How to create a portal ?

What is a portal ?
A client portal is a secure file directory that can be accessed via an Internet-enabled workstation so that files can be viewed and/or transferred between the firm and the client. 


What can a portal do ?
a) Firms can use a portal in a variety of ways, such as publishing a tax return to the portal and then providing the client a link (usually via email) so they can access it after putting in a password. 


b) The portal can also be setup to allow the client to upload working documents such as a QuickBooks file that is too large for their email system to handle, which is often referred to as an FTP or File Transfer Protocol site. 


c) The latest versions of portals can be set up to link to “live” information, such as those used by the wealth care providers tying into brokerage accounts for clients to look up their investment valuations.


3 types of solutions for a portal


1. Document Management System (DMS)
This is for firms that may already have implemented a comprehensive document management system (DMS) that already has an integrated portal solution. Firm personnel are usually comfortable with the menu structure of the DMS, and adding the portal usually requires the least amount of administrative time to setup and train all end users.


2. Internet-hosted solutions

Internet-hosted solutions would cover stand-alone and hosted solutions. 


Stand-alone providers such as ShareFile (www.sharefile.com) and LeapFile (www.leapfile.com) allow firms to integrate a link from within the firm’s website or go directly to the provider for transferring files. These commercial products are among the most secure, but they can take a higher level of technical skill for the firm to set up and the client to utilize. 


Within this group is also the accounting vendor hosted providers such as 
a) Thomson Reuters and CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business (which are usually integrated with their web-based DMS), and 
b) the outsourced tax and accounting firm website hosting companies that provide firms with content, calculators and often a portal. Firms can go to websites4Accountants.com  to see a listing of these providers that include portals. 


3. Microsoft SharePoint
The final portal bucket is for those larger firms that have sophisticated IT capabilities and resources and choose to build their own portal. The most common solution for this group is Microsoft SharePoint, which requires extensive programming skills, as well as personnel with in-depth security experience so it is relegated to a very small number of firms. There are also liability concerns in the event the site is breached or inaccessible during a critical time.