How much time are you spending on looking for paperwork in a file cabinet? Why are you spending time faxing over documents to clients, when you can print them to a portal and they can access them whenever they need them? Are any of the above tasks billable? More importantly, how much of your most precious asset are you losing by doing tasks that don’t need to be done anymore when there is technology to help you? If you are not currently using a document management system, now is the time to get it started and enjoy the extra billable time you will have available. And believe me, we are talking about a significant amount of billable time that can be recovered by a good document management system.
When we talk about a document management system it is also best to think about using a secure portal as the document repository. All the software we reviewed have not only a solid document management system but also a portal to locate those documents for your clients and staff. Three of the five programs I reviewed are part of a suite of software. They designed the document management systems to take advantage of integration and also the SaaS model. One of the programs works exclusively with QuickBooks and is not only designed for Accountants but also for businesses to manage their document flow. And then there is the one company that is only focused on document management. Doc.It was built from the ground up solely for the purpose of managing your work flow. Everyone one of these programs are very well written and will save you lots of time and money. As the pricing on these products are a bit more complex as some include the portals and others don't. Some have different pricing if they are SaaS or if they are on your computer. Therefore, we are not including pricing in the review. However, I will definitely say, price should not at all be an issue, as each of these programs is well worth the cost and will pay for themselves in one or two months. Not many other products can provide such a fast ROI.
Here is a list of the Document Management products that were reviewed:
• CyberCabinet, Accountants World
• Doc.It
• FileCabinet CS, Thomson Reuters
• ProSystem Fx Document, CCH
• SmartVault
In the review we will share how each program is marketed, what each company feels is the top three competitive advantages, what we felt were the best features and what the downfall was of each program. As in all software programs all the companies felt their own product was easy to use. Every program uses the latest and greatest technology and has a portal solution. The biggest difference you will see in each program is on how they work with your other programs and how easily you can blend managing your documents with your work flow. Without any further ado.
CyberCabinet
AccountantsWorld
Hauppauge, N.Y.
(888) 999-1366
www.accountantsworld.com
CyberCabinet is marketed as a Web-based practical document management system for small to mid-sized firms that does a lot more than just eliminating paper in your office. It allows you to share these documents with your clients securely and access them around the clock from anyplace and anytime. The top three features that the company says makes CyberCabinet the best choice are the following:
1) Very easy and intuitive to use with very little learning curve. Each client has a folder and all documents related to the clients are stored in that folder. It is very easy to share documents across all your clients and within your firm. The product uses standard Windows features such as cut, copy, paste, rename and delete making it usable within hours in your firm.
2) You can archive your accounting, payroll and tax documents to CyberCabinet without worrying about losing another document, ever again. If you using Accounting Relief or Payroll Relief, just archive directly to CyberCabinet. The documents are stored on clustered servers, creating a highly redundant and continuously available solution. Moreover, data is backed up hourly, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. No more worrying about hard disk crashes or virus infections.
3) Accountant and client collaboration lets you share financials and tax documents securely with your clients. Have clients upload documents to you. Through clients' permissions you control what documents your clients can view and if they can upload documents.
This is a very well-written program that has many features that will save you a lot of time. Items such as scanning documents and attaching them accounts payables invoices. Scanning invoices and having them flow right into Accountants Relief. You can attach images to documents. It is a very intuitive program to use. There is some set up involved but it very easy to do. The really nice thing is that when you are attaching documents to a client, you can attach from email, pdf's and virtually anywhere and it stays in its native form. It is very cool to have the document saved as you had entered. You never know when you will have to go back and forward an email to a client. I also find this program does a nice job of allowing collaboration with clients. It is especially a good tool for you if you do the bookkeeping for your clients. Let's say your client wants you to pay bills but they want to approve what you pay first. There are many tools in the program that not only make it easy to do but also provide a CYA factor. And yes you will need a scanner to have this work to your advantage, but today not only are scanners inexpensive but they are easy to set up and use. There are also a host of ways to email the data to your client if you need to that is done in seconds and will impress your clients with your efficiency and knowledge of their data and their needs.
The downside of this program is that if you are using another write-up program a lot of the benefits would be lost. However, if you are using Accountants Relief and don't have this product, what the heck are you waiting for? Or if you want a Web-based document management solution that will make your life easier you should take a close look at this product.
