Review

April 29, 2013 

AgileTax by Thomson Reuters(855) 244-5382www.AgileTax.com From the May 2013 review of Professional Tax Preparation systems. Best Firm Fit Startup firms who need to pay over time or are unsure how many returns they expect to prepare. Firms who need built-in online collaboration or work with part-time preparers or preparers in remote locations. Strengths No installation...…

April 29, 2013 

Drake Software(800) 890-9500www.DrakeSoftware.com From the May 2013 review of Professional Tax Preparation systems. Best Firm Fit: Firms who prepare primarily 1040’s (including multiple locations) who need to also prepare returns for other kinds of entities. Users who want a value-oriented application with a comprehensive suite of solutions for a single price. The company’s most popular...…

March 27, 2013 

You’ve seen the ads. The ineffective husband trying to clean viruses off of his machine. The college student who wants a new laptop because hers is running “too slowly.” The flower shop girl whose PC is so slow she can’t complete a transaction. Yes, the ads are like fingers on the chalkboard of PC utilities.…

Dave McClure

March 27, 2013 

Thomson Reuters — NetClient CS800-968-8900cs.thomsonreuters.com Best Fit: Firms who use the Thomson Reuters professional accounting and tax software, especially those who work with client bookkeeping on the Accounting CS platform or those who store their documents in FileCabinet CS. Also, firms who want to publish invoices, tax returns, payroll items, and documents to clients through...…

March 27, 2013 

SmartVault866-684-6785www.smartvault.com Best Fit: While SmartVault is a good fit for any firm that needs a secure client portal, SmartVault is a best fit for accounting professionals and their clients whose practices involve working with the desktop version of QuickBooks or QuickBooks Online, and would like to streamline workflow, go paperless, and view images of documents...…

March 27, 2013 

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business — CCH ProSystem fx Portal800-PFX-9998CCHGroup.com Best Fit Accounting professionals who need the ability to create, update, and manage up to 2,500 or more client portals in a powerful client interface. The Enterprise version supports unlimited portals. Firms who use the CCH ProSystem fx suite of applications (but not necessarily those...…

March 27, 2013 

Citrix ShareFile800-441-3453www.ShareFileCPA.com Best Fit: Firms who would like a simple and secure tool for storing and exchanging files with clients, staff, and vendors. Strengths Flexible, secure (99.99% uptime), and stable tool with features and plans which can scale to meet the needs of firms of all sizes. Customizable, firm-branded site (yourfirmname.sharefile.com) with colors and fonts...…

March 27, 2013 

From the April 2013 review of portal systems. Although our review is focused on solutions which are separate from the other applications used by an organization, there are some solutions which offer portals as an integrated add-on feature. We excluded these from our traditional review, but these tools should be considered for those who use...…

Brian Tankersley

March 27, 2013 

One of the real challenges associated with selecting portal solutions is the way the product fits into a company’s workflow. We selected eleven portal products for this year’s review (and could have easily located and reviewed 50 solutions, assuming unlimited money and caffeine were available).

Brian Tankersley

March 27, 2013 

cPaperless, LLC — CPA SafeMail 3.1800-716-2558 x100www.cPaperless.com From the April 2013 review of client portal systems. Best Fit: Firms who want to use a range of tools to automate the preparation and secure transmission of documents to and from third parties. Firms who want to adopt the CPA SafeSign electronic signature service. Strengths: Outlook add-in...…

March 27, 2013 

Ziptr(785) 365-1022www.ziptr.com From the April 2013 review of client portal systems. Best Fit: Ziptr is best suited for individuals and firms who need a standalone product for secure messaging and encrypted file delivery. Strengths A simple to use tool with strong encryption that makes it easy to collaborate on confidential matters with users outside the...…

March 27, 2013 

Applied Answers, Inc. — FileGenius888-753-2245 x703www.filegenius.com From the April 2013 review of client portal systems. Best Fit: FileGenius BASIC is best for a small organization that needs 10 or fewer employee accounts and 25 or fewer client portals. FileGenius TOTAL offers unlimited employee accounts and client portals, unlimited transactions and more robust management tools. Strengths:...…