Case Study: Bruce Phillips, CPA – Harshman Phillips

by SmartVault on February 15, 2011

One Very Enthusiastic and Technology-Driven CPA’s Vision—To the Cloud, and NOT Back Again!

Bruce Phillips, CPA, has made the journey from onsite to online… twice. It’s a story of perseverance to get to the Cloud and stay there.

Bruce Phillips, CPA and partner at Harshman Phillips, in a word, is a trooper. Over the past nine months, he has put in a great deal of time researching leading web-based solutions and talking to several thought leaders within the accounting profession about moving forward with his online transition.

“Like anyone, I needed to be informed and educated before making the leap…again,” Phillips stated.

This wasn’t the first time for Phillips. He led his firm’s transition from an onsite to an online system just last year. It was not successful.

“We decided to get rid of all our in-house servers,” Phillips explained. “So, we made the move to a virtual office environment. It was a catastrophe. Thomson’s portal solution simply didn’t work for us, so we brought all our data back in house very quickly and later discovered SmartVault.”

Not one to be discouraged easily, Phillips knew that he would eventually make the transition back to an advanced technology platform.

“It was a necessity,” Phillips explained. “We are a tech-savvy firm, and we wanted to take advantage of all the newest technologies that offer 24/7 access to data, streamline workflow, and provide secure delivery of client documents.”

So, with great determination, Bruce Phillips set out to learn as much as he could and make the journey again…for the last time.

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Striving for All Cloud, All the Time: Using SmartVault is how Phillips plans to accomplish a complete online document management system

Today, the firm of Harshman Phillips has a solid game plan in place for moving to the Cloud. Bruce Phillips, having done his homework, identified the solutions required—from the hosting company and hosted client accounting solutions to online bill pay, portals, and true cloud-based document management.

“We are happy with our hosting company and we love the bill pay service we are using as well. We are also using the hosted versions of Peachtree® and QuickBooks® . And now, with SmartVault in the mix, we have the right platform for a full-scale online document management system, complete with portal integration.”

Phillips explains that they are still in the testing phase with SmartVault, but he loves what he sees so far.

“Our vision is to implement a complete online filing and document sharing system that allows us to easily deliver and exchange documents with clients via portals. We believe SmartVault will accomplish this for us.”

Phillips plans to test the SmartVault solution this tax season. His firm will use the system to deliver all tax returns to clients. “If all goes well, we’ve found our ideal system.”

Phillips is also highly engaged with SmartVault, working with key leaders to improve the product and provide input on what firms require in the system.

“It’s one of my favorite things about the company. They listen to their customers. I can get the CEO on the phone as easily as a support person. They take down my suggestions and work to improve the product. The company truly understands the value of input from their primary audience,” Phillips stated.

By mid-year, Phillips plans to have moved his firm back to “online” status. A forward-thinking CPA, Phillips knows that true efficiency and streamlined workflow are only achievable by adopting the right mix of technologies, which is why he chose SmartVault.

“I’ve made this move once before. It didn’t work out so well for us the first time. However, I know it needs to be done, which is why I spent so much time talking to others, researching vendors, and attending events,” Phillips said. “I don’t mind making the trip again, I just want to land at my final destination.”

Phillips is confident that SmartVault is the answer to fulfilling his firm’s online document management needs. With all the right technologies in place, he is sure to successfully move to the Cloud, and NOT back again.

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