Thomson Creative Solutions — FileCabinet CS

From the April/May 2006 Review of
Document Management Systems

FileCabinet CS is designed primarily to be an integrated document management
system that supports the entire Creative Solutions (CS) suite of applications.
As such, it is very much an accountant-centric solution, particularly for firms
that have standardized on the CS suite of applications. That is where its primary
value is positioned. While it is deployed in firms of all sizes, its primary
target is small and midsize firms.

Installation & Configuration — 4 Stars
The system is installed via traditional network software installation from a
workstation. The original software CD can be downloaded directly from the web,
allowing you to bypass handling a physical CD. Even better yet, you can subscribe
to the hosted FileCabinet CS and eliminate the installation and server technology
requirements. The security, reliability and cost of the hosted option is very
compelling, and I highly recommend that you consider the benefits of this alternative
approach.

User Interface — 4 Stars
The home page is designed to serve as a central portal to the system. The user
can select documents by navigating to a particular client. Within each client
are drawer tabs to segregate specific types of documents/files. Additional information
on the home page includes alerts that can be pushed out via CS’s direct
alerts feature, recent document activity and a history of events for the selected
client. Overall, the user interface is relatively easy to navigate and intuitive.
The scanning methodology is essentially based on a model supporting individual
document scanning with no provision for a centralized batch scanning process.

Integration — 4 Stars
The bottom line on FileCabinet CS’s integration capabilities is “five
stars plus” if you are using the entire suite of CS applications to run
your practice. The integration is very deep and relatively seamless. On the
other hand, if you have deployed an assortment of vendor solutions to run your
practice, you will find that FileCabinet CS does not provide the same level
of capability to develop application integration as some of the more horizontally
marketed solutions.

In addition to the direct integration with CS applications, FileCabinet CS
supports integration with MS Office and MS Outlook. If you use Engagement CS,
the entire workpaper binder can be sent to FileCabinet CS with a single command
— a very valuable feature for firms trying to integrate their electronic
workpaper and document management systems. A print to FileCabinet CS print driver
is provided to send document images directly to FileCabinet CS from any Windows
application.

Training & Support — 5 Stars
FileCabinet CS has the advantage of drawing on all of the technical and professional
services of the CS organization. The system initially includes 60 days of free
support; thereafter, support is provided at the rate of $108 per hour in 10-minute
increments. In addition, Creative Solutions University (CSU) provides web-based,
regional and on-site training and consulting, including pre-deployment consulting.

Workflow & Document Tracking — 4 Stars
FileCabinet CS does not provide any inherent workflow and document tracking
capability. However, these capabilities are available in both Engagement CS
for electronic workpaper engagements and UltraTax CS, the vendor’s tax
preparation software.

Security — 4 Stars
CS made security a top priority in its most recent upgrades. The system provides
the capability to establish security permissions at the group level. You have
the ability to control document viewing, editing, printing, etc. A nice feature
for larger firms is the capability to import the user setup list directly from
the network user list.

Pricing — 4 Stars
The base license fee for FileCabinet CS is $1,500. A local area network module
is available for an additional $500 for the first four users and $250 for each
additional four users. A client/server-based module is $1,000 for the first
four users and $500 for each additional four users. The annual maintenance fee
starts at $330. Contact the vendor for more details.

Relative Value — 4 Stars
If your firm has standardized on the CS applications, then FileCabinet CS gets
the highest rating. However, if you are looking to integrate FileCabinet CS
with other vendor applications, it loses some of its value. The hosted option
is an important feature. As noted, the rating goes higher if you have standardized
on the CS Professional Suite for your firm.

2006 Overall Rating — 4 Stars

Technology