Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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Reviews For Your Firm WEBSITE BUILDERS AccountantsWorld Website Relief www.AccountantsWorld.com BEST FIT Small accounting prac- tices, particularly those using the Accoun- tantsWorld Power Practice suite, who will benefit from integration with professional programs and client portals. STRENGTHS r There are hundreds of templates wi th an unlimited number of combinations to choose from. r Free unlimited support and web-based seminars. r Seamless integration with the AccountantsWorld online applications. r Online tax organizer allows clients to enter and organize their tax data, which can then be exported from Excel into tax soſtware. r Tools for search engine opt imization, local directories, and listing in the AccountantsWorld Directory of Accounting Professionals. r Firms can select from a large library of images or upload their own. POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS r Unlike some competitors that allow for an unlim- ited number of pages, Website Relief is limited to a maximum of 40 pages and therefore may not work for a firm that plans to bui ld a large and intricate website. r Free domains included in the subscription are owned by Accoun- tantsWorld. Although a firm can transfer the CCH Site Builder www.CCHwebsites.com BEST FIT Firms using the CCH ProSystem fx Suite and firms that want to add state-specific tax alerts or premium content (such as the CCH Tax Guide and toolkits) not offered by other vendors. STRENGTHS r Integration with Pro- System fx Portal, CCH File Share, GainsKeeper, and ProSystem fx Tax Notebook. r Te ability to easily pre- view changes made to a page before publishing. r A questions/comments button that launches a contact form. Te built-in Lead Generator module tracks contacts obtained from completed forms. r Excellent newsletter content from CCH, with many options for dis- playing and distributing newsletters, including monthly eMarketing of newsleters to customer base. r Scrolling tax alerts, both federal and state. Firms can select to only show tax alerts for certain states. r Color-coded events cal- endar can be used to display tax and firm events. r Expansive library of interactive financial tools and calculators. r Available as an eContent solution for firms with existing websites in need of dynamic updates. eContent package allows firms to plug in newslet- ters, tax aler ts, and financial tools to their existing website. POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS r No built-in blogging engine. However, users can link to an external blog. Te ProSystem fx Suite from CCH offers an inte- grated set of tax and accounting software for CPA firms. Along with an easy integration with the suite, CCH Site Builder features a sleek and user- friendly interface for building a CPA firm web- site. The product was introduced in 1997, so CCH has many years of experience helping firms to establish a web presence. For firms that want to build their own site, CCH Site Builder has over 70 templates to choose from, each with options to easily modify the color scheme, pictures, and navigation butons. Firms can easily switch templates with the click of a button, at no additional charge, and without the help of a webmaster or other IT support. Editing and styling text with Site Builder is as easy as working with a Microsoſt Word document. The interface is also very intui- tive for uploading images and adding custom pages. For firms that want something different from the templates offered, CCH has a custom design team on staff. CCH quotes a fee for this service aſter a consultation. SUMMARY & PRICING CCH Site Builder is a strong template-based product, and because of its user-friendly interface, it is ideal for firms that want to build a site quickly and have control over custom- izat ion and making changes. Its integration with the ProSystem fx suite makes it a good candidate for firms using other CCH applications, and firms may also want to consider it because of its impressive set of calcula- tors, resources included in the premium content, and eNewsleter content with federal and state tax alerts. The standard package costs $1,290 in the first year including setup. Te annual renewal cost is $995. Other features, such as the CCH Tax Guide, toolkits, and e-mail are available at additional costs. Potential customers interested in custom website design packages and search engine optimi- zation services should contact CCH for a quote. CCH offers a free 30-day evaluation period (no credit card required). domain upon cancella- tion for a $50 charge per domain, this may be an issue for firms that always want to maintain owner- ship of its domain. r Social media integration is limited to Facebook widgets and Twiter but- tons. AccountantsWorld offers a web-based suite of integrated applications that include accounting, payroll, and document management. Its web builder product, Website Relief, was introduced in 2002. Recent improve- ments include easier navi- gation through the site builder wizard, new tem- plate styles, beter integra- tion for PDF newsleters, and full browser compat- ibility. As part of the service, AccountantsWorld offers its customers a free multi- point checkup to help them get the most out of their web presence, which includes a review of a website's completeness and aesthetics. Free assis- tance is provided for search engine optimiza- tion, search engine mar- keting, and web directory listings. Tutorial videos are provided on the Accoun- tantsWorld website teaching users how to create a great website, incorporate website best practices, market a web- site, and monitor website traffic. SUMMARY & PRICING Because it offers direct access to the other AccountantsWorld online applications, Website Relief is a good fit for firms using the Accoun- tantsWorld suite that want integrated productivity and online marketing tools. Tere is no setup cost with Website Relief, and the basic recurring cost is $59 per month or $595 per year, which includes a standard listing in Accoun- tantsWorld Directory of Accounting Professionals. Firms can upgrade to a Silver listing (enhanced listing) for $195 per year or a Gold listing (top-of- the-page preference) for $495 per year. Firms can add additional e-mail addresses in blocks of five for $50 per block. AccountantsWorld offers Premier Website Services for firms that either want to customize a website beyond the tools that are offered by Website Relief or don't have time to use the tools to create their own website. With this service, the designers at AccountantsWorld create a personalized template and custom pages with images and flash files for $99 per hour. Read the full review of this product exclusively online at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10738426 Read the full review of this product exclusively online at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10738431 August 2012 t www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 27