5 Best Document Management Software for Accountants in 2024

Accountants deal with multiple data sources.

You have to reconcile data from your firm’s CRM, electronic documents as well as paper files just to create financial statements.

Hence, the best document management software for accountants is necessary to improve your firm’s efficiency. Otherwise, this process is tedious and error-prone.

With manual document management, you’ll have to endure lengthy and inaccurate financial report preparation processes that lead to legal compliance issues.

In fact, you may even face legal penalties of inaccurate financial reporting.

According to a Canopy survey, 32% of accounting firms confessed that information management ranked among their top three challenges. This slowed down budget approval processes and led to audit failures quite often.

However, the right tool will improve the accuracy of your financial statements and streamline compliance.

In this guide, I’ll take you through the best document management software for accountants in 2024. They will help improve your firm’s tax preparation processes, audit compliance, and the overall productivity of your firm or solo practice.

Quick summary:

1. FileCenter – Best for enhancing productivity with QuickBooks.

2. TaxDome – Best for improving corporate tax preparation.

3. Folderit – Best for document sorting for month-end close.

4. SuiteFiles – Best for maximizing billable hours for firms.

5. IRIS – Best for automating lease accounting compliance.

Let’s get started.

How to Choose a Document Management Software for Accountants

a) Assess compatibility with accounting tools

When it comes to how to choose a software for managing your accounting documents, interoperability with your existing tools is key for frictionless transitions.

For example, if you use QuickBooks, you want a top bookkeeping software that offers interoperability with this tool so that you don’t need to use costly third-party add-ins, thereby minimizing downtime.

b) Consider cloud accounting capabilities

Additionally, you want to go with platforms offering cloud accounting features, so that you can work remotely as a freelance accountant or when working from home.

Besides facilitating remote work, prioritizing cloud-based document management is one of the top tips for choosing an accounting document management software that bolsters collaboration for accounting firms.

c) Prioritize built-in, time-stamp features

When choosing a document management software for accounting, automatic document time-stamps which help to prove the integrity of archived documents are crucial.

That’s because such document management compliance features allow you to provide legal proof that documents haven’t been altered. In turn, this helps to ensure frictionless and faster audit processes.

d) Examine the tool’s ease of use

Finally, you should investigate the tool’s learning curve. The best document management software for accountants should ease complex accounting processes.

So when selecting a document management software for accountants, choose one that has a clean and intuitive interface. This will help to lower frustrations as well as manual data migration needs.

e) Consider document centralization features

In terms of what to consider when choosing a document management software for accountants, document centralization is key as this will accelerate tax preparation.

With such tools, you can centrally manage all your financial documents like balance sheets, bank statements, and other supporting files. This centralization simplifies iterative tax filing tasks such as filing monthly payroll taxes.

1. FileCenter

FileCenter offers integrations with top accounting tools.

So if you already rely on solutions like QuickBooks and UltraTax, this integration negates the need for you to re-learn new processes, thereby making it very easy to pick up.

By integrating with various QuickBooks functions, FileCenter allows you to organize financial documents better to ease report creation.

You can arrange documents per client, which you cannot do with QuickBooks, thereby elevating the capabilities of your accounting software to provide a more holistic solution for financial document management.

Therefore, I’m certain that this is the best document management software for accountants if you’d like to boost your productivity with QuickBooks.

Furthermore, FileCenter offers bulk file naming and sorting options for accounting files.

Through automatic and logic-driven naming formulas, you can create naming rules and eliminate human error to avoid keeping critical financial records hidden.

Best features:

Cloud integration with popular services, which allows you to retrieve information from databases in real-time so that you can prepare financial reports faster.
PDF conversion and editing functions that allow you to quickly create and send out secure and professional-looking accounting legal documents with ease.
FileCenter client portal that allows you to exchange receipts, purchase orders, and other files with clients to improve your turnaround time with financial reports.

Pricing:

Pricing starts at $5/user per month.

