Experts Provide an In-Depth Review of SmartVault's Features and Integration Capabilities

On a recent episode of The Technology Lab Podcast, accounting experts and hosts Randy Johnston and Brian Tankersley, CPA, looked extensively at SmartVault, a secure document management and client portal solution tailored for the accounting industry. A summary of their conversation is below.

The Need to Securely Share Files

“I feel like I’m on the porch talking about the good old days,” Randy described as he mentioned that his relationship with SmartVault started in 2008 when the company was founded by Eric Pulaski – someone Randy has known for 40 years.

“Eric had an idea about securely sharing documents,” Randy recounted, “And he wound up building a very useful product (SmartVault) that’s integrated with QuickBooks and many others…[SmartVault] was one of the early true SaaS products.”

Throughout the years, as many more document management systems and client portals came to the market, SmartVault continued to be a leading provider and stand out among the competition.

A DMS Built for Accounting Workflows

“The [accounting] industry knowledge has been baked into SmartVault from the beginning,” Brian explained SmartVault’s differentiator. “They started in accounting, so they have an extremely deep understanding of the workflows” and regulatory compliance requirements. “SmartVault has solutions for how to solve workflow [problems] in an accounting firm and an accounting department.”

Brian also highlighted powerful integrations: “SmartVault can integrate with all kinds of different accounting products…that nobody else has in the accounting vertical.”

Some other key features Randy and Brian highlighted are:

• Powerful integrations with accounting systems like QuickBooks, UltraTax, and ProSeries
• Secure client portal with document requests, file sharing, and collaboration
• Document management with check-in/out, version control, and auto-filing
• Customizable folder templates for standard engagement structures
• Tax season-only licensing to accommodate temporary staff
• E-signatures built directly into the platform
• Scanner integration for easy document capture
• Automated workflows and forms

A Versatile and Secure DMS for Accountants

“[SmartVault] solves so many common problems we have with document creation, distribution, signature, and filing,” Brian explained. “When you look at it, [SmartVault] is deceptively simple…You can make it as simple as Dropbox if that’s all you need. But,” he continued, “you can also make it as sophisticated as a… high-end tier for a document management system.”

And let’s not forget about the integrated, customizable client portal. “A single client portal is one of the most productive things you can do for your team members inside your firm and for your clients,” Randy claimed.

Schedule a quick demo today to see why SmartVault is the right document management system and client portal for you.