Intuit — Lacerte Document Management System

Article Tools

• Print This Article
• Email This Article to a Friend
• Save This Article
• Order a Reprint

From the April/May 2006 Review of Document Management Systems

This application is designed primarily as an add-on application for the Lacerte tax preparation software. As such, its value is significantly increased if you are using both applications. Lacerte DMS is very simple in its design and is a practical solution for the small firm or sole practitioner.

Installation & Configuration -- 4 Stars
Lacerte DMS is designed as a desktop application and utilizes a database for storing the document files. The database can be configured for storage on the local PC or as a shared database on a network server. In either configuration, the software is installed on each computer. There are no specific hardware requirements beyond a typical Windows-based software application, other than extended storage capacity.

User Interface -- 4 Stars
The interface follows the same look and feel as the Lacerte tax software interface. The organization of document files is client centric. Each client has a folder structure established, similar to Windows Explorer folders. Folder templates can be established and assigned to clients as appropriate. In addition to the documents, each client folder has a client information tab and an issues tab. A third-party application serves as a built-in *.PDF viewer, which allows you to view *.PDF files and apply annotations. This tool also provides integration with any MAPI-compliant e-mail system. Documents can be sent with or without annotations. The scan window allows you to view a scanned document in thumbnail view and reorder, rename and bookmark pages.

Integration -- 4 Stars
The strongest integration is with Lacerte Tax and Intuit’s ProSeries tax software. The client list from Lacerte is directly imported to Lacerte DMS. The integration between the tax software’s printing engine and Lacerte DMS is well designed and easy to use. No integration with other accountant-centric applications is available other than through a print to Lacerte DMS print driver.

Training & Support -- 4 Stars
The services provided by Lacerte are appropriate for this relatively simplistic system. Support is handled by the same group that provides Lacerte’s tax software support. Telephone and e-mail support are available. Training is delivered via webinar presentations.

Workflow & Document Tracking -- N/A Stars
Lacerte DMS is not currently designed to provide workflow automation. As a result, there is nothing to evaluate in this category.

Security -- 4 Stars
A database-level password is the first line of security. In addition, each client can have a unique password applied to his or her files. Individual users can be assigned various rights to access, edit and delete documents. An optional activity log tracks activity by type, user, date and time.