While FileCenter does not deliver accounting-focused features since it’s not a niche solution, it offers a holistic tool for improving not just bookkeeping but other business processes that require efficient document management like lead nurturing.

2. TaxDome

TaxDome greatly streamlines corporate tax preparation.

It does so by centralizing all the documents that your accounting firm needs to prepare corporate tax returns such as 1040, Schedule C, 1120, and 1065 forms, to name a few. This enables quick file recalls while preventing document misfiling and loss.

Consequently, TaxDome proves an efficient solution if your accounting firm is keen on more accurate and successful corporate tax return filing.

Additionally, TaxDome’s electronic signature software eases tax compliance even more.

This enables the convenient, accurate, and industry-compliant signing of IRS-approved tax forms like Form 8879, Form 8878, and Form 2350, among others.

At the end of the day, I find that all these features make TaxDome the best document management software for accountants in 2024, more so as far as tax preparation is concerned.

Best features:

Centralized file management that allows your accounting firm to organize files by client, thereby easing document search for accountants to boost productivity.
Smart desktop assistant that allows you to upload documents directly to client accounts. This minimizes your workload when dealing with batch file uploads.
Integration with popular tax software including but not limited to UltraTax, Drake, and TaxDome, which saves you from having to carry out redundant data entry.

Pricing:

Pricing starts at $50/user per month.

TaxDome subscription plans are quite high, making it an expensive tool to maintain. However, the upside is that you get bonus features beyond document management such as workflow automation, which further boosts productivity for your accounting firm.

3. Folderit

Folderit simplifies accounting document sorting.

Thanks to OCR scanning technology with automatic metadata classification, you can digitize and automatically organize various accounting documents. This makes it easier to search and find important financial files.

With Folderit, you can even search read-only documents like scanned receipts, making it easy to retrieve data. This simplifies your month-end close process.

For this reason, I find that Folderit is the best document management software for accountants if you’d like to simplify month-end close tasks such as preparing profit and loss statements, creating balance sheets, and preparing general ledgers.

Additionally, Folderit offers Microsoft Office 365 Integration, as with FileCenter.

So if you already rely on Excel spreadsheets for financial management, Folderit offers integrations that enable you to get the best of the tool’s accounting document management features as well as Excel’s complex calculations functionalities.

Best Features:

Dedicated email service with automatic alerts. This allows your accounting firm to stay connected with clients so that you can improve their financial success.
Document approval features for desktop and mobile devices, which allows you to approve financial documents conveniently across your different workflow levels.
Cloud storage with high-level security that allows you to back up important financial reports and also print out hard copies remotely when you need them.

Pricing:

Pricing starts at $28 per month.

Notably, Folderit has a slightly complex user interface which can initially slow down your performance. However, once you get the hang of it, you can leverage its wide range of features to ease data handling for your accounting firm.

4. SuiteFiles

SuiteFiles can make your accounting firm more profitable.

Thanks to document management automation with pre-filled file and folder templates, you’ll spend less time manually creating documents and performing data entry. The result is fewer accounting administration tasks so you can focus more on billable work.

What’s more, by automating routine tasks for accountants, SuiteFiles ensures that you divert more time toward client nurturing and growth-focused activities.

In light of the above, I find that this is the best document management software for accountants if you’re keen on achieving higher revenue growth rates.

When it comes to creating a documentation retention policy that’s workable, SuiteFiles is also a big help.

It stores and secures sensitive financial data within cloud-based Microsoft data centers. So you can easily achieve legal compliance with various laws such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act, which mandates the storage of financial reports for at least seven years.

Best features:

Folder and file templates that allow you to implement popular templates for accounting firms to free up more time that you can put back into your business.
Centralized document management complete with full-text search capabilities. This places vital financial documents at your fingertips to make you audit-ready.
Cloud-based data storage with daily backups to ensure your accounting records are always up-to-date so you can identify investment opportunities for clients.

Pricing:

Pricing starts at $25/user per month.

