SHARE FILE
IMAGINESHARE
NET CLIENT CS
SMARTVAULT
CCH AXCESS PORTAL

18

for a portal, it can be helpful
to determine which features
are most important to you.
Do you want your clients to
have unlimited access to the
portal at all times, or do you
want them to only access the
portal at certain times? For
accounting firms that process
payroll for clients, it can be
important that the portal
offer access to both the client
and the client's employees, so
they can access important
documentation such as W-2s
or paystubs. Fortunately, all
of the products included in
this review offer a free trial,
so you can try them out at
your leisure, which can help
tremendously when trying
to decide which portal would
work best for your firm, your
staff, and your clients.
Don't believe the myths.
Try one of these web portals
out and see for yourself just
how useful and easy to use
web portals can be. ■

doesn't come as a surprise, what may come as a surprise is that there

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Myths
of
Client
Portal
Systems

By Mary Girsch-Bock

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http://www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
CPA Practice Advisor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPA Practice Advisor
