Northwest Tax Associates: Faster and More Secure with Canopy

Peter Mar of Northwest Tax Associates needed a better way to manage his tax practice. Security for his clients was his first concern, but there were a dozen other little inefficiencies that kept his practice from running at its full potential.

For today’s user story, we talk with Peter about how Canopy was the key to getting more organized and secure, and how his clients have benefited from that change.

How did you first hear about Canopy?

We were looking for ways to make our practice more secure. The IRS security summit has been really clear that security for client documents needs to be a top priority. Which makes sense. We were having problems getting files and documents from clients. Some people would send us faxes, some people would simply attach their documents to an email. People were even sending us paperwork through the mail. And we had to try to keep track of all that.

We desperately needed to find a solution to centralize and manage file transfers with our client base. Canopy’s client portal has really helped us get more organized and communicate with our clients more efficiently.

So the client portal was the feature that attracted us at first. But the other features and the continual improvements to the software have become equally as important to us.

What other features have had an impact on your practice?

The client survey. The surveys save me more time than any other feature right now. It’s such an interactive, simple way for my clients to get information to me. Instead of walking them through the form personally, I can just send them the survey through Canopy. It’s like having a personal assistant start the process for me. By the time I actually start working with the client, just about everything that can be automated is already done.

For me, that means I’m able to spend more quality time with my clients. When they’re in my office or on the phone, I’m able to give them a better customer service experience. My thoughts are more organized. And because I’m more organized and the client has already been able to complete a lot of the paperwork through the client portal, the time we spend together is more efficient for both of us.

More About Peter

Peter Mar has been a federally licensed Enrolled Agent since 1996 and is licensed as a Tax Consultant in the state of Oregon. Peter has also served as past President of the Oregon Society of Enrolled Agents.