Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/116963
Reviews For Your Clients PORTALS CCH ProSystem fx Portal BEST FIT Accounting professionals who need the ability to create, update, and manage up to 2,500 or more client portals in a powerful client interface. Te Enterprise version supports unlim ited portals. Firms who use the CCH ProSystem fx suite of applications (but not necessarily those who use CCH Small Firm Services). Firms who want to publish invoices, tax returns, and documents to portals from within other applications. Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10891900 STRENGTHS ��� Easy to use interface with customizable firm branding which supports d rag a nd d rop i nto most web browsers. ��� Good integrations with ProSystem fx Tax, ProSystem fx Document, Global fx Tax, and ProSystem fx Engagement. ��� Customizable client-facing materials for explaining how to use the portal and automated password reset e-mails for clients. ��� Files can be archived and removed Ziptr Client Portals either by setings for an entire folder ProSystem fx Document. or using individual setings for each Te service does not encrypt data at fle. rest on its servers, which may be required by some states. POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS ProSystem fx Portal ofers good integra- SUMMARY & PRICING tion with most software in the CCH ProSystem fx Portal is a good ft for many suite, including ProSystem fx Document frms, especially those running the ProSaaS and ProSystem fx Engagement, System fx suite of applications. Plans however, there is not any special integra- start at $630 per year ($52.50/mo). tion with the CCH Small Firm Services 800-PFX-9998 applications (ATX, TaxWise, etc.) or the CCHGroup.com on-premises Foundation version of Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10892846 is encrypted both online as well as on recipients portal with Ziptr), and the BEST FIT Ziptr is best suited for individuals and the user���s hard drive with 256 bit AES frm has no more responsibility for the data. frms who need a standalone product for encryption. secure messaging and encrypted file ��� Te product is hosted on Amazon���s secure data centers in two diferent POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS delivery. US locations w ith fai lover. T he ��� Te encrypted fle vault does not have Company has an independent atestaa t r a d it ion a l folde r s t r uc t u re , STRENGTHS although items can be categorized and ��� A simple to use tool with strong tion on its environment (SOC 3 last year, SOC 2 Type II this year). fltered. Users with a large number of encryption that makes it easy to collaborate on confdential maters with ��� Outlook add-in reminds users to use fles in their vault, especially if many Ziptr for secure communications have similar names, will need to use users outside the firm. Users can instead of e-mail. E-mail messages in the included labels/tags to maintain verify that the other party has seen the progress can be easily converted to the organizations of those items. message with return receipts. ��� Messages can sit unanswered for days ��� Ziptr allows users to send encrypted Ziptr without leaving Outlook. if a user does not check their Ziptr messages and fles to other Ziptr users ��� When data is delivered to the third party, it is no longer stored on the account for messages, and some of the using a proprietary messaging application. Files are stored in a vault which Firm���s portal (it is stored in the associated sofware runs in the back- ground all of the time. ��� There are no available integrations with professional accounting and tax applications at this time. SUMMARY & PRICING A limited plan for individuals with 2GB of encrypted storage is free; business plans start at $10 per user per month, and include web access, an Outlook plugin, secure messaging, and the ability to insert custom message footers onto all messages. 785-365-1022 www.ziptr.com Integrated Portal Options for Client Collaboration Although our review is focused on solutions which are separate from the other applications used by an organization, there are some solutions which ofer portals as an integrated add-on feature. We excluded these from our traditional review, but these tools should be considered for those who use (or are considering) the related options. Te three add-ons are all related to tools that are primarily designed to provide document management and/or workfow management to a frm. Tey are: ��� Doc-It Portals ��� Ofce Tools Professional Client Portal ��� XCMportal DOC-IT PORTAL Doc-It is a well-regarded document management system for small and mid-sized accounting frms. Te Doc-It Suite is made up of the Work Binder applica- 8 April 2013 ��� www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com tion for managing engagements, the Archive for storing completed engagements in their fnal PDF form, and the Doc-It Portal for sending and receiving fles from clients and others outside the frm. Unlike every other product evaluated as part of this review, Doc-IT is the only one which can be hosted on a frms internal servers or hosted by a third party. For more information on the Doc-It Suite, visit www.doc-it.net. Te optional portal module makes it possible for firms to send and receive files with clients from within a service which is directly integrated with the company���s practice management application. Invoices can also be sent to clients using the portal. For more information on Ofce Tools Professional, please visit the company���s website at www.ofcetoolspro.com. OFFICE TOOLS PROFESSIONAL CLIENT PORTAL XCMportal is a service which is designed to assist frms and clients with collaboration by providing a secure website where they can request and receive documents. Staf can post lists of missing items or open questions to the portal for a client, and the client can respond securely in writing using the secure portal platform. For more information, visit www.xcmsolutions.com. Office Tools Professional is a popular practice management application for small and mid-sized accounting frms. Te company���s primary application (Office Tools Professional) provides document management, time and billing, and customer relationship management in a single piece of sofware. XCMportal