The Scholes CA Portal (“Clientspace”) has been up and running for a few months now, and it’s interesting to pause and reflect on how it’s working in practice.
Not long after launch, there was a piece on Radio Orkney covering a number of recent e:mail “phishing attacks” which had potentially disastrous financial and personal consequences for those affected. This highlighted how vulnerable traditional e:mail has become to sophisticated online fraudsters. E:mail is no longer a safe medium to communicate sensitive personal data.
Security was one of the two major factors, along with GDPR, that drove our decision to launch the Portal. The launch has not been entirely without small glitches – like you, we’re still getting to grips with some of the finer points – but it’s fair to say that on the whole the feedback from you has been very positive indeed.
Here’s what we’re seeing:
- A significant increase in the amount of correspondence sent electronically rather than through the post is saving time and reducing costs for everyone involved, this includes payroll, VAT, accounts and tax return correspondence;
- Customers who have activated their portal account are getting some information sooner than they used to (for example accounts are made available immediately through the portal, rather than through the post 2-3 days after completion);
- Documents are being approved more easily and with less hassle – consequently they are then being submitted more promptly to appropriate authorities like Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs; and
- Although we have no way to monitor how widely the facility is being used, we know that customers who have activated their portal account are accessing previous messages, documents etc as often as they wish, even outside “normal” office hours.
And we’ve also learnt a couple of important points along the way. For example, your initial activation e:mail expires after about 30 days. So if you haven’t activated your portal account in time, you’ll need to ask us to send a new activation e:mail before you can get going! Activation is easy, by the way – all you need is the activation e:mail and your client code, which anyone on the team can provide.
We know that a small number of you have struggled to get to grips with one or two aspects – please be assured that we’re on your side and everyone on our team is here to help you with any issues. You are always very welcome to call us if you need any help.
