Document Management Systems

Document Management Systems

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Hi there,

I am recently set up as a sole practitioner providing tax compliance and advice to individuals.  I can see that very quickly the volume of emails and documents that I need to retain will become quite excessive.  Ideally I would like to be as paperless as possible and store all documents/emails electronically.  Would anyone be able to recommend a cost effective solution for document management in this situation.

Any comments would be appreciated.  Many thanks.

Replies (10)

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Adrian Pearson
By Adrian Pearson
10th Feb 2011 15:28

The software we use tracks everything in one place

My firm uses HQ for Accountants. It's online practice management / CRM software that tracks all emails, letters, files, documents, sms messages and file notes against each client's record. All these things are indexed and searchable.

To track documents, all we do is scan them to PDF and link them to the relevant client record(s). Let me know if you would like a demo.

Adrian @topaccountants 

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By vstephens
14th Feb 2011 13:59

Document Management Systems

Thanks for this information, I will take a look.

Best regards

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John Stokdyk, AccountingWEB head of insight
By John Stokdyk
16th Feb 2011 12:16

Other resources on AccountingWEB

If it's any help, we undertook quite an extensive review of the market in 2005, which fed into our Paperless Office Buyer's Guide.

As always happens with technology, some systems will have changed their names, some will have disappeared and some will still be chugging along. We're planning to update the guidance, but that won't happen soon enough for you I suspect.

We also have a Document Management discussion group led by Charles Verrier, who is a great source of advice and information. I've also taken the liberty of tagging your query "Paperless". If you click the link on the blue panel above, you may be able to review other similar questinos that have been asked in the recent past.

Good luck with your hunt and let us know how you get on.

 

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By pauljohnston
17th Feb 2011 10:57

Going paperless

Hi

Can I recommend that you obtain as much information from other practioners, in particular from othe accountants that you know.  Most sytems do some of the woirk, but it is exactly what you want/need that will determine your final choise.  Dont be guided by cost.  Buying the wrong system can be more expensive that doing nothing and using softwre that uses to windows filing system.  Eg file centre pro.

Other questions that you may want to consider are do i want to scan and diarise easily what happens when I have people working for me (how much is the upgrade), in what format are the documents held (the vendor may go bust or stop supporting the product).

As you can guess I have been tryiing to find thye right product for sometime but am still looking...

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By mm01
17th Feb 2011 11:29

Paul speaks the truth

Being in the early throws of my practice I have constantly been looking at this area to see if there is a solution that fits all my needs, however as yet I havent seen anything suitable and am sticking with best of bread.

One piece of software that I have been exploring recently is File Centre.  They have a free demo and it appears to be the best solution I have found for document management to date.

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By Mrs_G
17th Feb 2011 12:39

Rapport / Panache

We use Rapport for our Database, CRM and Document management and Panache for the time management. http://www.practicenet.co.uk/

Very flexible, so I have been able to set them up exactly as I wanted them to. Tech support is good and the software is within a reasonable price range, and copes well with several users as well.

Good luck with practice.

Edit Gardner

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By HarryCurtis
17th Feb 2011 19:20

Paperless Solution "EcoOffice"

We are looking for five small practitioners to trial, first year free, our "EcoOffice" software which has been especially written over the past five years, for the situation you describe.  I am using it myself in my small practice circa 400 clients.  It will handle all or any combination of your office accounts and billing, time ledger, document storage including client papers, mail, email, telephone and meeting notes, client database and CRM and starts at £540 p.a. plus VAT, including use of internet servers and cloud storage/backup. Email [email protected]

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By greybeard
18th Feb 2011 07:30

DMSPRO from Docman Solutions

We have been using DMSPRO since January 2008 and have found it is the most important piece of software in the practice. Our staff numbers are only small at 5, but it is very flexible, integrates with Outlook and Microsoft Office and very reasonably priced. (I promise that we are not on commission!) Tech support is timely and very good. Their website is www.docmansolutions.co.uk

 

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By BMLCPA2Biz
24th Feb 2011 22:00

Paperless solution for sole practitioner

CPA2Biz (http://clientsolutions.cpa2biz.com/index.html) workflow management solution – XCM is a great paperless answer to manage your firm wide projects. Additionally, our tax workflow solution Copanion’s ‘organize’ and ‘populate’ products can help you be more efficient and paperless with your client’s 1040s. Crucial time savers during the tax season at this time of the year.

-- Becky Livingston
Senior Manager
Seo/SEM, Social Media, & Online Production
CPA2Biz, Inc.
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
212.596.6230

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By william0555
29th Aug 2016 12:21

Online document management software has many benefits that can help your company reach new levels of success. Here are 7 reasons why your company needs to consider utilizing online document management software.

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