HOW TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE TAX

WORKFLOW WITH LACERTE & SMARTVAULT

Laurie PortoMarketing Programs Manager

SmartVault Corporation

Daniel FritzDirector of Product

SmartVault Corporation

WHAT WE’LL COVER

• SmartVault Snapshot

• Workflow Automation

• Workflow Integration

• Automation Vs. Integration

• Key Benefits of an Integrated Workflow

• How to Create a Standardized Workflow

• The Ultimate Tax Workflow

• SmartVault Demo

• Q&A

What is happening in the market?

Technology must

meet security and

workflow needs

Businesses must

proactively think

about business

continuity

Increased

compliance

requirements

Consumers expect

to collaborate

online

Challenges faced by organizations

Uncertainty about

data security:

Lack of a secure

workflow to store, find

and share a document,

internally or externally

Inconsistent and

unorganized

methods of

document storage

Compromising

security for

convenience

High costs and

lack of efficiency

due to multiple

systems and

applications

Security in our DNA, from the start

Our founding team

KNOWS security.

Before they started

SmartVault, they started

Bindview which was bought by

Symantec.

Our first focus was

accountants who have unique

security, compliance, and

workflow needs.

We have a strategic partnership

with Intuit. They chose us to be

their only integrated document

management provided for their

professional tax products back in

2014, and that partnership is still

going strong today.

Security continues to drive our

product strategy and is at the

core of what we do.

Save time and money with a paperless

office and standardized workflows

Securely collect,

store, & share files

Simplify the process of

collecting files from clients,

storing them securely, and

sharing them with the right

people.

Create efficient,

standardized

workflows

Simple workflows and

standardized templates

help you streamline your

processes and gain

efficiencies that scale.

Easy to learn,

easy to use

If it's not easy to get started

and fun to manage, your

employees and clients

won't use it. We guarantee

you'll love it, or you'll get

your money back.

Automate manual

paper-based tasks

Spend more time doing

what you love, and less

time fetching, filing and

finding documents.

Eliminate security

vulnerabilities

Consumer-grade cloud apps

put your firm and your

clients at risk. SmartVault

employs bank-level security

practices to protect your

documents and your

business.

Features Accounting Pros

Integrated Platform

One place to securely store,

manage and share all your files.

Integrated with apps you love.

Branded Client Portals

Give your clients a secure, easy, and

professional way to collaborate with

you in the cloud.

Streamlined Workflow

Reduce time spent on repetitive

tasks and focus on activities that

bring more value to your business.

SmartVault was built from the ground up with accounting professionals in mind.

. . .and many more! See all at www.smartvault.com/integrations

Integrations with leading

accounting & tax apps

20,000 + accounting and business professionals SmartVault

“I estimate that we’ve boosted efficiency during tax season by at least

90% since implementing SmartVault… I used to ‘survive’ during tax

season. I now operate much more efficiently.”

Michael YudaCPA

Michael J. Yuda, CPA

Polling Question 1

What is workflow automation?

▪ Streamlining common, repetitive manual tasks

▪ Creating a process to reduce or remove a bottleneck in your workflow

▪ Often, automation requires the use of technology

▪ Examples of automation:

▪ Sending out tax organizers/returns to many clients at once

▪ Using eSignature to get clients to sign engagement letters, tax returns, etc.

▪ Using a client portal solution so your clients always have access to the documents they need

▪ Fetching files like receipts, invoices, and bank files

What is workflow integration?

▪ An integrated workflow means that all of the apps you are using to automate

tasks “talk” to each other

▪ A fully automated, integrated workflow means that you have completely

eliminated manual & repetitive tasks from your day-to-day.

Automation vs. Integration

Automated

1. You print a tax return from your tax app and save to

your desktop.

2. You upload the tax return to your eSignature

solution and send to client for signature.

3. You download the signed document from your

eSignature portal and save to your desktop.

4. You upload the signed tax return to your document

management system for secure storage (and delete

from your desktop!)

5. If you want to share the document with your client,

you also need to upload it to your client portal

solution.

Integrated

1. You print tax returns in bulk from your tax app and

they automatically route to the correct client folders

in your document management system.

2. You send the returns for eSignature right from within

your document management system.

3. Once the client signs the return, it is routed back to

the corrected folder in your document management

system, where all required parties automatically

have access to it. An email alert notifies all parties

that the document is available.

9 tasks

Automation vs. Integration

Automated

You use several apps for automation but have to

manually set-up each client in each one of those

apps

Integrated

Once a client is set-up in your tax app, the client

and appropriate folders are automatically created

in your document management system.

Keys Benefits of an Integrated Workflow

▪ Less manual work for you and your staff

▪ Reduce the amount of time spent on administrative work

▪ A better experience for your clients

▪ You have more time to spend on value-added activities for your clients

▪ If you’re adding more value to your clients, you can charge more for your

services!

Polling Question 2

How to create a standardized workflow

▪ Start by documenting your current process

▪ Where are the bottlenecks?

▪ Where can you automate?

▪ Explore tech to remove bottlenecks and automate tasks

▪ Can your existing apps help with these pain points?

▪ What apps are available that can do these tasks?

▪ Integrate the apps you use with any new apps you’ve chosen

▪ How do the apps talk to each other?

▪ Is the tech stack you’ve chosen really eliminating manual tasks, or are you trading one

pain point for another one?

▪ Repeat

▪ Document your new process with the automation & tech you’ve put in place.

▪ After a few months, re-examine if you have any bottlenecks, or any other areas you can

automate.

Document

AutomateIntegrate

Polling Question 3

SmartVault Demo

Polling Question 4

Get Started with SmartVault

In a matter of minutes you can be up and running with SmartVault.

• Setup and Customize SmartVault

• Import Client Information & Files

• Training for You and Your Team

“Implementation could not have been easier.

SmartVault’s support team could not have

been more helpful. And I could not be more

please with the outcome”

Bruce Phillips, CPA &

PartnerHarshman Phillips

Clients tell us..

“We tripled our productivity this tax

season by connecting SmartVault,

Lacerte and DocuSign and have

reduced the number of clients on

extension by 75%! This tax season

was the smoothest I've

experienced in 20 years!”

Dawn Brolin CPA, CFE

Powerful Accounting

“As soon as I saw what SmartVault

could do, I knew we had to have it.

I loved it so much I was willing to

fight for it when I went back to our

firm's partners with our proposal

for implementing the new

solutions I had vetted.”

Pauline Sullinger Director of T.A.S.C.

Miller Grossbard Advisors

It was easy to see how using

SmartVault would allow us to

take the next step in improving

our internal processes while also

providing our clients with an easy-

to-use portal and secure

document exchange platform

Trevor HaleySenior Credit Analyst

CRC CPAs

Q&A

Book 15 Minutes to Learn More

smartvault.com/see-a-demo