Technology
Best Practices: Paperless Office Planning
Special Feature from the 2007 Tax Season Survival Guide
Jan. 01, 2007
By John G. Seale, CPA.CITP
From the January-March 2007 Issue & 2007
Tax Season Survival Guide
As each year passes and technology processes become more advanced, paperless
(or less paper) solutions are increasingly popular throughout businesses of
all kinds. Based on his or her position, experience and knowledge, the tax and
accounting practitioner can play a pivotal role in helping an organization or
firm standardize its paperless initiatives. Here is a set of time-tested tips
and tricks to initiate and maintain a paperless office:
PROJECT ASSIGNMENT
Select one person to be “in-charge” of the paperless office project.
This person needs to have a good working knowledge of your current business
processes and have a love for technology. Since this project requires acceptance
from your decision makers, a partner- or manager-level person may be your best
choice. In addition, you will need to have a key IT person to assist with the
technology decisions.
Considerations For Initiating & Maintaining A Paperless Office
- Project Assignment
- Implementation Planning
- Software Selection
- Hardware Considerations
- Record Retention
- File & Folder Naming Convention
IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING
Get various committees together (tax, bookkeeping, audit) to discuss the paperless
opportunities that exist in your firm or business, and decide on which areas
provide the greatest opportunity and cost/benefit. In a lot of small firms,
for example, the individual tax area will provide the most immediate payback
of going paperless. Decide on a timetable for implementation, which might be
anywhere from one to three years, depending on your resources and budget.
SOFTWARE SELECTION
In a small firm, integrating your tax, accounting and audit software with your
paperless document management software is a huge advantage. Check with your
tax or trial balance/engagement software vendor for software options. Sending
documents (e.g., tax returns) directly into your document management software
is much easier if integrated by the same vendor. Have key people sit through
Web demos.
HARDWARE CONSIDERATIONS
- Space — Get some estimates of needed hard drive
space from the software vendor and then double that. You just can’t
have too much available space. The first year of going paperless will cause
the biggest jump in required space, which will continue to grow until data
is eventually archived off the system. - Speed — The need for speed increases dramatically
on your network because the new paperless software and data files will be
demanding on the system. Consider moving from 100MB to 1GB network speed by
reviewing your current wiring, switch speed and Network Interface Cards (NICs)
in the computers. - Memory — RAM, RAM, RAM! Having 1GB of memory or
more on the users’ PCs is probably the single most productive hardware
consideration. This will play a big part in the speed experienced by each
user. - Backup — With increased hard drive usage, the ability
to back up your servers with existing tape drives or other means may be in
jeopardy. Consider not only the size of the needed backup, but also the amount
of time needed to make the backup. Going paperless also means a greater reliance
on nightly backups. If it is time for a new backup system, consider using
a hard drive backup system. These systems are generally more reliable than
tape, and restoring files is a simple process. - Scanners — Depending on the size of your company
and the business processes you adopt, you will need to purchase some high-speed
scanners (25 ppm or higher). Check with your paperless software vendor for
recommendations on scanners that may work best for you. Note that not all
scanners use the same software drivers, which may be required for direct scanning
into your paperless software. Consider scanners that can scan duplex (double-sided)
and in color. You will also want to consider personal scanners for accountants
to handle miscellaneous documents, such as tax notices and other correspondence.Resources
- 2003 Guide to Paperless CPA Firm Administration — www.cpaadmin.org
(member section only) - Creative Solutions by Thomson (Engagement CS and FileCabinet CS) —
www.creativesolutions.thomson.com - Lacerte by Intuit (Document Management System) — www.lacertesoftware.com
- ProSystem fx by CCH (Engagement and Document software) —
http://tax.cchgroup.com
- 2003 Guide to Paperless CPA Firm Administration — www.cpaadmin.org
RECORD RETENTION
Review and update your record retention policy, considering the impact a paperless
office will have on that policy. Decide when you will archive records off the
network and how you will store them. Review the archive capabilities of your
software so you can make the retention policy and your software capabilities
co-exist.
FILE & FOLDER NAMING CONVENTION
Now is a good time to review the file naming rules for your firm. Consider using
a format that includes the date, description and client number, for example,
“YYYY Description of Document 1234.doc.” This lets the document
stand on its own and can enhance your ability to search. When setting up client
folders for paperless storage, keep in mind the need for future archiving.
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John G. Seale, CPA.CITP, is a shareholder with RBSK Partners PC in Greensburg,
Ind. He is a member of the AICPA’s Information Technology Executive Committee
and can be contact at jseale@rbskpartners.com.