How CPAs Use LeapFILE To Securely Receive Tax Documents From Clients

Email is not the best choice to exchange files with clients

Your clients choose you as their accountant because they trust you with their sensitive/private information. Here’s what a client needs to provide you with so you can prepare their tax returns:

Social Security cards of the individual and any dependents

Wage and earning statements

Personal banking statements

Tax-related expenses documentation

… And more!

Many accountants schedule appointments with their clients to exchange these private documents in person. However you still may not have everything you need afterwards, meaning your clients need a way to send you more private information. And of course, you still have to send your clients their tax returns.

You might be surprised how many firms still rely on traditional email to accomplish all of the above! However, email can easily be intercepted or downloaded by the wrong person. Alternatively your firm may have an encrypted email service in place, but can clients easily share your system to send files back to you?

Caring for the privacy of your clients – the simple way!

Offer your clients a free and easy way to send you files, using LeapFILE’s branded file exchange site. With your LeapFILE file exchange site, you receive a website link unique to your company, as well as the ability to brand this site with your company logo and colors. You can get this up and running with minimal setup and no program installation. An unlimited number of clients can use your site to send you encrypted files – and best of all, it’s as easy as using email!

You can even link to your LeapFILE site in your email signature, so your clients can easily access it.

Keep track of the hundreds of files you send during tax season

Our Transfer History logs keep track of all the activity on your account, down to the very last detail. The time a transfer was sent and received, who it was sent to, the name of the attachment, the message to your client, even the IP address of where it was downloaded! Everything is at your fingertips so you never forget a thing – and nothing ever gets lost in email.

The answer for businesses of any size and solo practitioners alike

LeapFILE has helped CPAs send and receive private files with clients for 10 years. We understand how important your clients’ privacy is to you, because yours is just as important to us.

Get ready for next year’s tax season today! Contact us for a free demo or 30-day trial at: sales@leapfile.com or (650) 241-6201.

The Simplest Way To Securely Send Files

LeapFILE was founded in 2004 to provide an easy way for companies to exchange sensitive documents. Since then, we have helped customers from all over the world and in every industry send thousands of files everyday. And although we’ve been in business for all these years, the core value of our service has never changed.

LeapFILE’s values: Easy. Secure. Guaranteed.

Sending sensitive business documents is crucial to the daily activities of some companies, but unfortunately how to do so is a problem that many businesses still need to solve. While other file transfer services are bulky and weighed down with unnecessary features, LeapFILE is simple and to the point. We make sure that not only are your files protected, it’s also as convenient and easy to use as possible for both your team and your clients. That’s why our customers have relied on LeapFILE as an integral part of their daily business for the past 10 years, and for many more to come.

It’s our 10 year anniversary and we want to celebrate it with you!

If you’re not a LeapFILE customer yet, we want to show you that LeapFILE is your best option for delivering secure documents. Let us help you deliver sensitive files easier than ever before! Call our Sales team at (650) 241-6200 to get started with LeapFILE today.

Sarah
Customer Success Representative

10 years and still delivering with confidence

After 10 years and millions of successful transfers, LeapFILE is still helping customers deliver and exchange files with confidence, in a way that email, FTP, and newer services cannot. With that in mind, we refreshed our website to make it loud and clear:

File delivery and exchange are more valuable than ever.

As entire workflows finally become digital and customer engagement moves fully online, it is increasingly critical for people and companies to have confidence in their ability to exchange their financial documents, legal documents, and product designs.

LeapFILE is needed more than ever to make email deliver

Despite many newfangled communications technologies, email is still the dominant business communication tool. In fact, a recent Radicati report indicates that business email is still growing 7-10% every year.

Source: The Radicati Group, Email Statistics Report, 2013-2017

According to Radicati, the number of business email accounts will grow to 1 billion in 2014, and people will be sending and receiving nearly 110 billion business emails a day!

Yet, email still doesn’t deliver when it comes to files.

