Testimonials

GoFileRoom

In-Depth Software Evaluation Puts GoFileRoom On Top

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP recently made the decision to evaluate their own workflow and find out where and how they could reduce costs and become more efficient. They used their own consultants to document their processes and evaluate costs. The results helped them realize that electronic document storage, document management, and most of all, scanning are crucial to using their employees' time effectively.

Once Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP's goals were in place, it was time to look for tools that could help them achieve their desired efficiency gains. To get started, they formed a software evaluation task force consisting of 15-20 people. The task force reviewed different software options over a two-month period. Based on the results of that evaluation, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP chose to pilot GoFileRoom and FirmFlow. "GoFileRoom is stable and proven. We weren't looking to be cutting edge, we wanted the reliability of a proven solution. GoFileRoom helps us stay on top of the tasks that need to be done," said Jim Brasher, tax services managing partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP.

"We chose GoFileRoom for many reasons, but from the start we could see that the software was intuitive and easy to use. After the evaluation, we were confident that the software could help us handle the 35,000+ tax returns that we process each year," said Jim. "After our first busy season using GoFileRoom we asked for internal feedback. We talked to many pilot users and the average rating among them was 4.9 out of 5 stars. Pretty impressive."

In the time that Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP has had GoFileRoom in place, they have seen notable time and money savings, and widespread support for the tool. "We saw an increase in efficiency from the beginning of busy season to the end of busy season. The users became believers and in just one office, we saved $11,000 in paper costs," said Jim. "We have product champions in place, as suggested by our Thomson Reuters consultant, and they really help to speed up the learning by discovering shortcuts and sharing that information across the firm."

As Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP rolled out GoFileRoom across their tax business, they appreciated the cooperative nature of the Thomson Reuters consultants and senior staff. "Through the implementation, we enjoyed the positive atmosphere created by the consulting team. They were very accommodating. They listened to our comments and concerns, and did everything possible to work with us to ensure the best possible outcome," said Jim. "I like that we have an open relationship with access to senior staff at Thomson Reuters—it's been a very good business partnership."

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP has also enjoyed the reliability and convenience of working on the web with GoFileRoom to manage their paperless workflow easily. This scalable solution combines comprehensive document management, scanning, and workflow technologies with the power of the Internet to provide firms with a single tool to efficiently manage, secure, and streamline the workflow process.

When talking about future plans for GoFileRoom at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, Jim said, "When we surveyed our pilot users we got nearly unanimous agreement that GoFileRoom was easy to use, helped us obtain greater efficiency, and could handle our complex workflow structures. We've decided to implement GoFileRoom in every office of the firm. From the tax point of view, we consider GoFileRoom a success. Our next step is to evaluate client portals [NetClient CS] to help us manage the effects of the efile mandate."

About Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP

With staff totaling more than 1,600, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP provides a wide range of accounting, tax, assurance, and consulting services. Ranked as the 13th largest* firm in the country, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP serves clients from offices in Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Washington D.C., and throughout Wisconsin.

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP is the exclusive U.S. branded firm in the Baker Tilly International network. Baker Tilly International is a worldwide network of 161 high quality, independent accounting and business advisory firms in 137 countries, with more than 26,000 professionals. The combined worldwide revenue of independent member firms exceeds $3.4 billion. To find out more, visit www.bakertilly.com.

*According to the 2012 Accounting Today "Top 100 Firms."

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