Intuit Teams with SmartVault to Automate the Professional Tax Prep Workflow

PLANO, Texas, June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Intuit announced it is teaming with SmartVault, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) online document storage and protected file sharing solutions, to deliver an integrated document management solution for Intuit^® Lacerte^® and Intuit^® ProSeries^®— two of the industry's leading professional tax preparation applications. The pairing of these technologies automates tax preparation workflow — from receiving source files from clients to printing and sharing final tax returns with a built-in custom branded client portal.

"We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to save our customers time. We look for strategic alliances with companies like SmartVault who are one of the best in their category and can help us automate key parts of the tax prep workflow that can often be costly and time-consuming. Client portals are an important piece of the big picture in that they save our customers time and enhance their relationships with their clients," said Karen Stroup, Vice President of Product Management at Intuit Inc.

"The integration with Intuit is a huge opportunity to deliver a truly automated, highly protected end-to-end workflow that will help deliver massive efficiency gains for tax professionals," stated SmartVault founder and CEO, Eric Pulaski. "Bottom line, if you are involved in the chain of custody for documents, then you are responsible for the protection of that data during the entire tax preparation process. This relationship gives Lacerte and ProSeries customers an integrated solution to automate the tax prep workflow and help maintain data protection at all times."

SmartVault for Intuit^® Lacerte^® and Intuit^® ProSeries^® delivers a robust document management and client portal solution with features designed to automate the tax preparation workflow including:

• Robust document management capabilities built into Lacerte and ProSeries.
• An integrated client portal that can be custom branded for sharing tax returns and other documents with clients.
• Easy set up using existing client data and templates — automatically set up users, security permissions, and folder structure for each client.
• Batch email functionality using customizable email templates.
• Audit reports to track employee and client activity.
• Automated email alerts to notify when files have been uploaded or viewed.
• All the benefits of cloud storage, such as continuous offsite backup of documents, mobile access, and professional security monitoring and management.

Darrell Layman, CPA and an Intuit Accountant Council member, was part of the initial pilot and used the new integration to deliver tax returns to his clients for the April 15, 2014 deadline. "We transitioned 80 clients to the new online process with SmartVault this past tax season and the entire process was so much more efficient because we were able to eliminate many extra steps," said Layman.

SmartVault for Intuit Lacerte has been available in limited beta since March 2014. The live product is scheduled to be available to all Lacerte customers starting on or around June 26, 2014 and all ProSeries customers July 23, 2014.

SmartVault also plans to offer a migration solution for current Lacerte and ProSeries DMS customers to migrate data from DMS to SmartVault. The process will be fully automated and include migrating documents and meta-data. 

For more information and to start a free trial, visit:

http://www.smartvault.com/lacerte

http://www.smartvault.com/proseries

About SmartVault 
SmartVault, a leading provider of Software as a Service online document storage and secure file sharing solutions, provides accounting professionals and businesses with an easy and affordable solution for users to store, view, and share files securely any time and from anywhere. SmartVault's unique integration with popular small- and medium-sized business applications such as QuickBooks, creates a seamless user experience for scanning, attaching, and finding documents within a familiar application. With SmartVault's web portal, users can securely view and share files. SmartVault has earned top honors from Intuit as a QuickBooks Gold Certified Developer, has won multiple Readers' Choice Awards and Technology Innovation Awards from CPA Practice Advisor, and has earned both Awesome App and Awesome QuickBooks Add-On awards from The Sleeter Group.

About Intuit
Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals.

Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. Mint.com provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way for people to manage their money, while Demandforce® offers marketing and communication tools for small businesses. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.2 billion in its fiscal year 2013. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

SOURCE Intuit Inc.