A Case for Cloud-Based DMS in the Accounting Industry

by | Jan 21, 2016

While Cloud-based DMS has taken many industries by storm, the accounting world has been slow to make the leap. The preference of most in this industry is to use only desktop / on-premises versions of DMS products. Why is this? And should it change? Read on to learn why the accounting field is proving to be a late adopter to the Cloud, and our case for why this should change.

 

Why Is the Accounting Industry Resistant to Cloud-Based DMS?

There may be many reasons for this preference, but a commonly sighted reason is that accountants are meticulous, like to be in control of their documents, and paying for third-party storage space feels like losing control. However, the Cloud has truly untapped potential that accountants who love cutting costs would be wise to pay attention to.

 

The Top 3 Reasons to Consider Online Document Management Software

There’s no shortage of reasons online DMS benefits the accounting industry, including these top three reasons:

  1. Your clients. The best way to make more money is to get more clients. In this day and age, clients view online storage as trendy and cutting edge. The individuals and organizations with huge accounting needs want to know that the firm they choose to work with is caught up on the latest technological advances.
  2. Security concerns are a thing of the past. For companies that haven’t considered online options for a decade or more, security is likely one of the concerns they have. The reality is that while the Cloud isn’t the “end all, be all” of security, some DMS vendors, including eFileCabinet, have plenty of experience managing the Cloud securely. It is a great security option—especially for accountants who deal with confidential information on a regular basis.
  3. Be more available to your clients. You’d like to be more available to your clients but you don’t want to spend more time in the office. Online DMS provides the perfect balance. The Cloud offers you access to your data from anywhere you have an internet connection, so the next time a client calls with an urgent request you won’t have to rush back to the office to take care of it. You can simply hop on your home computer, access the documents you need, and provide the help your client is asking for.

5 Reasons Accountants Turn to eFileCabinet

While the accounting industry as a whole hasn’t embraced online-DMS solutions, many accountants have. There may be several companies to consider, and any accounting firm or sole proprietor is going to do their due diligence to discover the right option for them. Here are 5 reasons the accountants we work with have chosen our services over their other options.

    1. James Blaylock is the founder of eFileCabinet. He’s also an accountant. As a company created by an accountant, we have stayed true to our origins and continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of professionals in the accounting industry.

<li>We’ve earned a perfect five-star rating from CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. You can read the entire review yourself to learn that two of the main reasons we earned the highest rating possible are our ease of use and seamless integration with other vendors.

  • Benefit from true document management—not just cloud storage. What does that mean? It means that in addition to storing your documents, you can utilize a wide range of tools that help you manage and share workflow. This allows accounting offices to be more effective and more efficient.
  • Most accounting companies utilize some type of tax software. No matter what your firm may use, we offer full integration so your DMS can work seamlessly with your software. There’s no question you’ll find incredible flexibility and efficiency when your DMS works hand-in-hand with your existing software. A partial list of the tax software we integrate with includes:
    • Intuit
    • Drake
    • Thomas
  • Customer service is important to you. That’s why you’ll appreciate our award-winning support. In fact, you won’t find another company that can match our tech support response times. You’ll get help within two minutes, and instant chat is always available during regular business hours. But what about the tax season when you’re working extended hours? Well, we are too. That’s right, from January 4th through tax day on April 15th our support team works on Saturdays too. You’re busy all year—but especially during tax season—and we understand you don’t have the time to be delayed by technical issues. We’ll do everything we can to assure that doesn’t happen.

 

While the principles of accounting may not have changed much over the years, regulations, best practices, and technology have changed significantly. As an accounting firm considers if moving to the cloud is the right option for them, the real question is this: Would they rather do it now and be a leader or wait around with the dinosaurs?