Cost Effective Options to a Paperless Office

1
Cost Effective Optionsto a Paperless Office

• 2004 Solo Small Firm Conference
• Clifford Kaiser
• Kaiser Associates, IT Consulting
• [phone]
• cykaiser_at_KaiserITC.com

2
Cant find your file?
3
BACKUP!, BACKUP!, BACKUP!

• Every firm must have an effective backup system
  that is periodically tested.
• Off-site storage keep it locked up!
• (CA SB 1386)
• Full system or data only backups.
• Extraordinarily more important in a paperless
  office
• Archives

4
Why Reduce Paper

• Cost of file space (in house off site)
• Cost of paper toner
• Labor cost to file and retrieve documents
• Lost files (or misplaced) !!
• Rapid retrieval of documents

5
www.creativesolutions.thomson.com/document-managem
ent/
6
www.creativesolutions.thomson.com/document-managem
ent/
7
Obstacles

• Scanning is labor intensive
• As fast as copying.
• Faster than assembling filing.
• Redundant (protected) disk space.
• Expensive copiers.
• Digital copier/scanners are attractive.
• PC Displays vs paper

8
Obstacles

• Legal issues
• Changes to files
• Burn to CD/DVD or archive tape(s)
• Proprietary file formats
• Staff training for document retrieval.

9
Filing System

• Standard firm-wide plan is essential
• Mimic the paper file system ?
• Use long file names
• Use the Windows built-in file properties

10
Scanners, Mopiers, Digital Copiers

• USB connected, TWAIN compliant
• Commercial grade scanners use SCSI
• Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
• Do you need double-sided (duplex)

11
HP DigitalSender

• 3300
• 15 pages/min
• Network connected no PC needed

12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
PC Displays

• 15in 17in PC monitors wont hack it
• 19in CRT monitor min required
• 17in flat panel display (700)
• Use 2 displays
• Use laptop display external display
• Some flat panels rotate to portrait aspect
• Use high resolution settings
• or match LCD best resolution

15
www.maxdisplays.com
Tri-Panel 18 Display 3070
16
FAX documents

• Inbound FAX to image
• MS Windows 2003 Server
• MS Small Business Server
• Integrated with new digital copiers

17
Workflow

• What When to scan
• Pull out work papers
• After tax project
• When to index
• Index cover sheet OCRd?

18
Software

• None (Windows built-in functionality)
• Adobe Acrobat 6.0
• CPA Specific Software

19
Windows File Properties
20
Windows File Properties Custom Properties
21
Windows Explorer - Column Titles
22
Setting the Author Name
23
Turning on Indexing Service
24
_at_filename Search with Indexing Service
25
AimAtFile Seach Tool
26
Adobe Acrobat

• Creating
• Adding additional docs
• Combining multiple docs at once
• Bookmarks/Tabs/Index/Hierarchy
• All Client docs in one PDF?
• Free PDF makers
• Changing PDF files
• Scanning OCR Adobe Capture

27
www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/pdfs/acrobat6matrix
.pdf
28
CPA Specific Options

• CCH - ProSystem fx Engagement
• Creative Solutions - FileCabinet Solution
• CPASoftware Visual File Cabinet
• eFileCabinet
• Lacerte DMS
• Caseware

29
3rd Party DMS

• Proprietary formats
• DB contains index and/or docs
• Converting to other systems
• Extracting/Importing as clients change CPAs
• Digital Copier bundled DMS

30
ProSystem fx Engagement

• Leverages Microsoft Word and Excel.  
• Integration with ProSystem fx Office suite. 
• Dynamic reports and financial statements linked
  to trial balance
• Integrate content from the Aspen Miller
  Engagement Series, McGladrey Pullen LLP, and
  others for a fully paperless solution.
• With Accounting Research Manager, leverage the
  most timely and comprehensive online database of
  expert-written analytical accounting, auditing,
  governmental and SEC information as well as
  primary source data.

31
CPADocument Manager (formerly Visual File Cabinet)

• Archive directly from CPASoftware products
  including
• Archive directly from 3rd party software such as
  
• Microsoft Word Excel
• Tax accounting software
• Attach scanned-in documents
• The client list in CPADocument Manager can
  originate from
• CPAPractice Manager or CPAAccounting Tax
  Products
• Any user-defined source including 3rd party
  software

32
FileCabinet Solution

• Store Virtually Any Document
• any Creative Solutions software file
• most Windows -based files
• scanned images of source documents (e.g., W-2s,
  notes, or asset photos)
• Email Copies of Documents
• Add Annotations to Documents
• Track the History of Stored Documents
• client additions, document overwrites, and who
  worked on the document.
• Archive Older Files
• Provide 24/7 Access with NetClient Private
  Portals

33
(No Transcript)
34
Cost Effective Optionsto a Paperless Office

• 2004 Solo Small Firm Conference
• Clifford Kaiser
• Kaiser Associates, IT Consulting
• [phone]
• cykaiser_at_KaiserITC.com

35
In closing