CPA Practice Advisor - 8

REVIEW: DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

By Mary Girsch-Bock

Paper is Still in Charge

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Document Storage
■■ Cloud Cabinet by AccountantsWorld
■■ SmartVault Document Storage
Document Management
■■ CCH Axcess Document by Wolters
Kluwer, CCH
■■ PSIsafe by PSIGEN
■■ Doc-It Suite
■■ eFileCabinet
■■ GoFileRoom by Thomson Reuters
■■ iChannel by Conarc
■■ Onvio by Thomson Reuters
We also looked at a couple of
document management systems that are
included as part of a broader software
system:
■■ Drake Documents (part of Drake's
professional tax system)
■■ OfficeTools WorkSpace
Many of these applications also offer
a free demo so check a few of them out
and see which ones feel right.
If you're tired of spending your
days searching for the elusive missing
document, why not start managing
documents smarter with a document
management system? Your staff and
your clients will thank you.

Clien

CCH AXCESS DOCUMENT
DOC.IT SUITE
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DOCUMENT
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEMS

to you and to your clients. They entrust
you with their livelihood in many ways,
and the image you want to present to
them is not one of disorganization. If
paper is threatening to take over your
life, you're not alone. Millions of dollars
are spent annually in operating costs just
looking for lost documents.
But this doesn't have to be your story.
Not if you switch to a paperless office.
While that might sound daunting, after
a few weeks of finding documents with
ease, even the most reluctant participant
will likely sing its praises. Using a document management system (DMS) will
first and foremost reduce those piles of
papers into manageable stacks, maybe
even eliminating them all together. But
more importantly, using a DMS will allow
you to locate the file or the document
you need, without having to search four
offices, the lunch room and the rest room
to locate that needed item.
Though the early document man-

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That is changing. As more offices
discover the benefits of a paperless office,
more are making the switch to paperless.
After all, will anyone really miss the lost
hours spent searching for a document,
only to find it buried in a stack of papers
in the copy room? Or the numerous
papercuts received from pulling paper
files out of an overstuffed file cabinet?
Then there's the matter of time.
Or more accurately, time wasted. You
likely hired your assistant to actually
assist you, but how much time does
your assistant spend making copies,
filing copies, or searching for missing
copies? And what about you? Have you
found yourself wasting a day's worth of
productivity because you misplaced a
document or a file? Have you made the
dreaded phone call to a client, asking to
have a document resent that you know
you had, but today, have no idea where
it is? Again, who hasn't?
The task of accounting is important,

agement systems were designed with
larger businesses in mind, there is such
a variety of applications available now at
all price points that document management software is within the reach of any
firm that is ready to make the move to
paperless.
If you're ready to demolish that
stack of papers once and for all, be
aware that there are two types of document management systems available:
Document Storage, which is designed
for electronic storage of all documents,
including document organization and
easy retrieval, and Document Management, which also includes nifty features
like version control, that ensures that the
document you're accessing is the latest,
greatest version of the document. Document management systems also typically
include document archiving and annotation ability, with both coming in handy
for CPA firms.
In this issue of CPA Practice Advisor,
we reviewed both document storage and
document management systems, with a
features chart included with the review.
The products we reviewed include:

Man
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PAPER TAKES OVER the world. It sounds like a bad science
fiction movie, but in some offices, it isn't much of an exaggeration. In paper driven industries like accounting and
banking, paper is still in charge.

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SEPTEMBER 2020 ■

www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com

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OFFICETOOLS WORKSPACE
SMARTVAULT DOCUMENT STORAGE

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CPA Practice Advisor

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CPA Practice Advisor

From the Editor: Repetition and the Way of the World
Auditing in the Age of COVID-19: How COVID-19 Unexpectedly Advanced the Future of Accounting
From the Trenches: Does Your Firm Have a Clear Vision for Document Management
2020 Product Reviews: Document Management and Document Storage Systems
Apps We Love: Outfitting Your Home Office
The Leadership Advisor: Is There a Right Way to Reopen Your Office?
The Labor Law Advisor: An Unsettled Workforce
The Proadvisor Spotlight: QuickBooks Desktop 2021 Offers More Automation to Save Time and Boost Productivity
Marketing Your Firm: 5 Lead Nurturing Email Program Tips
The Millennial Advisor: Punch the Clock: Why You Should Stop Billing By the Hour
The Staffing & HR Advisor: The Future of Finance: Hiring Tips & Trends for 2021
AICPA News: A Round Up of Recent Association News and Events
Bridging the Gap: 4 Phases of Launching a New Service Virtually
CPA Practice Advisor - 1
CPA Practice Advisor - 2
CPA Practice Advisor - 3
CPA Practice Advisor - From the Editor: Repetition and the Way of the World
CPA Practice Advisor - Auditing in the Age of COVID-19: How COVID-19 Unexpectedly Advanced the Future of Accounting
CPA Practice Advisor - From the Trenches: Does Your Firm Have a Clear Vision for Document Management
CPA Practice Advisor - 7
CPA Practice Advisor - 2020 Product Reviews: Document Management and Document Storage Systems
CPA Practice Advisor - 9
CPA Practice Advisor - 10
CPA Practice Advisor - 11
CPA Practice Advisor - Apps We Love: Outfitting Your Home Office
CPA Practice Advisor - 13
CPA Practice Advisor - The Leadership Advisor: Is There a Right Way to Reopen Your Office?
CPA Practice Advisor - The Labor Law Advisor: An Unsettled Workforce
CPA Practice Advisor - The Proadvisor Spotlight: QuickBooks Desktop 2021 Offers More Automation to Save Time and Boost Productivity
CPA Practice Advisor - Marketing Your Firm: 5 Lead Nurturing Email Program Tips
CPA Practice Advisor - The Millennial Advisor: Punch the Clock: Why You Should Stop Billing By the Hour
CPA Practice Advisor - 19
CPA Practice Advisor - The Staffing & HR Advisor: The Future of Finance: Hiring Tips & Trends for 2021
CPA Practice Advisor - 21
CPA Practice Advisor - AICPA News: A Round Up of Recent Association News and Events
CPA Practice Advisor - Bridging the Gap: 4 Phases of Launching a New Service Virtually
CPA Practice Advisor - 24
CPA Practice Advisor - 25
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/august2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/CPA_Practice_Advisor_July_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/CPA_Practice_Advisor_June_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/may2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/CPA_Practice_Advisor_April_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/CPA_Practice_Advisor_March_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/february2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/november2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/october2019
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https://www.nxtbook.com/endeavor/cpapracticeadvisor/april2019
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