"We see mobile devices as a key ingredient to help increase productivity," says Intuit product manager Ryan Farley, who notes a rapidly growing installed base of tablet computers and smartphones among Intuit's customer base.
Despite the clamor for more features, there's a question about just what fits on a mobile device's screen. CCH has extended some features of its IntelliConnect Research platform to its CCH Mobile applications. And while some users might complain it's not IntelliConnect itself, "You do not want IntelliConnect on your Blackberry," says Kathy Drommerhausen, a CCH product marketing manager. CCH Mobile supports iPhones and Blackberrys with the iPad undergoing testing.
It's clear that some major packages such research and tax preparation don't fit Smartphone screens, although they do well on tablet computers. That leaves vendors balancing requests for features with what's feasible and how easy products are to develop and get to market in a form that users can easily view.
CS Mobile gives users access to their Practice CS databases, optimized for mobile use, to provide information such as A/R balances and projects that are being worked on. And while, according to Fleszar, having mobile features has been a factor in the purchases decisions of several firms, the features coming appear more crucial. That includes the ability to entry time remotely, which will be available early some time next year. The company also plans applications that will be available for both accounting and tax professionals and their clients.
Both clients and professionals will download applications from the appStore "That will give the ability for the accounting firm to push data to the clients for their mobile devices," says Fleszar. Those applications will have the firms' brands, not Thomson's. Thomson envisions both users and accountants tracking electronically filed returns via mobile devices. Firms will also be able to access documents on portals. Although users and firms won't be able to send documents to portals via smartphones "You would be able to do that with the iPad," Fleszar says. Mobile CS currently supports iPhones and iPads
Intuit pictures itself as having gotten more functionality on its mobile devices than its competitors. Farley says iPhone users can perform searches using Intuit's ProLine Research product via the iPhone, Droid and Blackberry Torch platforms.
But like Thomson, coming up quickly on Intuit's roadmap are practice management features, including engagement workflow tracking. Among these are the ability to track tax returns and to have professionals post documents and have clients access them via Web portals. Farley envisions an accountant being able to use a remote device to provide the last three years' tax returns via a portal to a client who is at a bank.
CCH and Thomson have taken the same tack on the initial foray, making the first applications free. CCH notes that additional subscription pricing will be forthcoming sometime in 2011. For the moment, mobile users can access Tax Tracker News; primary materials that include Internal Revenue Code and Regulations; and tax tools and calculators. Access to SmartCharts depends on a firm's IntelliConnect subscription level.
CCH has one tool the others don't, so far - eBooks, which makes published material available on computers and e-readers. This includes the iPad and Mac and PCs, but not yet, Amazon's Kindle. CCH is making a broad range of material available from its tax, accounting and auditing publications.
