5 Ways Intuit® Link Will Transform Data Collection This Tax Season

Times are changing, and many accountants and professionals are talking about the Firm of the Future. Everyone wants to be technology savvy, but when it comes down to it, our old, faithful way of doing things hinders us from becoming more efficient.

Intuit® Link data collection portal is a painless step for firms to move toward innovation and client satisfaction this tax season. It is included at no additional fee with your purchase of Intuit ProConnect™ Tax Online, Lacerte® or ProSeries®.

On average, tax professionals spend 65 percent of their time on data collection and data entry, yet clients are frustrated with not knowing what you need from them; after all, they just want to get their taxes done quickly and painlessly, with personal data security a top priority.

Here are five ways Link could help alleviate these key challenges:

1. A sophisticated portal solution. For the typical tax professional, paper organizers garner about 10 percent of the data requested, while 70 percent of all data and documents requested are sent back to the tax professional via Link. Why are the results so much higher for this portal? It’s simple: ease of use and clients being able to understand what you need, and provide it within one place. Last minute requests? No problem. Clients can easily take a picture with their phone, upload it and send it to you within Link.
2. Added security for you and your clients. Gone are the days of filling an envelope with anything that looks remotely like a tax document and sending it in the snail mail. Pros have shared that, every year, original documents get lost in the mail. What about all of the unsecured emails your clients are sending you with attachments? Link has 256-bit encryption to protect you and your clients’ data.
3. Build your firm or personal brand. Using Dropbox, or other cloud-based storage, does not allow you to put your best foot forward as a professional. With Link, clients will see your firm’s photo or logo when they log in, letting them know that the portal is a trusted tool. To set up your custom branding, simply go to “Firm Settings,” and then go to the “Branding” tab. Here, you can specify the firm name, photo and logo you’d like your clients to see.
4. Automated reminders. Set them and allow them to do the reminding for you. Create automated reminders to be sent to specific clients in the future. You can create individual reminders for your clients, or schedule reminders to all of your clients that meet the criteria you specify. Go to “Firm Settings” to set up reminders, or create individual reminders on the “Client Detail” page for any client you choose. Simply set it and forget it!
5. Customized engagement letters and data requests. Create custom data requests based on your client’s needs for businesses or individuals. Simply copy the default templates we’ve provided, or create your own to fit your firm’s clients. Add an optional engagement letter, too. To set up this feature, go to the “Firm Settings” page in Link, then the “Request Templates” tab. From here, you can customize and save your requests.

Times are changing, and technology is finding ways to make doing taxes easier, more secure and convenient for you and your clients. The Link portal is a step in the right direction to becoming a Firm of the Future.