New Features for APX and Firm Portal

 

Important Please Read

All OfficeTools by CARET users will be required to update at the same time. In the event, a user remains on 3.7 or an older version they will not be able to log into the program until the 3.8 update is applied. In order to minimize any negative impact make sure everyone in your office is able to update at the same time.

 

Summary of Changes with 3.8

• APX Retainer Feature
• APX PayNow and Retainer Management 
• APX Billing Address Auto Populates Payment Method 
• Firm Portal Document Download Workflow Change Important
• Firm Portal Download Window Improvement 
• Online Questionnaire 
• Billing Client Retainer Notice when creating an Invoice

APX Retainer Feature

More ways to leverage APX in your billing workflow are by sending a retainer request with APX.  A retainer can be requested before services are performed, meaning an invoice won’t yet exist. A retainer Payment in OfficeTools is an unapplied payment, that can be applied later to an invoice. To use the feature, go to Billing>Payments>APX button> Select Create Retainer.

 

How to Create an APX Retainer 

When creating a Retainer Request the application will prompt for the following information. What client is the retainer request for, the amount of the retainer, and a description is necessary. The 'Send Request' button will generate an email with a payment link, similar to PayNow payment requests.  

Once the client has paid the retainer it will show up automatically on the payments tab like any other APX payments made via PayNow, Recurring, or Portal. 

The retainer email template has been added to the email template area where it can be modified to fit your business needs. Go to Setup>My Company>Information and Settings>Email Templates> APX Retainer

 

 

 

APX PayNow and Retainer Management 

The PayNow and Retainer Management feature allows for better management of PayNow/Retainers requests in mass. This form will show all PayNow and Retainer Requests in their various statuses.

To use this feature, go to Billing>Payments>APX button> Manage Requests OR Billing>Invoice>APX Button>Manage Requests.

 

Learn how to manage APX PayNow and Retainer Requests with this guide

 

New APX PayNow and Retainer Management Window

 

APX Billing Address

You asked and we listened! You asked us to improve the APX payment processing to be more efficient when entering in a payment method. With this update, we are auto-populating the APX payment method window with the customer's address information on file with OfficeTools.   

 

Firm Portal Document Workflow Change

You asked and we listened! You asked us to improve the way the auto download feature works for client documents. Your client documents will only download once into Workspace, so if the document name is changed or the portal document is deleted or removed from Workspace the document will not re-download it. However, if you need to re-download the document for any reason you can by using the portal manage window to receive and download any document. Go to>Documents>Portal Button>Manage Documents>. Utilize the search to find the document. 

Firm Portal Document Window

You asked and we listened! You asked that we improve the portal download process and allow you to work while portal documents are downloading. The portal window can now be moved or minimized to allow for multi-tasking in the program. Simply drag the window header to move the window or use the minus icon to minimize the portal window. 

 

 

Online Questionnaire

 Provide an online questionnaire for your client to answer. This can help with the collection of important information in the pre-tax filing data collection process.

First, you need to set up and configure the Questionnaire.  Setup > My Company > Information & Settings menu > Integrations button > Portal tab. Then, use the “Add or Edit Questionnaires” button to access your questionnaires. This will open the Questionnaire Editor.

Learn More about the Questionnaire with this guide

 

Billing Retainer Notice

You asked and we listened. You asked us to add a message when creating an invoice when there is a retainer on account for the client. The new notice will also allow you to apply for the retainer .