What to look for in a client portal for an accounting firm

Why clients stop using portals

Clients forget passwords, cannot tell what you still need and give up when the portal does not work on their phone. Each of those sends them back to email attachments, which is what the portal was meant to replace.

What should sign-in look like?

Passwordless sign-in, with a one-time code sent to the client’s email or an authenticator app, removes the most common support call. Invite-only access means nobody can create an account on their own, and the sign-in page should not reveal whether an email address belongs to one of your clients.

Document requests, not reminder emails

Each request should say what is needed, why and by when, and appear to the client as a short to-do list. The client should be able to upload straight from the request, and the request should close itself when the file arrives.

E-signatures for joint returns

For a joint return, both spouses sign. A portal that shows each signer separately makes a half-signed form easy to spot, and an audit trail of when the document was sent, opened and signed gives you a record. For Form 8879, follow the IRS e-signature and identity verification requirements in Publication 1345.

Languages

Many firms serve clients who prefer a language other than English. A portal that clients can switch into their own language, with emails to match, gets used more and generates fewer calls.