Many document management prospects considering eFileCabinet also consider Neat document management. The typical prospect deciding between these two options is confused by the differences between the two products, and this confusion is justified—choosing a software to reinvent and optimize your business processes is a big deal, but we’re here to help (and as unbiasedly as possible).
Where eFileCabinet Wins
Neat is a great product, but there are several factors that set eFileCabinet apart from its offering—primarily its credentials, recognition, support, automation bandwidth, and price.
Document Management Credentials and Recognition
These are just a few of the accolades and recognition eFileCabinet has received that Neat document management has not:
#1 on Capterra’s Most Popular Document Management Software List
Business News Daily – Best Mobile Document Management Solution
#2 on CrowdReviews.com for document management software (Neat is not listed in the top 100)
CPA Practice Advisor Readers’ Choice Awards – Best Client Portal
TopTenReviews.com Top 3 best document management solutions
Neat and eFileCabinet have both been in the document management game for roughly 15 years, so eFileCabinet’s recognition can’t be chocked up to a greater amount of time gaining a solid foothold in the market.
Although one could argue this may just be a byproduct of eFileCabinet selling a more clearly defined product and therefore having greater pull in a certain category listing on these review sites, it’s more about longevity of vision and staying ahead of the software development curve.
Customer Support: A 2017 Filing System Software Imperative
If eFileCabinet is so usable, why does a great customer support team matter? Because any solution you purchase to manage documents, files, and information (especially in offices) is going to require help from an expert at one point or another.
After all, completely restructuring the flow of information in an organization (which a document management system helps its users accomplish) can initially be a high-touch process, particularly for on-site solutions.
Customer support is in demand not because companies have failed to engineer flawless 2017 filing system software products, but because these products’ capacities are so transforming that they will inevitably require guidance.
eFileCabinet does not charge for customer support, and has received constant recognition on many of the aforementioned review sites for having the best support team in the business. At the time of this writing, today’s wait time for a support claim is 9 only seconds.
eFileCabinet’s Automation Bandwidth is Superior
Although Neat document management offers some nifty receipt automation functionality, this document management vendor struggles to apply automation to document processes that span the entire business function.
Let’s take a look at the reason Neat was founded, and in Neat’s own words (which can be found on their About Us page):
“Neat was born from a single idea: that there’s a better way to deal with receipts for expense reports.”
To be fair, later in their mission statement, they proclaim their mission has expanded to encompass the entire information management process, including document management. But evidence of this claim is scarce if one looks to Neat’s feature set for tangible examples.
Neat offers a range of functionality as it pertains to elements and metadata contained in receipts, such as organizing receipts by price. However, when it comes to automating document processes that take up time in paper-dependent offices (faxing, file retrieval, storage, classification, etc.), Neat posits outdated technology as revolutionary.
For instance, the mobile capture feature in Neat’s document management system captures receipts, business cards, and documents with the “snap of a picture,” but mobile phones have been able to do this for over a decade. Why use the Neat mobile app and drain mobile battery when your stock mobile device comes with a capturing tool (a camera) that does the same thing?
We’d understand this capture process if it served as a springboard to some kind of additional functionality within the system (as is the case with eFileCabinet’s Zonal OCR), but it doesn’t.
Breadth of Features Scope and Purpose
Neat document management software features are transactional, whereas eFileCabinet’s are holistic. The ideal Neat document management user (or one who benefits most from the product), would be a one-person business owner of a coffee shop or small restaurant, and sometimes an accountant. The typical eFileCabinet user solves a broader set of paper-based and information management problems.
2017 Filing System Software Price
Neat document management storage may appear to be competitively priced if analyzed under the assumption that it retains most of the functionality a 2017 businesses would demand from an office automation solution. However, as a ‘lite’ version of a business-grade document management system, Neat’s price can be deceiving.
Filing System Software Similarities
Although they are few in number, similarities do exist between Neat and eFileCabinet. However, the overlap in most of these similarities is usually not a major selling point for each respective vendor.
Small Industry, Integrations, and Features Overlap
Both eFileCabinet and Neat document management share an overlap in the industries served, but Neat’s foothold in the accounting, construction, legal, and real estate markets is comparatively small compared to eFileCabinet’s. Both document management vendors have overlap in the ability to parse information and simplify audit procedures.
Just as eFileCabinet does, Neat offers bank-grade encryption for file management—providing an additional layer of security to business processes.
Our Lite Product, Express, Is Comparable to Neat’s Business Solution
For $20.83 per month, Neat’s most high-octane and feature rich solution is comparable to eFileCabinet’s Lite product, eFileCabinet Express, which can be used for as little as $9.95 per month.
Sage Integration
For independent accountants who love to simplify their invoicing and financial processes, both eFileCabinet and Neat offer Sage integration to accomplish this.
Addressing a Common Document Management Misconception
When it comes to expenses and reporting, at first glance, Neat (and Intuit’s Lacerte) may seem like a better option with features highly tailored to expenses and reporting management. However, the bells and whistles of these vendors’ expenses and reporting management tools exist in eFileCabinet, but can be leveraged for a greater number of document types, including receipts. For more information on what a 2017 filing system software should include, visit our What is DMS? page.