Notably, SuiteFile’s integration with Outlook can slow down Outlook’s performance. However, you can get around this by leveraging more high-speed processors and constantly updating your computers’ drivers.

5. IRIS

IRIS primarily eases lease accounting compliance.

It does that by helping you to automatically create a structured and consistent hub for centralizing your data. Additionally, IRIS prevents users from accidentally saving files in the wrong locations, overwriting documents, and deleting key data needed for audits.

As a result, IRIS is great for automating compliance with various lease accounting standards such as IFRS 16, ASC 842, and FASB, among others.

Therefore, IRIS is the best document management software for accountants in 2024 if improving lease accounting is a top priority.

That said, I also find the tool useful for other purposes.

Just like FileCenter, IRIS doubles up as a client portal software for more convenient and timely file sharing.

This feature helps your accounting firm to securely and quickly exchange data via encrypted links. So besides easing accessibility to key accounting documents, this portal also streamlines communication.

Best features:

Accounting client portal that allows you and your clients to quickly upload and download files, thereby increasing your turnaround time for various projects.
Lease accounting compliance automation which makes your accounting processes more transparent while minimizing iterative manual tasks for you.
Forms recognition technology that helps you to automatically and accurately organize files that you’ve digitized, thereby making files easier and faster to find.

Pricing:

Pricing starts at $18.5/user per month.

IRIS is an accounting practice management software and therefore contains surplus features that can steepen the learning curve. However, it makes for a great solution for improving document management and other accounting processes at large.

Conclusion

Accountants lose valuable work hours needlessly.

By relying on manual document management strategies, you’ll spend a lot of time performing manual data entry and even chasing after clients for extra information to prepare financial reports.

In a nutshell, manual document management subtracts from your accounting firm’s profits due to many non-billable tasks.

According to a Xeros study, accountants lose at least 2 hours a day to manual data management. This is lost time that can otherwise bump up revenue significantly.

Therefore, I recommend using the best document management software for accountants in 2024 to improve your firm’s profitability.

More specifically, I find that FileCenter is ideal for enhancing productivity with QuickBooks. Meanwhile, I recommend TaxDome for streamlining corporate tax preparation and Folderit for improving month-end close document sorting.

That said, be sure to claim your free FileCenter trial to learn how you can boost your earning potential as an accounting firm with the right tools.

FAQ Section

What is a document management software for accountants?

A document management software helps you create electronic copies of your accounting documents to enhance their organization and visibility.

Furthermore, such tools help you improve your file management strategy by integrating with traditional accounting tools to provide extra functions. In turn, this simplifies audit preparation and improves the efficiency of your accounting processes at large.

What are the key features of a document management software for accounting?

Crucially, document versioning is a feature of the best document management software for accountants as it helps to audit-proof your accounting documents and processes.

Additionally, you’ll overcome common file search problems with robust document indexing and storage functionalities. These will make it easier and faster to retrieve information and prepare your accounting reports.

What are the benefits of using an accounting document management software?

First, you’ll spend less time on non-billable tasks such as information retrieval, therefore improving your earning potential for your firm or as an independent CPA.

Additionally, with features like client portals for file sharing, you can easily keep your clients in the loop. This goes a long way to improving client satisfaction and guaranteeing more repeat business.

How much does a document management software for accountants cost?

The pricing of document management software for accountants starts at $5/user per month with FileCenter, which ensures a very budget-friendly solution for your firm.

Furthermore, among FileCenter’s pricing plans is the option to opt for a one-time, per-user payment of just $97. This ensures excellent ROI for your accounting firm by eliminating recurring expenses.

Why is FileCenter the best document management software for accountants?

Crucially, FileCenter offers integration with the accounting tools that you use every day, thereby allowing you to squeeze even more value and ROI from your workflow.

Furthermore, FileCenter excels for its receipts & expense tracking features, which centralize essential financial documents that you need to monitor and improve your accounting firm’s and clients’ cash flow processes.