The Freelance Bookkeeper: Why SmartVault is the Tool of Choice for Virtual Bookkeeping

The following is a guest post from Professional Bookkeeper and Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor Gabrielle Fontaine. For more of Gabrielle’s awesome advice on virtual bookkeeping, visit http://thefreelancebookkeeper.com. 

With cloud technology in the accounting world growing by leaps and bounds, the way freelance bookkeepers work with their clients is changing dramatically. The most exciting change by far is the move to virtual services via the cloud. With so many new tools to choose from, one stands head and shoulders above the rest: SmartVault. More than ever, SmartVault is now the must-have tool for virtual bookkeepers. Here’s why:

It works with the most popular bookkeeping programs.

Even though SmartVault started as a QuickBooks add-on, it has now grown to be so much more! Over the past few years many more small businesses are opting for web-based accounting software programs. That presents a big challenge for freelance bookkeepers (and accountants). Working with just one bookkeeping program is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Honestly, QuickBooks desktop software is no longer the only game in town. SmartVault has kept pace and makes it a breeze for bookkeepers to provide clients with audit-tight bookkeeping records not only in QuickBooks for Windows and QuickBooks Online, but also Xero and FreshBooks.

It’s the secure and affordable tool that grows with you.

Many of the professional level tools in the accounting space can be cost prohibitive for the solo freelance bookkeeper, especially when first starting out. This causes some bookkeepers to take on unwise risk that can hurt both them and their clients. They opt for inexpensive but marginally secure tools for handling clients’ sensitive financial documents. That’s a scary thing to do when we all know how rampant identity theft and fraud are online. Enter SmartVault.

SmartVault is a breath of fresh air on that score. With the new SmartVault for Accountants and SmartVault for ProAdvisors pricing, even a new business start-up bookkeeper can provide the truly professional and secure services needed, starting with their first client! It makes virtual workflow efficient and easy, no matter what type of clients are being served. Small business clients are not necessarily early adopters when it comes to new technology. Others love to be on the bleeding edge. The challenge for the virtual bookkeeper is working with a wide range of clients. SmartVault gets this. It helps by providing an easy way to both convert paper documents to electronic (and easily sharable) format, as well as secure 2-way communication. This is a god-send for bookkeepers!

The problem of creating a workflow that is easy for the client and efficient for the bookkeeper is solved with the flexible tools built right into SmartVault, such as the Inbox, the SmartVault Drive and the client portal (which can even be built into your website!) These tools all fit together to create an effective yet flexible way to fit client needs and get the bookkeeping done quickly and accurately.

SmartVault is definitely the tool that the frontline virtual bookkeepers are adopting and they find it a key tool in their business growth. But workflow methods for many new and established freelance bookkeepers is still somewhat of a mystery, especially when it comes to moving services to the cloud. If that’s your situation, great news! SmartVault provides lots of training resources on the SmartVault website (smartvault.com/resources/)