Docit
Las Vegas, Nev.
(888) 362-4833
www.docit.com
DocIt is marketed as a complete digital document management solution that includes software, training and implementation methodology developed by accountants for accountants. The company focuses on helping the Accounting Profession go paperless. The top three items it feels makes the product the best choice are the following:
1) A complete solution that is not just about storing documents. They provide work flow, scanning, email, Pdf editor, WIP binder, publisher, archive tools and portals.
2) They have all kinds of tools available to help with implementation, training and best practices so when you are set up you have a fully functional system.
3) The system includes a task list that optimizes the best schedule of activities for your time based on your objectives.
Let's see.. where to start on this product... It is very obvious this product is written by someone that not only understands accounting but understands process. As one that is a process junkie (meaning not much excites me more than a good process and looks for better processes daily to not only improve my clients processes but to help me employ good processes in my practice), I was very impressed by this product. It really does offer a complete solution. I love that it has a task manager built in. But my most favorite part of this is that you create a Wip binder. You put everything in it for whatever engagement you are working on at the time. And I mean you can put everything, notes from clients, staff, emails and anything you keep for your engagements even things you don't want your clients to see.
But that is fine because it is a Wip binder. Then when you are done, you can decide what you need to put together for your client and then you actually publish the binder for them. Very cool. After all, what is that we are selling to our clients but a finished good and this product helps you deliver just that. The product includes a PDF editor so you don't have to worry about updating another program to have this system work well. Another very good feature is the way the system handles archiving the data.
I had to work hard to come up with a downside of this program but nothing is perfect. It may a bit much for a smaller firm that has under 20 business clients. Other than that, this is a well thought out program that is well worth your time to review and see if it would work for your firm.
FileCabinet CS
Thomson Reuters
Dexter, Mich.
(800)
http://cs.thomsonreuters.com
FileCabinet CS is marketed as designed specifically for accountants to store all their documents digitally, so you and your staff can access, view, or email them in an instant, in the process, taking your firm to its full paperless potential. The top three items the company believes makes FileCabinet the best choice for accounting firms are the following:
1. FileCabinet CS takes full advantage of the fully integrated suite of products. Seamless integration enables you to print from specific CS Professional Suite applications directly to FileCabinet CS, and view a list of stored client files and open them without leaving the workspace of other CS Professional Suite programs.
2. Speedy processing with Optical Character Recognition Technology. The FileCabinet CS Source Document module enables you to transmit scanned tax source documents to the Thomson Reuters Data Center for OCR processing, labeling, organizing, page naming and data extraction. The extracted tax data can be reviewed and modified, and then integrated directly into the UltraTax CS for use in preparing individual tax returns. No data re-entry is required.
3. The integration between FileCabinet CS and NetClient CS portals. This enables you to make working documents available to clients 24/7, as well as final returns, financial statements, via their own secure portal on your Web site.
FileCabinet CS like all other Thomson products is a top-quality software. It is a very robust program that could also stand alone and adds a big bang for someone using any of the other products in the suite. These products have been taking advantage of technology and portals for many years and have paved the way for many of the others in this review. As such, there are so many very cool features that it is hard to detail all of them. But I will try.
The OCR feature is unique to FileCabinet, no others in this review have this ability. What it does is takes a source document, like a 1099-Misc and scans it off to Thomson and it flows into UltraTax CS. Now it doesn't just put it in but it allows you to view it and make sure it is all set and then approve it and then it is done for you with no extra input. I was able to have a demonstration of it and it can be a powerful tool for firms during tax season.
Another feature that is available in FileCabinet but not all others in this review is that you can scan from inside the program as long as it is a twain compatible scanner. It allows you to pull the documents together in one PDF or you can leave them as separate pages and name each one separately if you prefer. Commonly used names can be created and saved so you can click on a button to name your documents. You can set up archive criteria so that you can automate that process. If you want to surprise your client you can add your voice to any document that you send to them. You can customize your emails to include your logo and a banner sheet. It pulls in email addresses from your system to save time. Another nice thing about the system is that if you buy it before you really can spend time implementing it that is alright because you can simply print documents right to the system and then organize them later. Although, not ideal it will get you moving in the right direction and have you start saving time immediately.
