The Vault is a great way to securely exchange documents with your clients. Even so there are times when you need to place PDF documents on your CPA website. These range from commonly used firm documents, to downloads to help capture a potential clients email (see upcoming series on how to do this effectively). Here is an update on using the FTP feature with your CPA website.

FTP Access via Portal

FTP. This stands for file transfer protocol. This feature is used to upload documents to a folder on your CPA website. These files can then be linked to from anywhere on your accounting website. See the FTP help section for complete step by step instructions.

What Files to Upload. PDF, Excel, and Word are the most commonly uploaded file types. These are not documents with any sensitive client information. These are documents that anyone can download from your CPA website.

Popular documents to link to on your CPA website are forms that you want your clients to fill out. These forms are usually created and uploaded as a PDF file that the client can print, fill out, and return to you.

If your client has software to edit PDF files then they could fill the form out electronically. The client then uploads the file to their folder within the Secure File Exchange. You get an email when the file is uploaded so that you know it is ready to download.

Older Versions. Having trouble getting the FTP feature to work? Your CPA website may be on our older server. The best option in this case is to migrate to our newer server. This is done at no cost to you and offers greater functionality. Contact support@cpasitesolutions.com or call 800-896-4500 if you are having trouble with FTP or want more information.

Plan on migrating your CPA website later when you are out of a busy cycle? No problem, you just need a third party FTP tool. Some suggestions would be WinSCP or, if you use Firefox, you try the FireFTP add-on.

If you use this option you need to email support@cpasitesolutions.com to get “white listed.” This means we make sure that you have access when you use this feature. Unless you do this last step, you won’t be able to upload any files.

Have some questions on how to use the FTP feature? Send a comment below or submit the question to the CPA Site Solutions new forum.

You have a CPA website with a blog. You have some thoughts gathered via Evernote and your clients. Here is a way to translate those blog ideas into projects and action steps using Nozbe.

Using this project management tool isn’t limited to blog your blog. It integrates not only with Evernote but your Google Calendar and any mail that has Google behind it (gmail and Google Apps), your mobile device, and your browser.

The Account. As usual with online tools there is a free account for Nozbe. The space limit of 1 mb makes it an very limited option. Although this may force you to one of their paid plans, when you see the features it may be worth it. The power of Nozbe is being able to connect with multiple pre-existing tools.

There are multiple videos on the features behind Nozbe and how to use them. Rather than going through them in detail, here is how some of the features can help write your CPA blog.

Nozbe and Evernote Make a Great Combo for Ideas

Connecting Evernote. When you find something, a quote, a picture, a website, in Evernote, tag it. This makes these ideas easier to find them under a category via the tag you used. The notes from Evernote appear within the Nozbe project area with the same tag. You can then break those items from your project into specific action steps.

Email Notes. Even if you are not using Evernote, you can email yourself notes. These emailed notes go directly into your projects. You can then keep track of small notes or reminders. Those can be followed up later with action steps with specific calendar deadlines.

Google Calendar. The calendar from your projects can easily sync up with your Google Calendar within the Workteam Collaboration Suite. This support means less likelihood of overlapping or conflicting schedules.

Browser and iPhone. There is both browser and iPhone support. Now you can send a quick note and know it won’t get lost. You can be anywhere, anytime, and be able to keep up with your projects. This way when you are waiting in the dentists office, you can still get things done.

Gather ideas from multiple sources and easily translate them into projects and action steps. That way when you have ideas, take a picture or grab an online quote, then it has context later. It then becomes easier to connect different elements and translate those into ideas for your CPA blog.

Have your own favorite project management tool? Have a way to make sure you capture ideas? Comment below and share with other readers.

You have a blog on your CPA website. You have published a couple of posts. However, your CPA blog just sits there in the back of your mind as something that should be done. What should you write about? How much should you write? Here is a perspective on how to answer both of those questions.

