Managing clients—and the inevitable mounds of paperwork that accompany them—is a formidable task for any practice. But when most of your clients don’t even live in the same time zone, that task takes on a whole new level of complexity. We spoke with Robert Azar of America’s Choice Bookkeeping and Tax Services about how Canopy allows him to easily manage clients and paperwork no matter where the clients live, and why his clients love using Canopy’s portal.
Tell us a little about why you started using Canopy.
I’m using Canopy as my main tool to work with clients from all over the United States. Since we have a national client base, our clients can’t just swing by and drop off a copy of their W2s. So, we had to find a way to transfer files conveniently and securely. Attaching files to an email is a big no-no—convenient but not secure. So the obvious answer is a client portal.
Of course, there are lots of other client portals out there, but they’re not very user-friendly. I’ve got over 400 clients using the portal, so I need one that’s user-friendly. The one we tried before Canopy was an absolute disaster.
That’s not the case with Canopy. Not only is it easy to use on my end, but I get great feedback from my clients. They love it.
How do you use Canopy on a day-to-day basis?
It’s the primary way we keep in contact with our clients. It’s simple for them to sign up and upload all the documents we need to the portal. It’s also easy for them to review the final documents we prepare for them—a tax return or financial statement or whatever we’re doing for the client. It’s also a convenient place to store these sensitive documents so that the client has easy access to them forever.
How have your clients responded since you’ve started using Canopy?
Our clients love Canopy. It’s so easy for them to register for the portal and upload their documents there. Of course, there’s no other good way for us to exchange documents with national clients, but even our local clients love the portal. They have busy lives. Canopy makes it so that they don’t even have to come by the office. They can just upload their documents from their home computer, quick and easy.
More About Robert
Robert brings over 35 years’ experience on working with and helping small to medium sized businesses with their accounting and tax needs. He’s made a career out of teaching CPA’s and Accountants all over the US how to market to and work with small business clients.
Want to read more about the difference modern accounting practice management software can make for your clients? Check out 3 Reasons You Should Start Using a Client Portal.
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