CPA Practice Advisor

SEP 2014

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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September 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 23 i n st r uc t ion s to com mu n ic ate to clients the steps required to com- plete the f i ling process," Lay man explained. W it h t he add it ion of a c loud- based DMS integrated directly with his tax sofware and a client portal, t he e x t r a s te ps to de l i ver c l ient documents were eliminated. Today, the broad process is as follows: • Cl i ent so u rce d o c u m ent s are scanned in, indexed, and then uploaded to the tax sofware. • Data is seamlessly imported into the tax return. • Afer review, a copy of the fnal tax return is sent to his document management system and automati- cally routed into the client's folder in their secure portal. " We l itera l ly just h it t he pr i nt buton to deliver the ta x return in the client portal. It's so much more efcient than the old way," he said. Layman's new cloud solution also of fers automated ema i l a ler t s to further enhance work fow processes. "Te new mail merge capability a l lowed us to send c ustom izable batch email notifcations to clients, alerting them that their returns were a v a i l a ble i n t he i r p or t a l s . T h i s shaved even more time of f of our process." In addition to the system's native email alerts from the client portal, it also ofers an integrated plug-in for Microsof Outlook, making it quick and simple to send secure links from inside Outlook. W i t h t h e c o m b i n e d b o o s t i n work fow efciency and the conve- nience of work ing within a digital ta x work fow, Layman was able to quantif y the time savings he experi- enced during tax season. " I n t e r m s o f t h e t e c h n o l o g y i nv e s t me nt , w e now s av e a b out $3,000 a year. It's much more cost- efective to use a subscription-based service. In terms of reduction in staf hours based on increased work fow ef f ic ienc y, I est i mate t hat we've saved an additional $7,000 per year," Layman explained. W it h about $10, 0 0 0 i n a n nua l sav ings, Lay man has already real- i z e d a n i m p r e s s i v e r e t u r n o n investment. "Adopting the new cloud-based DMS has been wor t h ever y cent. We've more than goten back what we've invested." The Future of the Game Layman's paperless vision isn't yet c omplete . He w a nt s to t a k e t he process through to fnal client signa- ture and payment. "Te next big step is to add electronic signature and payment features in the portal…that way clients could sign Form 8879 and pay their invoice online for a c o m p l e t e l y e l e c t r o n i c p r o c e s s . A dd i ng t hese feat u res wou ld be huge." Layman said he has already talked to designers at the document man- agement provider regarding these feat u res. "I'm not su re when t h is might happen, but I'm confdent that it will." T he grand v ision, according to Darrell Layman, is to continue the transition until a completely end-to- end paperless work environment is achieved. Tanks to this new inte- g rat ion, he is closer t ha n ever to m a k i n g h i s p a p e r l e s s d r e a m s a reality. "It's the future of the profession," L ay ma n st ated con f ident ly. "A l l digital is where frms should be. It's certainly where I want to be…and not only with the tax work fow, but across all areas of my business." Kristy is a partner in RootWorks Communications ( RootWorks.com ) and president of SAS Communications 360 ( SAScommunications360.com ) — frms dedicated to providing practice management education, branding , marketing , and public relations services to the accounting profession. She is also a professor of English and marketing at University of Phoenix and Cleary University. You can reach her at kristy.short@cpapracticeadvisor.com . OUR VALUES Our frm provides outstanding service to our clients because of our dedication to the three underlying principles of profes- sionalism, responsiveness and quality. PROFESSIONALISM Our frm is one of the leading frms in the area. By combining our expertise, experience and the energy of our staff, each client receives close personal and professional attention. Our high standards, service and special- ized staff spell the difference between our outstanding performance, and other frms. We make sure that every client is served by the expertise of our whole frm. RESPONSIVENESS Our frm is responsive. Companies who choose our frm rely on competent advice and fast, accurate personnel. We provide total fnancial services to individuals, large and small businesses and other agencies. QUALITY • An accounting frm is known for the quality of its service. Our frm's reputa- tion refects the high standards we demand of ourselves. • Our primary goal as a trusted advisor is to be available and to provide insightful advice to enable our clients to make informed fnancial decisions. We do not accept anything less from ourselves and this is what we deliver to you. • We feel it is extremely important to continually professionally educate ourselves to improve our technical expertise, fnancial knowledge and service to our clients. • Our high service quality and "raving fan" clients are the result of our com- mitment to excellence. • We will answer all of your questions, as they impact both your tax and fnancial situations. We welcome you to contact us anytime.

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