AUTOMATED CONTENT – 3.5 Stars
The primary content offering available
through AFSB is the client newsletter,
which is produced three times
annually and includes Tax Tips,
Tax News, Tax Calendars/ dates,
Tax Law changes and answers to
FAQs. AFSB also offers an optional
online Tax Organizer and 18 optional
Client Brochures at various annual
incremental prices. Brochures
cover such topics as Recordkeeping,
Itemized Deductions, Minimizing
Taxes, Tax Alert, Determining
Net Worth, Household Budgeting
and Tax Tips for Seniors.

EDITING/UPDATING EASE-OF-USE – 4 Stars
AFSB’s web-based interface
provides simple navigation during
web site construction and editing,
allowing users to go back and
forth to specific steps as needed.
The system’s web site building
wizard divides the construction
process into 13 steps, including
selection of a web site template
from more than 30. AFSB includes
pre-written content for several
pages, including a homepage/welcome
message, and basic introductory
text for firm profile and other
pages. For customized text, such
as the welcome page, the web site
builder enables easy control over
page header text formatting and
color, although formatting of
body text must be done using HTML
tags. Images and image borders
can be added to any page’s
body section, with the user first
uploading images into a library
and then selecting from that list.
The system comes with several
pre-built pages that can be modified,
and users can change the order
of pages on the navigation menu
by selecting the numerical order
from a pull-down list on the page
being edited. Additionally, users
can easily turn off access to
specific pages, making it inaccessible
to web visitors. The system allows
users to add an unlimited number
of additional pages to the web
site, all utilizing the same template.
AFSB’s web site building
wizard includes a help system
that provides good assistance.

TOOLS – 4 Stars

In addition to 10 financial calculators,
AFSB includes electronic brochures,
an online tax organizer and the
ability to customize web pages
for specific service descriptions.
A built-in Client Management system
enables grouping of clients and
e-mail functions that allow sending
broadcast messages and newsletters
to all clients or just specific
groups. The system comes with
two e-mail addresses but does
not host the mail. Messages are
automatically forwarded to the
user’s primary e-mail address,
but they still get the benefit
of a personalized address. AFSB
does not provide client collaboration
tools such as secure document
transfer.

VISUAL QUALITY/USER NAVIGATION – 4 Stars
AFSB’s attractive templates
and flexible template customizability
results in functional and appealing
web sites that provide users with
intuitive navigation via automatically
built, common-sense navigation
menus. The system enables users
to edit the site at any time,
helping to keep content and contact
information fresh, and allows
uploading of personal pictures
and images, with the limit of
one image per page. Flash-based
images are not supported. The
system automatically places Tax-Aid
copyright and e-mail contact info
at the bottom of each page. The
Iowa firm of Sallie A. Hagen,
CPA, uses this system (www.hagencpa.com).

SITE MARKETING – 4 Stars

AFSB’s Client Management
system provides good use of client
groups for e-mail marketing purposes.
Users can either register their
own primary domain name through
the company (www.firmname.com)
or have their site hosted under
one of AFSB’s domains with
an address with the format www.firmname.afsb1.com.
Other domains include acct1.com,
123suite.com and acctzone.com.
The system provides only a hit
counter for statistics and offers
search engine submission for $30.
AFSB also provides web site tips
and tricks that can assist with
marketing techniques, as well
as additional-cost advanced marketing
services.

PRICING/VALUE – 5 Stars
AFSB is an excellent value at
only $14.95 per month and with
no setup cost, for a yearly total
of $179.40 with a five percent
discount for paying annually.
That cost includes the newsletter
content and financial tools, as
well as hosting of the site and
the two e-mail accounts, with
an option for additional forwarded
addresses. The only other add-on
costs are search engine submission,
the optional client brochures,
purchasing a primary domain name
and adding extra e-mail addresses.

SUMMARY

AFSB sites provide a good selection
of basic content such as financial
calculators, calendars and limited
newsletters, with templates and
customization capabilities that
produce a professional and unique
web site. The system does not
provide secure file sharing capabilities,
but does offer client e-mail management
functions. A free 30-day demonstration
version of the web site builder
is available.

2004 OVERALL RATING: 4 Stars

This review looks at several web
builder solutions that are designed
for accountants, tax preparers and
other financial professionals. They
range in cost from free to more
than $1,000 per year and offer significantly
varying degrees of content, tools
and ease-of-use, so firms should
identify the needs that are most
important to them. Based on input
from accounting professionals and
the system vendors, we scored these
systems in the following areas:

Automated Content: This section
looks at the financial content provided
by the vendor, including quality/reliability,
whether it is automatically updated,
newsletter offerings, and other
material that would be valuable
to a visitor of the web site.

Editing/Updating Ease-of-Use: After you build it, you still need to update

contact and service
information periodically. This
section looks at the tools the
vendor provides for creating and
updating the site, which are usually
accessed through a browser. Ease-of-use
is an important factor here, because
users may only work on the site
a few times per year.

Tools: In addition to rich financial content, tools such as financial

calculators, calendars, useful links and online tax preparation keep clients and prospects

coming back to a web site. Additionally, options such as secure file transfer enhance the

client relationship. This section considers such tools as well as e-mail and Intranet

capabilities.

Visual Quality/User Navigation: How a web site looks and whether navigation

is intuitive plays a very large role in whether visitors will return, and can certainly

influence the impression the site has on clients and potential clients. This section also

evaluates the templates used by the system, and how logos and other image files are

incorporated.

Web Site Marketing Tools: If you build it, they still need to find it

before they can come. This section identifies whether the vendor assists in registering the

site with search engines and other directories, as well as other marketing assistance. And

since measurement tells you how you’re doing, the availability of web site visitor stats is

also addressed. Who owns the web site?
Firm’s need to own their
primary domain name (www.firmname.com).

Pricing/Value: Is there an initial setup cost? How much does it cost per

month/year? Are there any other fees?