Technology
Thomson Reuters Surpasses Half a Million Client Portals
Users implement over 200,000 new portals in just over one year
Feb. 16, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 15, 2011—The Tax & Accounting business of
Thomson Reuters announced today that its users have implemented more than 500,000
client portals, an increase of over 200,000 portals in the past year alone.
The data shows that the rate of adoption of Thomson Reuters client portals has
more than doubled compared to the previous year.
Scott Fleszar, vice president of Strategic Marketing for Tax & Accounting,
Thomson Reuters, attributes the increase to a fundamental shift of accounting
firms in delivering valuable information to their clients. What once was seen
as an optional feature or competitive advantage for tech savvy firms is becoming
a core strategic asset for meeting client expectations and helping accounting
firms adapt to the growing mobile trends. Fleszar said new mobile devices have
made portals even more useful to both accountants and their clients, turning
them from merely a client benefit into a strategic workflow asset.
“These numbers show a fundamental shift in how the profession views portal
technology,” Fleszar said. “The proliferation of mobile devices
like smart phones and tablets has helped to turn portals from a nice extra to
a fundamental tool for exchanging information, providing client service, and
rounding out paperless workflow. Our users—and our users’ clients—demand
them.”
Fleszar also attributed the trend to the versatility of NetClient CS portal
technology, which enables tax and accounting professionals to perform a variety
of advanced features anytime, anywhere, including payroll options, access to
client accounting applications, real-time collaboration with clients, and client
invoicing and credit/debit card payment collection within the portal, in addition
to traditional file transfer and posting of finished documents.
Fleszar said Thomson Reuters is also dedicating significant resources to helping
customers transition to portal technology, including instructional videos, free
web-based training courses, and a consulting program to help firms develop and
execute effective portal strategies.
Accessed through an accounting firm’s website, NetClient CS portals offer
firms and their clients a convenient, secure way to access finished documents
and tax returns, transfer data, convey information, receive and pay client invoices,
access client accounting software, and more—anytime, from any Internet
connection. Since 2001, the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters
has offered portal solutions designed specifically for the tax and accounting
profession. For more information on Tax & Accounting’s portal offerings,
visit http://CS.ThomsonReuters.com/Portals.