Firms that focus on providing a great client experience find that in addition to happier clients and staff, their business grows as well. Bolstering the client experience by reinforcing the relationship that is established with current clients—and establishing trust with new clients—starts with the effectiveness of your communication.
Tax automation solutions help firms provide their clients with a much smoother, efficient back-and-forth communication in every step of the tax engagement journey.
1. Elevated E-Signature Tax Client Experience
Getting documents e-signed and returned by clients can be a quick and pleasant experience with the right resources. Implementing an automation solution that is designed specifically to help tax and accounting professionals effectively serve their clients is the most efficient method.
When the look and feel of a client email with documents requiring e-signature is similar to their experience across the tax engagement, they know what to expect. Branded emails—down to the color scheme of your firm—provide a level of comfort and the clear, step-by-step process is familiar whether they are signing an engagement letter, POA, or tax return.
Familiarity gives clients more confidence to go through each necessary process. Each step of the tax journey feels like an accomplishment, not like the first step in an unfamiliar direction each time they receive communication from your firm. Your adoption rate increases, and the result is happier clients.
2. A Better Way to Gather and Submit Information
An interactive and intuitive tax organizer client experience that allows clients to digitally complete their information saves time for both client and firm. Automate this step in the tax process for clients and offer a solution that gives them the ability to attach and upload source documents in a secure environment.
The tax client experience is streamlined when they can ask questions right on the tax organizer, giving firm staff the ability to send those inquiries directly to the tax professional to answer.
Look for a solution that includes a DRL (Document Request List) solution making it simple for clients to know what information they need to provide. Functionality that includes the ability to send reminders with a link to the DRL and the option to receive completion notification saves time for staff. The ability to reopen completed DRLs is highly desirable aspect of your automated technology solution because additional documents can be uploaded if a client discovers source documents that weren’t included in their original submission—so the tax client experience is not interrupted.
Finding an all-in-one automation solution that makes the entire process easier for all involved reduces time and headaches for both firms and their clients. Digital solutions increase the completion and return rate, a positive reflection on the enhanced tax client experience. Some firms report tax organizer completion rates of 30% or more when using SafeSend Organizers™.
3. Automated Review and E-Sign for the Best Tax Client Experience
What is the one thing your clients care about the most when they receive their tax return? They want to know how much they owe or are getting back. An automation solution that displays a summary of the information clients want most right up front is a tool that will endear your firm to them.
Utilizing an automation solution that does not require clients to create an account eliminates the frustration they feel when they can’t remember usernames or passwords. Providing clear instructions on what is expected of them and guiding them through the process to complete their return is simple with the right automation tool.
Personalizing their experience with your firm’s branding and custom messages maintains the individualized attention they have come to expect from your team. When they find your invoice for services included—along with a link to make their online payment—they’ll appreciate the time they save with everything in one place.
4. Share Files Securely
Providing the best firm-client file transfer solution for ease of use in the accounting profession will heighten the tax client experience. Finding a solution that gives your clients password-free access to secure file transfer on any device from anywhere in the world not only eliminates password confusion but gives your firm the high technology adoption rates you expect from clients.
A consistent tax client experience is accomplished when your technology solution includes core features of traditional file share systems, such as large file transfer and secure document exchange and allows your firm the ability to automatically encrypt email attachments right from within Outlook.
Bring additional value to your technology investment by providing the same intuitive client experience for source document gathering and other file transfers. Having one platform that provides one easy, secure experience for your firm and clients means more efficient document gathering capabilities. Seek out a solution that also includes templates for faster sending and up-to-date tracking when requesting and gathering documents from taxpayers.
Your firm can overcome the challenge of serving taxpayers that want their data sent via email when you adopt a file sharing solution that allows your staff the ability to automatically encrypt email attachments from within Outlook.
5. Easy Extension Process
Standardizing your firm’s process benefits your firm and improves the tax client experience. When your firm has one solution that standardizes all client communication from engagement letters to extensions, your clients benefit from the familiar client experience.
The best solution your firm can find to automate every client touch point in the tax engagement, will even make the extension process familiar to clients. The delivery of extension documents for review, the collection of signatures if required, and the payment options with vouchers from various taxing authorities are a breeze with one solution that standardizes the process.
The SafeSend Suite® provides all 5 automation solutions to enhance the tax client experience. Investing in the SafeSend Suite gives your firm powerful functionality to address every client touch point—and eliminate pain points—across the tax engagement:
- Engagement Letters – SafeSend Signatures™
- Tax Organizers – SafeSend Organizers™
- Assemble & Delivery – SafeSend Returns®
- Secure File Exchange – SafeSend Exchange™
- Extensions – SafeSend Extensions™
Give your tax clients the experience they deserve when you implement the SafeSend Suite. It’s the only technology solution that addresses all 5 ways that automation enhances the tax client experience and gives them a 5-star tax journey experience.
Schedule Your SafeSend Suite Demo Today
SafeSend Returns is the flagship solution in the SafeSend Suite and a multi-year winner of the CPA Practice Advisor Technology Innovation Award. SafeSend Returns eliminates the manual, labor-intensive elements many tax departments experience producing client-ready tax returns.