2013 Review of GetNetSet Websites for Accounting Firms

Stock content for current tax information like mileage rates, tax brackets, and content for a quarterly newsletter are maintained and updated automatically by the company for subscribers to the $49/mo Retainer plan and the $99/mo Recruiter plan.  Subscribers can choose to purchase custom written content at rates between for $0.072 to $0.30 per word.  Websites include up to 10 free firm-branded e-mail addresses with Google Apps, or firms can continue to use any other e-mail hosting as desired. Retainer and Recruiter plans also include a basic client portal with 1GB/mo of available bandwidth.  An optional service can be integrated to allow clients to electronically complete and sign documents in the portal.

Sites are full-featured, and include over 100 financial calcuators and other resources in their stock site.  Firms can have GetNetSet acquire a domain on their behalf, or they can use an existing domain and redirect the DNS records back to the company’s servers.

The service is hosted in a commercial hosting facility with 24x7x365 security, redundant power, Tier I internet connections, uptime monitoring, and is backed up offsite hourly.  The company asserts that its portal solution is fully compliant with HIPAA, GLB, and IRC § 7216.

Best Firm Fit

•  Small firms who would like to have easy integration with a wide range of outside sources such as social media campaigns.
• Prospective users who are already familiar with the WordPress content management system,

Strengths

• Sites are hosted using the open source WordPress platform, which is used for millions of websites around the world, and is supported by many third-party editing tools and uses open standards like RSS to automatically syndicate content.
• The basic GetNetSet service includes setting up the client on Google+ Local, basic search engine optimization, as well as white-labeled content for a quarterly client newsletter.
• GetNetSet provides a number of tutorials for using their system, and users can also purchase many third party books and training courses on WordPress to meet their individualized needs.
• Firms can link to their pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, AngiesList, and Twitter from within the application, or use WordPress plugins to integrate their site with the firms social media campaigns.
• E-mail campaigns can be managed with a simple COPPA/CAN-SPAM compliant web form and a list maintenance tool, or users can integrate commercial e-mail marketing applications like Constant Contact, iContact, MailChimp, and Vertical Response.
• GetNetSet allows users to perform maintenance on their own website, or users can allow GetNetSet to perform all maintenance at no additional charge.

Potential Limitations

• GetNetSet does not offer significant integration points with other cloud-based accounting tools such as commercial software hosting.
• The entry level plan (the Representer) does not include any type of client portal service.

Summary and Pricing

GetNetSet Websites for CPAs and Accounting Professionals are priced starting with the Representer plan at $29 per month for a limited site with seven pages and firm-provided copy and content. Upgrades are available to the $49/month Retainer plan which includes an unlimited number of pages, and a $99/month Recruiter plan which also includes scheduled statistics reports, a unique landing page, campaign tracking, and other e-marketing features.  All plans offer a 30 day free trial, and 10% off for paying annually in advance.  Custom development is also available and is billed based on standard hourly rates.  There are no setup fees or contracts, and the Company offers discounts to members of a number of professional organizations, including the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) and the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA).