Client Portal for Accountants – What It Should Look Like
by Abdul Aziz Mondal Business Published on: 24 September 2021 Last Updated on: 30 October 2021
Every company and organization keeps accounting records and may need to keep in touch with clients to share invoices, LPOs, receipts, and other sensitive documents. Using a client portal for accountants makes collaboration with clients and accounting staff easier throughout the organization. It offers low-hanging fruits to the company.
But before obtaining an appropriate client portal for accountants, it is worth knowing all of the important features and even comparing the cost implication. The good news is that the web has a lot of information that you need to make the right decisions, including this article.
Secure File Sharing
One of the biggest reasons to source for this portal is to add security when sharing sensitive files with clients such as LPOs, invoices, payment receipts, and bank statements, among other documents. Most client portals for accountants are made with bank-level security for ultimate security when sharing files.
Because the shared documents are stored in the vault for ease of access before downloading, they are encrypted to ensure that malicious people do not access them. While looking for a client portal for your accounting department, look at their security levels.
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Access Control
The accounts department has employees at different levels. Your client portal for accountants should allow different permission levels to control who sees the content on the system. For instance, finance managers should have access to all of the files and can generate any report in the portal while accounting clerks should have limited permission to avoid conflicts.
Likewise, the clients are also given access control to see data that is related to their accounts. So, choose a portal with this feature to take full control of your clients.
Reminders and Notifications
Accountants and clients should have reminders and notifications to know when to share data. So, the client portal for accountants should be synchronized with emails or mobile numbers to send automated reminders and notifications for important functions and events.
For an accountant, the reminders to share invoices, receipts, and other important files with clients increase the efficiency of work. Clients should be able to share their reminders as well.
Ease of Collaboration
A client portal for accountants that allows task management within the team is the most ideal. Everyone on the team should see the tasks assigned to them and others as well for transparency. For instance, each member should see the clients they should handle, timelines, and other details. This improves the efficiency of client management and collaboration with partners as well.
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Ability to Customize
Clients should see a client portal for accountants that are branded with the company’s name, logo, and colors. This creates a professional work environment that increases confidence. So, choose a client portal with these and more features for your company. Apart from colors and logos, ensure that you can customize other functionalities as well in your client portal for accountants.
Final Words
A good client portal for accountants should have the above features and more depending on the needs of the company. You can compare them on different review websites. As you do this, check the price as well because you will have to pay annually for access.
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