CPA Blog Content. Where is all the content for your new CPA blog going to come from? One place is from your clients and the other is from various online sources of inspiration. The key is to leverage the time you have by getting into the habit of skimming sources.

CPA Sample Blog

Tools. You can use Evernote as a way to keep track of ideas for later. That way you can highlight particular quotes out of an article for use later. Come back to those quotes and expand on the ideas. Do this in small chunks of time and eventually, over the week, you have enough content to write a post.

Come Back Later. Get the notes and ideas down so you have some outline of what you want to write about. Write for a small chunk of time with the mind of coming back later. Only have 10 minutes? Perfect. Set the timer, write until the time is up. Come back later to edit and expand. When you come back later you have a fresh perspective and the timer keeps it short.

Blog Frequency. Web Worker Daily has a great article on how often to blog. The reason you write is often tied into the question. In order to get the most out of the content for your CPA website overall then you should write at least once a week. Whatever the amount you should always be consistent.

When to Stop. Some recommend at least 300 words to be worthwhile for your CPA website and search engines. Is your message clear? Have you said what you wanted? Then you are doing both yourself and reader a favor by stopping. The value isn’t in the length but the message and clarity.

Even if you don’t have a lot of time to write a post for your CPA blog, write something. Be consistent and get in the habit. The source of content over time can be of benefit to not only your CPA website, the readers, but also to yourself in ways you might not recognize at first.

Have a CPA blog? How often do you write? Where do you find your motivation? Comment below and share with other readers.

When you have a CPA website with CPA Site Solutions, you have access to an Email Marketing System. This system automatically sends out your CPA website newsletter to all who subscribe. Up until now, there hasn’t been a way to export the contacts from that list. Now there is and here is how it works.

Popular Requests. All requests for changes to the CPA Site Solutions system are kept and reviewed on a regular basis. Certain improvements have a critical mass behind them. They not only make sense, but there are a number of people requesting the change.

Response. Being able to export the contacts list within the Email Marketing System has been one of those popular requests. That change has now been implemented and is fully functional for use.

Exporting Contacts. Login to your Email Marketing System and click on Contacts. At the bottom of the list shown is now an option to Export. Choose the emails you want or click on select all. You can then save either “all”, “active”, or “inactive” members from the list as a txt file. See our help section on exporting contacts for more details.

Export Contact List

Finish and Save. Another popular request has been for clients to easily save data while in the Tax Organizer. That feature has been implemented as well (see Finish and Save link). So now while a client is using the organizer they can pause at anytime and their work is saved for later.

More Updates. CPA Site Solutions is consistently improving systems. These improvements are based on popular requests, new tools and features that come available, or fixes for problems that may arise.

Stock Ticker

Marketing Watch. Recently the Market Watch feature stopped working properly. The data came from a third party source that ceased to work the same way. Now there is a Stock Ticker instead (see image on left).

Look For More. The future brings ever more functionality including better ways to view visitor stats and more. Have some ideas of your own you would like to see implemented? Send those along to support@cpasitesolutions.com or fill out in comments below.

More and more CPAs are taking the steps towards becoming a paperless office. The goal is not just to save paper. As a recent article from Accounting Web points out, you save money as well. The further you embrace cloud computing, the more you can save.

Cloud Computing. Wikipedia defines cloud computing as, “ Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like a public utility.” Basically it is changing from using software on your own computer to using browser based software.

Wikipedia on Cloud Computing

Applied to Your CPA Website. You already have some of these tools in place. Take a look at the first part of a series about going paperless that looks at the Vault system. There is also the Workteam Collaboration Suite that gives you online document capability.

Motivation. The second part of the going paperless series looks at motivation.  The collaborative nature of most online tools makes it a time saving element. Getting other people in your firm and clients to use some of the tools can take time. After that first step, most see the obvious benefits of cloud computing.

Adding Other Tools. There are always more cloud computing tools you can add. Some of the more popular online tools are:

• Online Photo Editing
• Online Chat
• Screencasting
• Translating Your Website
• Screensharing
• Meeting Scheduler

Always Updated. One of the best features is that online tools are always the updated version. You don’t have to download anything. You use online tools wherever you have access to a browser.

