Streamlining workflow is a constantly neglected to-do item for many CPA firms, especially as client demands increase and new regulations continue to come down the pike. With all that is involved, the complexity of the average firm’s tax workflow can seem overwhelming. Throw in the ongoing shortage of professional staff with the pressures of tax season deadlines and it’s easy to understand why firms continue to prepare returns using the“old ways” that have worked for them in the past. However, in the tax and accounting industry time is money, which is why accountants are always searching for ways to improve efficiency in their firms. These Six Best Practices are the key steps that will ease the transition to a paperless tax workflow. For firms that have moved to a paperless tax workflow, the efficiency gains have been phenomenal -- some reporting time savings of up to 45-minutes per return. With the time saved, tax professionals are focusing on higher value activities and delivering better customer service to differentiate and grow their practices.
Achieving results such as these is possible, and it’s easier than you might think. Firms that are running at peak efficiency are those that have implemented the following best practices:
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Scan Client Documents Before Preparation - Scanning is the first step towards achieving the benefits of an automated tax workflow. By scanning client documents on the front-end of the preparation process, firms position themselves for the efficiency gains that come from using electronic source documents.
Scanning up-front creates a digital library of documents that can be immediately accessed throughout tax season. With source documents stored electronically, administrative staff can fulfill client requests in seconds during busy season -- without interrupting billable work. When additional client documents arrive late, staff can easily scan and add them to the first set of documents. And finally, scanning eliminates the need for photocopying -- reducing paper and filing cabinets and eliminating boxes of documents scattered on the floor. -
Invest in a Fast Scanner Designed for Scanning Documents - Scanning is an integral component of a highly efficient tax process; therefore, tax professionals should invest in a professional quality scanner to drive that process. A high-speed scanner is recommended -- one that is designed for scanning documents and can scan both sides of the page simultaneously at 30-40 pages per minute.
What separates a document scanner from other types of scanners and multifunction devices are the advanced features that make it easy to scan tax documents. A document scanner can easily scan different sized documents from business card to legal size. A document scanner also includes advanced paper handling mechanisms to avoid misfeeds and paper jams so firms can scan with confidence -- ensuring every page in a pile of documents is scanned.
Firms should also consider the “daily duty cycle” for a scanner. The duty cycle indicates how many pages per day the scanner is designed to scan. A low cost scanner may only be designed to scan 200-300 pages per day, which may not deliver the reliability needed to get through tax season. Consider how many pages need to be scanned during tax season.
Good document scanners are more affordable than ever before, and don’t forget to consider the software that comes bundled with the scanner. Many high-end scanners include a copy of Adobe® Acrobat® Standard, which is used for scanning as well as annotating and tick marking source documents. The Fujitsu® 6130 is recommended as one of the best scanners for tax professionals. This scanner delivers fast double-sided scanning with advanced features that make it easy to scan tax documents at an affordable price. -
Automatically Organize Scanned Tax Documents -- There are solutions that will automatically organize and index scanned tax documents -- eliminating the time consuming manual task of sorting and identifying client documents. “Scan and organize” solutions, like Copanion’s GruntWorx™, automatically identify scanned tax documents and deliver them in an organized, bookmarked PDF file that makes it easy to find and review any tax document. These solutions will correct the orientation on documents that are scanned upside down or sideways. Blank pages and miscellaneous documents can be automatically identified in order to scan a pile of client documents without having to sort through it.
Using these solutions, client documents are consistently organized and bookmarked in a logical order that matches the tax preparation process --no matter who does the scanning. Simply click a bookmark to find any tax document.
It’s important to note as well that there are additional benefits beyond the tax preparation process. Firms can WOW clients by taking their shoebox of source documents and returning an organized electronic copy. Plus, the next time a client calls looking for last year’s W-2, any staff member can easily use the bookmarked PDF file to locate the document and fulfill the client request -- so tax professionals can focus on higher value activities. -
Implement Dual Monitors - The days of the one-monitor desktop are coming to an end, and for tax professionals that have experienced a dual monitor setup, there is no going back. The value of being able to quickly view multiple programs and documents simultaneously cannot be overstated. With dual monitors, preparers can easily view a client’s current tax return side-by-side with the previous year’s return, source documents, and a point sheet for easy preparation and review. A wide range of affordable solutions is available, so firms can choose the package that is right for their firm. These solutions include dual monitor graphics cards for computers, laptop docking stations, and external graphics expansion modules like the Matrox® DualHead2Go.
The Association for Accounting Administration’s 2009 Benchmarking Office Best Practices Survey reported 90% of firms have implemented dual monitors for all tax personnel, and 37% of firms have implemented three or more monitors for some staff. -
Train Your Team on the PDF Tools and Process - Training can help staff get up the learning curve quickly and mitigate concerns surrounding the change in traditional processes. Tools like Acrobat Standard offer all the capabilities needed to easily tick mark, annotate, and review scanned tax documents. There are a number of third-party solutions that offer similar capabilities and they all offer free trials so firms can evaluate which one best meets their needs.
Where is training for PDF tools offered? Many State CPA Societies offer CPE classes on this subject. There are also many consultants that can help firms go paperless, and there are free resources available on the Internet to guide firms through the transition. Finally, many of the tax and accounting trade publications and paperless tax solution providers, like Copanion, offer free whitepapers and webcasts from their websites that help firms learn how to use these tools effectively. -
Create a Single Location for Storing Electronic Documents with Consistent Naming Conventions - There is no one “best” solution for digital file storage; it really depends on the needs of each firm. For some, creating organized, consistently named folders within a Windows® file folder is adequate. These firms create a shared Windows folder on their network and the folder is typically organized by client ID and tax year. For other firms, a professional document management system (DMS) is preferred. A DMS provides the advantage of tighter integration with tax preparation software. Regardless of which solution firms implement, the main benefit is that it becomes easy to find client documents because everything is in one location with consistently named files and folders.
These best practices provide firms with an excellent guide for implementing an automated, paperless tax processes. By moving away from manual tasks and eliminating paper, firms can save time, money, and resources—all of which translate to a healthy bottom line. Overall, streamlining the tax process and significantly reducing the use of paper, translates into unprecedented efficiency gains. Follow these six best practices to get your firm there.