LeapFILE complements your email environment, but lets you know when files have been sent, viewed, and downloaded. If you host email servers, LeapFILE offloads the files so you’re not taxing your mail servers with gigabytes and terabytes of costly file storage. Email is acceptable when it comes to messages, but LeapFILE makes email dependable when it comes to today’s richer business-to-business exchange.

LeapFILE Exchange Sites are a much better answer for customer engagement than FTP

FTP is a bare-bones technology for a single user to access a server. No matter how vendors modify the interface or claim enhancements, FTP can’t get away from what it was intended for. LeapFILE’s Exchange Site capability is built to securely host files for customer pickup. Unlike FTP, with LeapFILE, it’s easy to segregate customers and their permissions, and then track all the activity on the files for business and compliance purposes. When you need an easy, dependable way to securely host files for your customers, LeapFILE is your answer.

LeapFILE is built for file delivery, cloud storage isn’t

Consumer cloud storage has become popular for sharing personal photos or documents. But when you need to be sure, it simply doesn’t have answers. Unlike cloud storage, LeapFILE tells you when files have been sent, viewed, and downloaded, and provides a complete audit trail for compliance purposes. Additional LeapFILE capabilities like receiver authentication and AD/LDAP integration fill out a complete solution for file delivery and exchange.

Our new website highlights our three key values: LeapFILE is easy, secure, and ensures file delivery. We thank our customers for trusting their critical business with us. For everyone else needing dependable business-to-business file delivery and exchange, we are committed to being the best answer for you today, and in the future.

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick’s Day from all of us!

Leo Leung
VP of Product
@lleung

Photo “Stamps” by Simon Davies

How LeapFILE can help your business stay HIPAA compliant

LeapFILE has helped many of our customers in the medical field stay HIPAA compliant with its easy-to-use yet extremely secure features.

What does it mean to be HIPAA compliant?

• To ensure that “Business Associates” who are involved with transmitting and storing any protected health information (PHI), on behalf of the medical institution, must comply with the HIPAA security notifications. [AMA]
• The Security Rule in HIPAA regulations specifically requires practices to “ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic PHI.” [AMA]

Here’s how LeapFILE can help you:

• LeapFILE is reliable and secure.
• When you send a file through LeapFILE, all files are secured with AES 256 encryption. You can choose to make your email or messages private as well if you have sensitive information in addition to the attached files you want to send.
• All files uploaded to LeapFILE are stored on SSAE-16 & ISO 27001 certified data centers.

• LeapFILE is simple and hassle-free – and we want it that way for both you and your clients.
• Your clients don’t even need their own LeapFILE accounts – just valid email addresses.
• Once your client receives their file, they will receive a secure download link in their inbox. Your client will then be redirected to your own branded file exchange site and authorize themselves as the correct recipient, before securely downloading their files.
• Your clients can even securely send files back to you – without signing up for an account! Simply direct them your branded file exchange site, where they can directly upload their own files and transfer it back to you.
• You can read more about our security features here.

We can help your business stay HIPAA compliant – the simple and secure way. Ask us about LeapFILE today!

Iris Hsu
Senior Account Manager

LeapFILE Plug-in Now Compatible with Outlook 2013

At LeapFILE, we’re always looking to improve the user experience for our service. When you told us you loved the Outlook plug-in and needed it for newer Outlook clients, we heard you! We’re excited to announce our newest Desktop Client and Microsoft Outlook plug-in, compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2010, & 2007.

Easily access and modify once hidden preferences

LeapFILE configuration on Outlook is easier than ever with the addition of the “LF Options” button that you can find on the top right of your Outlook window. This makes a set of menu options previously buried in the depths of the Outlook preferences, easily available and configurable.

View from Outlook:

Options Menu:

Most notably you can set or modify file size threshold, a setting which automatically dictates whether attachments over a certain size get sent with LeapFILE or via regular email. Don’t worry LeapFILE administrators, you still have final say in the file size threshold if you choose to use that policy company wide. This menu addition simply makes these options more accessible to LeapFILE users who don’t have dedicated account admins.

