Vendor Case Studies
IA readers have asked for more ‘practical’ solutions to real world problems, and so we implemented this series “Case Study Solutions using 3rd Party Products”. These case studies are not ‘infomercials’, ‘paid advertising’ or ‘endorsements’ of any specific product, rather these articles are intended for educational and information purposes to give you, our readers, solutions to situations you or or clients may encounter.
Case Study: Nicole Odeh, a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, accountant and small business owner, and the Neat® Smart Organization System
Nicole Odeh is an accountant, tax expert, certified bookkeeper and president of The Small Business Accounting Solution (of Thorndale, PA) which serves local small businesses and non-profit groups with bookkeeping, tax and payroll support. Nicole is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who supports her clients with QuickBooks setup and training. Her business, TSBAS was founded in January 2007 and has three full-time employees and proudly displays the motto, "For all Your Tax and Accounting Needs."
Nicole, like many business advisors was in need of a time-efficient solution to solve her paper problem. I wonder how many of our IA readers have been looking for ways to rid themselves of the mountains of paper accumulated as bookkeepers, accountants, ProAdvisors and consultants? (Murph) Well in her former process, which Nicole describes as, “paper, paper everywhere,” her practice had become a disorganized, confusing and unkempt mess. Nicole wanted, no needed, a solution to eliminate the hours she spent hauling boxes of paper and scanning her clients’ documents and also manually entering even more data into QuickBooks.
“Clients would ask for a certain tax document or employee file and it would take me two or three days to find where I had filed it,” said Nicole. “I didn’t need to put my reputation on the line for something I knew could easily be resolved if I found the right solution that fit my business. I needed a system that offered comfort and security not only to me, but to my clients as well.”
In reality Nicole was traveling from client-to-client, collecting piles of paper and also entering data into relevant programs. This process was not only time-consuming but her entire organization was resultantly disorganized and cluttered. Soon Nicole undertook research to find the options available that would scan and store information in a convenient and accessible fashion. During her study Nicole came across the Neat® Smart Organization System in an article comparing the product to several others she had been researching.
Nicole decided to give Neat’s smart organization capabilities a try since it appeared to be exactly what she was looking for to streamline her business. She set up NeatReceipts in less than ten minutes and then started watching the tutorials to get a better understanding of all the capabilities Neat® offered.
Using Neat®, Nicole was able to automate the scanning process, saving hours each month over the time it otherwise took to sift through clients' shoe boxes full of receipts and vendor invoices. Neat also gave her the ability to access, share and transform documents anytime, anywhere because of it's cloud-based configuration. Neat’s seamless integration with QuickBooks Online eliminated the time Nicole spent importing and re-entering her client’s information into QuickBooks Online. Nicole said, “I even started buying NeatConnect units for my clients so they can spend less time on administrative task, like dealing with expense reports and vendor invoices. Neat also helps them keep track of their documents year round, so they aren’t dealing with lost paperwork.”
“Using Neat’s products and software has saved me hours of time that I used to spend at my client’s offices scanning their shoeboxes of tax documents” said Nicole. “Several of my clients use QuickBooks Online for their receipts and bills. Instead of making a trip out to visit them on-site, they now scan all necessary documents with their NeatConnect and send their information to the cloud. Once it is in the cloud, I review it to ensure it is correct and then send the information directly to QuickBooks Online.”
Neat's Smart Organization Systems for the small business and home office markets provides a unique combination of cloud-based application, mobile, desktop software and hardware scanning solutions that transform documents into usable digital information. For Nicole Neat® changed her business, “Neat’s Smart Organization System has significantly increased productivity and efficiency in running my business."
Here at Intuitive Accountant we think it is pretty 'Neat" when a 3rd party solution provides exactly what a user is looking for. If you are searching for a 'neat' solution to solve your paperwork clutter and disorganization, you might want to check out Neat® like Nicole did.
Editor’s note: We would like to thank Nicole Odeh and The Small Business Accounting Solution, and Neat® for information and statements provided as a part of this article.
Notice: If you are a 3rd Party Solution Provider that works with QuickBooks (Desktop or Online), feel free to submit a case-study for our review. We will be happy to consider such studies for potential publication and/or contact you regarding re-writes and other editorial requirements prior to publication.