Cloud computing offers a bit of freedom. Once you start using online tools, especially with mobile devices, you easily become a fan.

Have your own favorite online tools you use? Share with other readers in comments below. You get a link back to your CPA website for added SEO benefit.

Video provides a way to communicate on your CPA website while providing marketing benefits. A previous series walks you through how to create video and what kind of content to use. Here is a quick way to add it to almost any page of your CPA website.

Previous Posts. Be sure to check out why to use video on your accounting website. There are many tools available to create a project yourself or you can have someone else create one for you. Here is some some inspiration if you are doing it alone.

Use Multiple Platforms. Part of having video work for you is to use multiple platforms. You want to place it not just on YouTube but also the following:

• viddler.com
• revver.com
• livevideo.com
• dailymotion.com

The content is leveraged further when placed on these other websites rather than just showing on your accounting website. More potential clients see the content and it is a source of free advertising.

The Code. Every video sharing website generates code to use on your CPA website. All you need to do is copy this code and paste it into Notepad. Yes, you have Notepad on your computer! It is probably rarely if ever used because most people skip to Word.

While word is great for writing, it adds a fair amount of code that creates problems on your website. When you paste into Notepad you get just the code and nothing else. This makes it easier to save each video websites code all in one place.You won’t be using all of these! You are just keeping them here for reference.

Adding The Code. Decide where on your CPA website you want your video to appear. Mouse over it and click to bring up the easy to use page editor. Find on the page about where you want it and highlight a few words of text right in that area. This is going to give you a place of reference while you are in code view.

Choose the “Source” tab (see image below) and you are in code view. This can be confusing but just look for your highlighted text.  Now paste the code from one (YouTube) of the video sharing websites after the </p> (see image below).

Where To Place The Code

If it doesn’t look just right, try moving it to another location. Still having trouble? Leave the code in place and then send an email to support@cpasitesolutions.com with a request to troubleshoot.

Do you use video on your own accounting website? Send a comment below and share with other readers.

You have a CPA website with outstanding content and tools for your firm. You have the expertise behind that website when someone contacts you. You know that getting yourself on Google local is a powerful way to advertise your firm. The Workteam Collaboration Suite gives you easy email contact, but what about your phone? Web Work Daily recently had an article on Phonebooth. Here is how the service applies to CPAs.

If you are a smaller company or just starting out, what phone number should go on your CPA website? Phonebooth is a free solution that offers you a bit of flexibility without detriment to your CPA firm’s professionalism.

Phonebooth. A local phone number without a land-line for free? Now you can be on the go and still manage to be right in your local office without giving out your personal phone number.

Auto-Attendant. You can direct your phone calls to specific lines. Even if you are a smaller firm it can be great to organize incoming calls to the clients concern. For example: are they calling about Individual Tax Services or Business Services? You can set up a line for each of these with the auto-attendant.

Click-to-Call Widget Free with Phonebooth

Read Your Voicemail. The service sends up to 50 messages direct to email. This gives you the chance to read your messages from just about anywhere. It also makes it easier to pick out the key details and see the immediate reason for the call.

Contact Us Widget. There is a great widget all ready to place on your CPA website. Any potential client can click to call or email. They even get a choice of who to call. Instead of just calling the main line, the choices for different people are all right there.

Although there are other online solutions available, Phonebooth is easy and free (although there is paid service). Just keep in mind that it does advertise itself as being in Beta. Beta means the although the business has tested the service, it is still fairly new and under development.

Are you a smaller firm or just starting your CPA website? What do you use for your business phone number? Share your own solution with other readers in comments below.

Note: CPA Site Solutions is not an affiliate of Phonebooth. As with other online tools, Phonebooth presents itself as a great tool for CPAs and other tax professionals to use with their CPA website.

