QuickBooks Document Management for Bookkeepers and Business Owners

When people think of document management solutions, they tend to focus primarily on the storage and retrieval of files.  Having a meaningful way to store document images and then find them quickly later is a big deal, especially if you’re working in an outsourced accounting or bookkeeping relationship.  There are a lot of documents – invoices, bills, bank statements, etc.
But document management for an outsource bookkeeping or accounting service needs more than just a way to store files.  A good system also provides “workflow” tools, guidance on how to streamline use of the system to best meet the needs of the various operators, and may even offer integration with the accounting application.
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From the July 2010 Review of Document Storage Systems.

SmartVault was originally designed as a doc-ument storage system for QuickBooks, but has moved towards a generic platform to store and share files, whether or not they are related to QB.

CORE FUNCTIONALITY:
SmartVault is a “cloud computing” solution provided in a web-hosted environment. The primary function of SmartVault is for users to store, access and exchange files online. I found the most compelling feature of SmartVault to be the ability to setup a folder in your Windows Explorer to map directly to SmartVault. This means that you can move files between the online SmartVault storage system and your local storage system. This can be used in a similar fashion with Mac computer, as well.

Read the full review >>

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The CPA Tech Advisor: Workflow is King

by SmartVault on July 1, 2010 · 0 comments

Mobile professional payroll applications, online document storage, SaaS-based account-ing and practice management tools, and an in-practice knowledge sharing system were among the technologies honored at The CPA Technology Advisor’s 7th Annual Tax and Accounting Technology Innovation Awards. The Awards serve to identify and honor new and emerging technologies that have the potential for significant positive impact on the profession and in the day-to-day work of tax and accounting practices.

Winners of the 2010 Awards are Account-antsWorld for Accounting Relief; CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, for KnowledgeConnect; SmartVault, Inc. for SmartVault v3; SurePayroll for Mobile Payroll; and Thomson Reuters for its Practice CS Staff Management Module.

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LOS ANGELES, CA – June 7, 2010 – At the 2010 California Accounting & Business Show, SmartVault, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) document management solutions, today announced its document management solution, SmartVault, was honored with a Technology Innovation Award from CPA Technology Advisor for the second year in a row.

“This award from CPA Technology Advisor, which we are thrilled to receive for the second year in a row, supports what we are consistently hearing from our customers’ that our product is innovative, easy to use and provides an immediate impact on their day to day workflow,” said Eric Pulaski, founder and CEO, SmartVault. “SmartVault will continue to innovate and deliver a solution that is easy to use and helps firms and small businesses run leaner and more profitably.”

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In his column, ”The QuickBooks Advisor,” Doug Sleeter reviews the top paperless document management solutions for QuickBooks users. Here’s what he had to say about SmartVault:

SmartVault is an online service, complemented by the SmartVault “Toolbar” that runs on the side of QuickBooks. This toolbar is the key differentiation that SmartVault’s product gives to the user. By having the simple, consistent, easy (no, obvious!) toolbar, the user immediately knows what the product does, how to use it, and when there are documents already attached to the current list and/or transaction.

With its latest release (version 3), SmartVault has expanded its service outside of the QuickBooks user base and has significantly enhanced the product by allowing you to create a folder and subfolder structure outside of QuickBooks. With this new approach, you can now store all your files securely online, and you can create new folders or just map existing Windows folders directly to SmartVault.
A key feature that accountants will like is that you can invite people to securely share and access documents and folders online. Think about how accountants and clients need access to the same data in order to work efficiently. We’ve been getting shared data on the Internet for a while now, with products like QuickBooks Online, but now SmartVault is adding shared access to the same document management system.

SmartVault is well on the way to delivering on the concept of a single, online document management solution for all business documents plus providing collaboration for accountants and their clients. And it doesn’t matter whether the documents are associated with QuickBooks transactions, with other application data, or not associated with any particular application. By providing the toolbar and integration with the Windows explorer, SmartVault is well positioned to become the common document management solution people will use for all documents, regardless of which applications they use.

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From the June 2010 issue of The CPA Tech Advisor

We can help our clients in so many ways in the areas of business advice and technology. Now that tax season is behind us for another year, it is the perfect time for us to help our small business clients figure out how to run better and more profitably. Our accounting and management advice and insight is truly valuable to clients, yet we often underestimate how valuable our technology advice can be to them. As you can see throughout the rest of this issue, accounting software, document management and workflow are key technologies that you need to be comfortable enough with to make recommendations.

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Need an easier way to securely share and store your content?  Check out the latest release from SmartVault:

  • Improved features for simple sharing of documents with one person or many people
  • Custom wizards based on your specific user type that dramatically improve the ‘Getting Started’ experience for all users
  • Usability improvements for uploading and managing documents in your vault
  • Automated support for annual billing; customers can save 10% by signing up for annual billing over monthly

SmartVault offers a fully featured FREE plan with storage up to 100MB. Try it risk free today >>

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WebCPA – Working with QuickBooks

by SmartVault on May 6, 2010 · 1 comment

“Flying by the seat of your pants,” is not a phrase that should refer to how one runs their business. Unfortunately, it seems to describe all too many companies.

The good news is that the 4.5 million QuickBooks users and their accountants can take steps to work more efficiently with QuickBooks to get a solid grasp of a business’ financial health.

“With so many small businesses using QuickBooks, most CPAs are having to deal with inaccurate, incomplete or inconsistent data they get from their clients,” said Doug Sleeter, founder of The Sleeter Group, a large QuickBooks consultant. “That presents all sorts of problems. Obviously, it’s hard to prepare a tax return from bad data, so a lot of CPAs find themselves in the business of cleaning up the QuickBooks data files from their clients. The core of the problem is that the clients were never really properly trained on how to put data in [QuickBooks].”

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Bob Scott, Executive Editor of The Progressive Accountant explores the evolution of document management solutions, from separate applications for various tasks, to integrated offerings that address the needs of the entire accounting firm.

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Get everything you need to go from paper mess to paperless with SmartVault. Working more efficiently with your clients is on your 2010 to-do list, but where do you start? With the busy tax and filing season upon us, you can streamline the workflow between you and your clients and make paperless a reality. With the SmartVault Starter Kit, you’ll have everything you need for one low price!

From now until June 1, when you purchase the SmartVault Starter Kit*, you’ll get a Fujitsu ScanSnap s1300 desktop scanner, valued at $295, absolutely free! We’ll even throw in free training for your firm and your clients.

Learn more about the SmartVault Starter Kit >>

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