How to get it!

To get the newest client, simply log on to your LeapFILE account via the web client. Immediately you will see, “Download the latest LeapFILE Desktop Client with Outlook Plug-in”. Click the link and download the new client. Before installing make sure you close and completely quit Outlook and the older version of the LeapFILE Desktop Client. Once this is done, run the installer, complete the fields required, and re-open your Outlook. You’ll see the new additions immediately.

Consistent improvement and innovation

In the past few months we’ve done a considerable amount to spruce up the LeapFILE service. Everything from new pricing and deals for more value to makeovers for the LeapFILE web application and LeapFILE.com. We are committed improving LeapFILE on any front and love hearing from you about how we can best achieve that. Don’t hesitate to tell us about your idea? Email me at Aric.Johnson@LeapFILE.com.

Aric Johnson

Ziptr is Closed – Send your Files Easily with LeapFILE

Why use a separate email encryption application in addition to email, when you can use what you already use everyday? Unlike Ziptr, you don’t even need a separate application.

With LeapFILE, you can keep using your Microsoft Outlook, and still send files securely without any additional steps. Better yet, all your sensitive files are automatically encrypted and securely delivered (you get full tracking, delivery confirmation and various authentication options too!). LeapFILE’s Outlook plug-in is super simple. Just open up a new email (like you normally would), attach the files you need to securely send, then click on the LeapFILE send button. It’s so easy, it’ll be second-nature. Just ask our customers.

Why go through the hassle of yet another additional solution that disrupts your workflow? Do what you normally do! Try LeapFILE today – we’re having a special promotion too, so don’t miss out!

Huge CAD/CAM Files? Send Them with Ease

For over 5 decades, CAD/CAM software has been helping engineers, architects, and designers push their business or technology further with an awesomely robust and unified software platform that improves speed and efficiency. Yet, when it comes time to send these large designs or diagrams to the manufacturer, none of these companies deliver a way to easily, reliably, and securely transfer your data.

Traditionally, users have fluctuated between any combination of email, 3^rd party consumer cloud applications, FTP, and mailing of physical drives, in an attempt to send these large design files. LeapFILE, like CAD/CAM, delivers a unified platform that allows you and other members of your team to easily send and receive large files while providing full security and notifications upon delivery for every file.

Why Other Methods Don’t Work

You’re busy and don’t have time for extra steps, processes, or roadblocks. Furthermore, the data you are sending is proprietary and needs to remain secure at all times because it is your intellectual property. Here’s why other methods of sending large CAD/CAM files don’t work:

• Email doesn’t allow you to attach large files. It also doesn’t provide a verification that your email was received.
• 3^rd party consumer cloud apps aren’t secure. They also can’t reliably send really large files.
• FTP can be reliable, but doesn’t provide any security for transfers and has zero user management capabilities. If you give an outside party access to your FTP, they get access to everything that is in it. Also, FTP requires maintenance and infrastructure which can cost more than its worth.
• Mailing physical drives is not viable or secure because that data can get stolen or compromised along the way … huge security risk!

LeapFILE Streamlines Large File Transfer

With LeapFILE, you can send any files, of any size, as easily as you do an email.

On top of simple, secure transfer, LeapFILE users get notifications when recipients receive the message and again when they download them. This way you know for certain that your file has been received.

Portals Keep Data Safe and Available

LeapFILE also provides a great portal capability that allows user to permit and control guest access to a secure area where files are available for download anytime.

Exchanging large files is easy with LeapFILE. Outside clients or guests can always send a single file or be provisioned access to multiple files so they can get what they need, when they need it.

Work Better with LeapFILE

Sign up today to see how LeapFILE can dramatically improve efficiency and offer you the best security available for all your important, proprietary information. Visit us online now at www.LeapFILE.com.