You get up to two hours of changes per month when you have a CPA website hosted by CPA Site Solutions at the Gold or Platinum level. Explaining what changes you want done on your CPA website just got a whole lot easier using Notable.

Notable. As always with many online applications, there is a free version of Notable available. Signing up is easy and getting started is as simple as uploading an image.

Many Options. There are many easy options for sharing files with other people. However you capture, it is also easy to share and comment upon what others have said. This enables you to combine the power of images along with notes tagged to specific areas of those images.

Fully Supported. Notable supports any browser you want to use with it. Alongside that is an app for the iPhone. That way you can respond to or manage comments from just about anywhere.

Image Specific Feedback

4 Ways to Capture Images. Capture via URL, use a Firefox plugin, upload from your computer, or from an iPhone. Once you have the image you click on specific areas and add a comment. From picking out a new CPA website design to giving feedback on a custom design, there are multiple ways to use the features.

Design Choices. Capture the design choice you want from the over 250 choices. Capture via URL and then add some notes with specific questions in different areas. You can even keep track of multiple design choices and make comments on each until you narrow down the one you or your CPA firm want.

Website Problems. There are times when you find words or images on your CPA website you want to change. Sometimes it can be hard to show exactly where the problem is located. Now you can capture an image with notes that specify what needs to change.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture with words is even better. Notable makes it that much easier to communicate exactly what you want for your CPA website.

Have you used Notable or something similar to show different ideas and concepts? Send a comment below and share with other readers.

Your CPA website has many different marketing options available. You should always use multiple approaches to be effective. Once you have potential clients to your CPA website then you need them to become clients. One way to engage potential clients is through fresh and unique content specifically geared towards your CPA firm. Here are some possible solutions.

Working with Your Freelance Writer

Write The Content. There are even some great posts on what to include. You have the best perspective and natural voice to speak directly to potential clients.

Many CPAs and other tax professionals who are just too busy to write. There are those who find writing a chore. Others would rather leave writing to those who do it on a regular basis.

Hire Another Person. There are places that offer a wide variety of freelance writers to choose from. You can view their content and get an idea of what each one offers. Don’t be afraid of just doing an online search for freelance writers. That said here are three good websites to take a look at for freelance writers.

Constant Content. Look at the popular categories to get an idea of different articles and how much they cost. Obviously you want some custom content so you should submit a request. What is nice is that Constant Content is geared specifically around freelance writers.

Elance. Writing is only one of the freelance categories available on Elance. Scroll down to the bottom of the first page for a full listing. What is nice is that Elance has a user rating system. This way you see how others have rated that specific person’s services. You also get a chance to see their portfolio.

Marketing your CPA website in the right ways, you get enough traffic to gain new clients consistently. Having a website hosted by CPA Site Solutions allows your marketing time to be leveraged further. Here is how to take advantage of a couple of different marketing solutions offered for free.

Links Via Comments. There are some marketing tips and tricks in the CPA Site Solutions blog. When you comment upon those blog posts, you not only interact with others, but get links back to your CPA website.

Having links from a highly ranked website like CPA Site Solutions boosts your own CPA website. This boost helps you gain in traffic and potential customers.

Marketing Changes with Technology

Links From Testimonials. As the article on marketing from a lemonade stand pointed out, testimonials are great to have on your website. When you submit your own testimonial of CPA Site Solutions, be it positive or negative, you get a link to your website.

(Note: Both positive and negative comments are welcome. There is no trade for your testimonial and a link. However when you give honest feedback a link does follow.)

Referral Program. When you let others know about CPA Site Solutions and they sign up past the trial period, you get $50 cash back. This referral program is a way to say thanks for passing on the word to others that need a CPA website.

New Marketing Blog. Marketing your CPA website is an ongoing learning process. One reason is that some rules change over time as new ways to market come available. Keep up with those changes and read about specific tips by subscribing to the new CPA Site Solutions Marketing Blog.

Are there special marketing tips you want to share? Comment below and engage with other readers.