The downfall of this program is that it is the only product in the review that saves everything as a PDF and not in the native form. However, unless you used a system that allowed for that you won't know what you are missing. All in all, if you are using any of the CS suites of products you would be silly not to add this product on, it pays for itself in a month at the most. And if you are don't use any other CS product, you can always start with this one, so call them and get moving on your review.
ProSystem fx Document
CCH
Riverwoods, Ill.
(800)
http://www.cch.com
ProSystem fx Document is marketed as a way to manage your "firm of the future". It is the industry's leading document management solution designed by CPAs for CPAs, and strengthens client relationships with secure, online collaboration using their Client Portals. The top three areas CCH thinks tops the competition are as follows:
1. The ability to search for documents inside Document with the same features and capabilities as you can in Microsoft Outlook searches.
2. The ability to drag-and-drop emails directly to your client list in Microsoft Outlook, and enhance collaboration within your firm by making selected client emails accessible to everyone.
3. Customize the configuration and layout of your Document home page to specifically support the way you work every day.
I was very fortunate to see the newest next generation version of Document that was just shown at their annual users conference. It takes full advantage of all the .net functionality and has made this a very top notch product. The product interface is that of a dashboard and the look and feel is very much like all other Microsoft products. Therefore, you have an immediate comfort in using the products. By opening the dashboard you can look at your client list and there are many visual cues. For example, if you see a red dot you know that the client is open by someone.
The nice part is that doesn't mean you can't get into that client. You can still open that same client and even email or drop information on the portal, you just can't update that document. You can't write over other version and/or lose versions. There is also common database that allows you enter information in one place and then it is everywhere else. They also have a suite of software that is based on the Software as a Service model and if you have other products in the suite, you would be silly not to have this piece as it is very tightly integrated.
The downside to this program is that the biggest benefit for the product is if you are using other CCH products. However, like the other products this system benefits are tremendous and you would be silly not to take a good look at this product and see how it would fit into your firm.
SmartVault
SmartVault Corp.
Houston, Texas
(713) 479-5400
www.smartvault.com.
SmartVault is marketed as a way to integrate the power of QuickBooks and SaaS for the ultimate online document management solution. It is a Web-based solution that that transforms QuickBooks into an easy-to-use document management system. The top three areas SmartVault picks as outpacing others in the field are as follows:
1. Ease of use. The unique integration of the SmartVault toolbar inside the QuickBooks window gives users the ability to scan and attach documents directly to more than 30 transaction types in QuickBooks, without changing the way they work.
2. The Software as a Service (SaaS) model means that customers have anytime, anywhere access to their documents via QuickBooks or SmartVault's secure online document portal. The subscription model means there is no upfront software to buy or costly training or implementation. Users can cancel at any time.
3. A relentless focus on the user experience, with features such as the SmartVault Inbox which offers users the ability to scan and upload documents for later processing, the ability to drag and drop e-mail messages and attachments from Outlook, a special integration with the Fujitsu ScanSnap line of scanners and the ability to order a document archive at any time.
SmartVault is a very well thought-out product. The features and functionality are at par, if not better than, many of the products in this review. The product works not only for accountants but also for clients that are using QuickBooks. The program set up adds only three morel icons inside QuickBooks, making it exceedingly simple for someone to add-on and use. It really helps one get set up on a document management system relatively seamlessly. All the documents are stored on a secure server offsite. There are ways to set up the permissions to restrict and allow access for a client or staff member. If you are doing bookkeeping for a client there are many bonus features in this program that make it a huge timesaver. While you are using QB, you can add notes and scanned receipts or emails that belong to an accounts payable invoice. The integration with the Fujitsu scansnap scanners is another added bonus. You can scan without realizing that you are scanning. It is a single click onto the scanner button in the inbox. They have the system set up so that is like a task list. You can have items sitting in your inbox and view them and see what is urgent and then address them. Thus it has a workflow feel to the software as well.
The downside to this program is that it currently only integrates with Quickbook. But if you are using Quickbooks, you should take time to review this for either yourself or your clients on Quickbooks.
Now that you have read this review, start your own. Today is the day for you to begin your own document management system! Enjoy the freedom of being able to see your desk again.
