Tuesday, December 30, 2014

How To Move Off Xero Practice Manager

Should we want to move off of Xero PM in the future to a server based system, how do we get our data and stored documents back off the cloud? And in what format do they come off the cloud? Read More

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Does Xero Practice Manager Include a Doc Manager?

Does Xero PM have a document manager incorporated? If Xero PM is all on the cloud, and it does have a document management system this will mean uploading everything on to the cloud - yes? I believe you mentioned your firm was paperless (as is ours) - what does your firm do to store all electronic files? Read More

Monday, December 08, 2014

Xero Practice Manager and Corporate Compliance

Regarding corporate compliance, does Xero practice manager have this functionality incorporated in it currently? If not, what suggestions do you have for managing our company obligations with ASIC? Read More

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

SharePoint Vs Box - Feature Analysis


Cloud based document management is a crucial step in truly moving your practice to the cloud (and the 21st century!).

However, there are so many options and choosing one that doesn't work for your firm could cause you months of pain, not to mention the financial strain.

Change Accountants & Advisors (The R'n'D lab behind ChangeGPS) have decided to move away from SharePoint and on to Box. 

Why?

Below is a table which shows all the pro's and con's we've found with each system.

 

Box

+ Pros +

vs.

- Cons -

User friendly

Limited interface functionality

Fast synchronisation, previewing and download of documents

Interface is not customisable

Easy to migrate server and PC data

Folder structures aren't automatically created with linking to clients inside Xero Practice Manager

Continual 3rd party apps and collaborators working with the platform

3rd party integrations and app marketplace can be confusing

Mobile apps

No viable mail file solution at this point

Native desktop app using the familiar windows explorer look and feel

Affordable

Encrypted data transfer (256-bit encryption)

Unlimited storage

Online training modules

Ability to share outside of organisation

Easy file sharing capabilities

No character limit for file names

Strong collaboration tool (in house & external without need for client portals)

Workflow tool

Web apps

Version control

Ability to add notes against documents

Ability to lock documents when working on them

Drag and drop functionality

Links to Xero Practice Manager

Links to Docusign

Audit trails on documents

Global search functionality

Reporting and analytics

Visibility into files

Easy-to-use management tools

Security Alerts


 

SharePoint

+ Pros +

vs.

- Cons -

Highly customisable coded interface

Not user friendly

Extrememly complex/powerful document manager system

Exremely complex document management system

Price included in the single Office 365 platform (not including MPP/ES/SF ongoing fees)

Slow

Strong in-house colaboration tool

Cannot have certain characters in the name of a file (this can effect data transfer / workflow)

Create workflow in SharePoint

Unable to migrate folders

Web apps

Does not link to XPM

Version Control

Limit on file names

Global search functionality

Requires third party to create a clean UI

Encrypted data transfer (128-bit encryption)

No native desktop app

Drag and drop functionality

Unable to collaborate outside of your organisation (without paying to set up a client portal)

Visibility into files

Potential security concerns from 3rd party SharePoint developers

Reliance on 3rd party apps for mail filing and digital/electronic signatures

Unable to upgrade/downgrade 365 subscription and keep the +F18 SharePoint site

Expensive to set up

Limited to 1TB storage space

No mobile app

No audit trail functionality

If you're not convinced - contact us today and we'll book you in for a complete overview of how we're using box in our firm.


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