Publications

• 30 Second Ideas
• Accounting Updates
• Alerts
• Articles
• Business Surveys
• Construction Edge
• Healthcare Edge
• Insurance Edge
• Legal Talent
• Manufacturing Edge
• Not-for-Profit Edge
• Quick Links & Good Ideas
• SEC Edge
• Strategy Insights Blog
• Surviving the Upturn
• Tax Highlights

Online Client Portals Provide Added Security & Foster Collaboration

As federal and state laws have become increasingly rigorous for communicating with clients electronically, forward-thinking professional service companies have responded by establishing secure online portals as an alternative to email. These web-based portals allow clients and professionals to communicate and share documents and information in a secure, password-protected environment.

A brief summary of the benefits of using client portals:

• More secure than e-mail (128-bit encryption)
• Dual permission levels — clients can determine level of access for each employee
• Ease of access to prior-year returns and statements
• Single-instance storage — everyone shares the same version of a document
• Email alerts to notify user of portal activity
• Facilitates work in a paperless ‘green’ environment, reducing waste
• No additional cost to the client

The portals’ collaboration features, such as discussion boards and calendars, have helped our clients and Blackman Kallick professionals to work together more effectively since we implemented the technology over a year ago. For annual engagements, such as financial-statement audits, reviews or compilations, and tax services we even developed a model that offers report libraries so users can access information “on demand.”  “The portals provide a higher level of security than email communications and are far more time-efficient and environmentally considerate than regular mail and paperwork,” says John Baratta, Business Analyst.

Upon creation of the client portal, all users are provided with introductory materials and on-demand training documents.  Also, your professional service provider should have in-depth knowledge of the application and be able to provide support and answer any questions you may have.

“Hundreds of our clients have been using them for more than a year now with more signing up every day,” adds Baratta. “The level of activity in these portals reveals a high comfort level with the technology and how easy they are to use.”

If you would like to learn more about client portals or to set up one with Blackman Kallick, please contact a member of your engagement team or click here to request access online.

Look for more time- and money-saving IDEAS in future issues of Tax Highlights.

This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.