The problem
Clients email W-2s, bank statements and prior returns as attachments, which puts Social Security numbers in inboxes and leaves staff saving files and asking for what's missing. If 3 staff each spend an hour a week on that, it's 3 hours a week, about 12.9 hours a month.
What the AI does
ShareFile is secure file sharing with a client portal. On the Premium plan you send a client a request list of the documents you need, the client uploads into the portal instead of emailing, and engagement letters can be signed with ShareFile's built-in e-signature. Premium also includes AI that can draft a request list for you to edit and summarize documents. Moving client files out of email is part of what the FTC Safeguards Rule expects of a firm that holds client financial data.
A worked example
An illustrative example built from typical figures, not a named business.
A three-person CPA firm in Raleigh handles about 250 individual and small-business returns. It moves all client document exchange to ShareFile Premium, with a request list template for each return type, and replies to emailed attachments with a link to the portal.
Before
About 3 hours a week saving attachments and chasing missing items: 12.9 hours a month
After
About 1.5 hours a week: 6.5 hours a month
What it's worth
About $256£192€229A$370C$362 a month saved, against a $78£59€70A$113C$110 cost. That's 6.4 hours (12.9 less 6.5) at an assumed $40£30€36A$58C$57 for a staff accountant hour. Premium is $26£20€23A$38C$37 a user a month billed annually with a 3-user minimum, $78£59€70A$113C$110 for the team, or $28.59£21.50€25.58A$41.27C$40.41 billed monthly, about $86£65€77A$124C$122.
How to set it up
- Start a trial on Premium; the cheaper Advanced plan has a basic portal and upload links but no request lists or e-signature.
- Build request list templates for an individual return, a Schedule C client and a business year-end. Let the AI draft one if you like, then edit it yourself.
- Turn on multi-factor sign-in for staff and record ShareFile in the firm's written information security plan, as IRS Publication 5708 and the FTC Safeguards Rule expect.
- Send engagement letters for e-signature from ShareFile, with a partner approving each letter's wording.
- Tell clients the firm no longer accepts tax documents by email, and send a portal link whenever one arrives.
What goes wrong
- The 3-user minimum applies even to a smaller firm, so a solo practitioner still pays for 3 seats.
- ShareFile's AI features are subject to usage limits and pricing it can change. Check the current limits before relying on them in tax season.
- ShareFile's pages don't say whether request lists send automatic reminders. Check the settings during the trial, or plan to chase by hand.
- Some clients will keep emailing documents. Delete the email copy once the file is saved in the portal, as your security plan says.