Send Quickbooks Files Easily and Securely

QuickBooks Offers No Solution for Sending Large Files

An article posted by QuickBooks support, “Sending or receiving a QuickBooks file that is too large to be e-mailed” immediately caught our attention. For a product that is so widely adopted by accountants, we couldn’t believe that QuickBooks doesn’t offer a viable solution for sending it’s large files to clients, customers, or even internal colleagues.

The article suggests inconsistent, often ineffective methods to share/send your large QuickBooks file(s) … everything from compression to flash drives is on their list. These options don’t work:

• You can’t rely on email because it doesn’t provide any notification upon delivery so there is no way to know whether or not the file was received.
• Compression isn’t a good option because even if the file is small enough to be sent via email after it’s compressed, there is no guarantee that the person receiving it will have the appropriate software to unpack it.
• Flash and physical drives can’t possibly be your answer because not only is it very easy to loss them, but you’d have to hand deliver or mail them creating an additional cost and opportunity for the loss or theft of your data.

These alternatives add too many extra steps to a process that doesn’t have to be complicated.

LeapFILE is the Simplest, Most Secure Answer

LeapFILE gives QuickBooks users a way to simply and securely transfer any size file, QuickBooks or other, without any extra steps. Our security is our bread and butter, so we make sure to always protect your data with military grade encryption in the most secure data centers available.

With LeapFILE, sending large files is as easy as sending an email. Simply select the file(s), the recipient(s), enter a personalized message if you’d like, and send. When sending a file, you can also receive notifications when the recipient has viewed your email and when he/she has downloaded the file, so you are always sending your files with confidence.

But Wait…There’s More!

LeapFILE makes it easy to receive files from your customers as well, with the same security and audit tracking features. You get a branded portal that allows your customers to send you files of any size. With this, you can also securely download or choose to store your files in your LeapFILE account for safe keeping.

LeapFILE Makes Life Easier for Accountants

Whether you are as big as CliftonLarsonAllen and Plante Moran or a small independent CPA, LeapFILE is a fantastic solution for accounting firms because of our security, ease-of-use, and full audit tracking. We love our accounting customers, so we are always keeping an eye out for ways to improve the lives of one of our most important user bases.

Come talk to us about how LeapFILE can protect and improve your file transfer capabilities. We want to simplify your life, so feel free to let us know what your pain points are and we’ll help you solve them. Give me a call at 650-241-6218 and let’s chat about how that is possible.

– Aric

The New and Improved LeapFILE

That’s right, LeapFILE had a makeover! Our team has been hard at work to ensure LeapFILE is the best solution it can be for users like you. To start, you might have noticed we have revamped our logo and design to improve functionality and give LeapFILE a fresher look. Since we provide an exceptional solution to our users, we wanted our appearance and performance to mirror the same.

We’ve updated more than just our looks though. In today’s world, attacks are becoming more prevalent and can occur anywhere. Through our recent service enhancements, we have improved our security to ensure your files are safe and secure at all times. We know your files are important and confidential at times, so we strive to keep them that way.

Last but certainly not least, we have improved our performance via web service enhancements. Our performance is key in offering you a solution that boosts your productivity, so we make every effort to provide you with the best experience we can. LeapFILE is here to give you the security and performance you need, so stop worrying about your files because we have you covered!

LeapFILE’s Outlook Plug-in Puts an End to Email Frustration

It’s a typical day at work and suddenly you need to send a large confidential file to a client ASAP. It doesn’t seem like an issue at first, but then you’re struck with the glorious notification stating “The attachment size exceeds the allowable limit.” Frustrating, right?

LeapFILE offers an easy solution for the mayhem you might have experienced above. With LeapFILE, your files can be shared and received securely without any size restrictions. If you’re currently using Outlook and don’t have the time or patience to open another application to email a file, fear not! LeapFILE provides every user with an optional Outlook plug-in you can install directly on your computer. Once the plug-in is installed, your Outlook account will feature a new “Send Attachments” icon as seen below when composing an email. Because LeapFILE’s Outlook plug-in integrates seamlessly with your Outlook, there is no new training needed and your frustration of sending large files via email is over!