2012 Review of CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business – ProSystem fx Portal

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business - ProSystem fx Portal
800-739-9998
www.cchgroup.com/portal

From the January 2012 Review of Client Portals.

Best Fit:

Firms wanting secure client file sharing functions with integration into other CCH programs, along with file versioning and automated retention and expiration capabilities.

Strengths:

• Can be used on all major browsers and platforms
• Strong security customization
• File versioning for online edits to shared documents
• Customizable firm branding
• Automated file retention and expiration

Potential Limitations:

• No integration with client apps

CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business introduced ProSystem fx Portal in 2009, at the same as the introduction of their SaaS Next Generation Suite, giving professional firms a more secure and convenient client collaboration method that works with other programs in the ProSystem fx Suite of tax and accounting applications. This makes it easy for professionals to deliver final or WIP documents to clients, and also for clients to securely upload documents needed by the firm. The system includes versioning options and read-only functions that further enhance file integrity and security.

Firm User Experience - 5 Stars

CCH initially offered a client portal system as a completely integrated component of its ProSystem fx Document program, but completely redesigned the product about two years ago when it debuted ProSystem fx Portal, which was designed around the common needs of tax and accounting firms and their clients. The portals include full, two-way sharing capabilities, multi-level client and firm user access rights, and varying total storage space based on tiered levels.

ProSystem fx Portal can be run in a completely stand-alone format using a web-based interface, or tightly integrated with ProSystem fx Document and other CCH programs and managed through them, with right-click functionality enabling quick publishing of documents, returns and other files to a client’s portal. Initial setup of client portals is simple, with the ability to create hundreds of client portals simultaneously using a batch process, and the system offers guided help to users for creating and setting up portal functions, such as determining staff and client users, as well as their respective access rights. The system allows multiple users from each client, with the ability to set varying user access based upon their role and needs. This allows firms to determine which files can be accessed, viewed, downloaded, etc. Client portals can be completely firm branded with logos, contact data and firm information.

For firm staff users, the web-based interface opens into a window that shows all of the client portals that are available to that user in a left-hand menu, a tab for accessing administration functions, and a center console that shows the files and folders shared with a client. Information also is available showing recently added documents, who has accessed documents, updated them and the set expiration date of the file. When uploading files into the client’s portal, firm staff users select the appropriate client portal, then select the file or files and begin the upload, with the portal system automatically scanning files for viruses. Documents can also be uploaded to multiple portals, if desired. Files can only be deleted by the firm, after which they are sent to the recycle bin which, much like the one on the Windows operating system, keeps the file available to be restored until the bin folder is emptied. The system can be used by any number of firm staff to manage any number of client portals with multiple users for each client.

ProSystem fx Portal is hosted on the same secure Tier 4 IBM data centers the company uses for its other software-as-a-service (SaaS) products, with 128-bit SSL encryption and password protection at all steps during file storage and transmission, meeting state and federal data requirements. CCH does not guarantee server uptime in their user agreements but has experienced greater than 99.999 percent uptime over the past year.