Whether you work in a small local firm or large public company, the productivity advantages of a paperless work environment can be astounding. But before jumping onboard the paperless wave, you want to make sure you do the conversion the right way the first time, with the right solution provider along to help you from Day One. Last week's column revealed which stage of a firm's or company's evolution makes it an ideal candidate for going paperless and which workflow challenges accounting firms and corporate finance departments try to solve when they go paperless.

To help you understand both the challenges and rewarding opportunities of going paperless, CPA Insider™ invited the following thought influencers (listed alphabetically) — Dr. Chandra Bhansali, President, AccountantsWorld; James C. Bourke, CPA, CITP, Partner, WithumSmith+Brown; Bob Dias, vice president of product and segment management, CCH; Scott Francis, Director of Product Management, Imaging Products Group, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.; Randolph P. Johnston, Executive Vice President, K2 Enterprises; Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA, CITP, President, InfoTech Partners North America, Inc.; Rene Lacerte, CEO & Founder, Bill.com; and Dave Packer, Director of Professional Services Industry Solutions, Interwoven — to share their insights on this hot button topic.

Panelists, what are common implementation mistakes that good solutions providers can help their clients avoid when going paperless?

Chandra Bhansali (AccountantsWorld): Some of the biggest mistakes are a narrow view of the scope of the technology, a lack of clear objectives and goals, unrealistic expectations, lack of communication within the firm and poorly defined processes and procedures.

Dave Packer (Interwoven): Firms sometimes look at components of content management in isolation and don't step back to get a firm-wide perspective. For instance, a firm might consider the workflow needs of Tax, but not the mobile access issues in Audit. Even if firms have specific priorities to address, they should consider a firm-wide content management strategy and ensure that they plan for the future. The other mistake we've seen is firms considering "going paperless" to be just an IT project. Content management solutions can provide many opportunities to improve business processes as well, so the business representatives should be key participants throughout the project.

Scott Francis (Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc.): Because there are a number of ECM solutions and certainly multiple levels within an organization, going paperless is not a 'one size fits all' approach. While the implementation of an ECM solution is quite simple: in order to obtain the most value and benefit organizations need to follow a few basic, but very important steps: Use a qualified system integrator. Include users in planning process. Do a test pilot while keeping existing processes in place. Provide training for employees on the new system.

Rene Lacerte (Bill.com): Common mistake is investing too much money and using overly complicated systems. Consider a service that offers a free trial and small monthly fees. Technology has advanced to the point that there is no longer a need to have to invest a bunch of time or money to get started.

James C. Bourke (WithumSmith+Brown): Not understanding how work flows through the new process and not investing the up-front dollars and time in staff training.

Roman H. Kepczyk (InfoTech Partners North America, Inc.): Lack of training and mandating compliance to the workflow/DM procedures is the primary reason that the DM products are not successfully implemented.

Randolph P. Johnston (K2 Enterprises): I agree and would also add lack of planning.

What are success measures that CPAs can use to gauge the success of a paperless office initiative?

Kepczyk: Early studies of firms that implemented DM and dual monitors pointed to productivity increases of 10 percent to 20 percent. Firms should be able to measure success by completing jobs onscreen quicker and reducing the manual time lost due to printing and shredding multiple documents.

Johnston: Look for things such as: time needed to complete tasks, time needed to respond to client requests, the number of requests from clients handled on the first call and the number of requests handled via the firm's portal.

Lacerte: The most important success metric is time savings for both you and your clients. Next, the accuracy in your accounting should be going up significantly. When both the CPA and the client can see the same document, the CPA will be better able to account for the invoice correctly the first time.

How does your solution help CPAs specifically solve workflow/document management needs?

Packer: Interwoven has developed a Content Management Framework that includes Document Imaging, Document and Email Management, Records Management, Web Portal and Engagement Management/Workflow throughout an accounting firm. Interwoven's solution helps firms manage related content in context (e.g. within a virtual client file) and throughout the client engagement lifecycle. Also, it helps professionals access the content from anywhere at any time from within familiar applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Office, web browsers, laptops and even Smartphones.

Bhansali: AccountantsWorld solves the workflow and document management needs through an integrated suite of Web-based products, including a document management system, client portals and accounting and payroll system that lets CPAs and their clients work collaboratively.

Francis: Fujitsu scanning solutions help customers digitize paper documents easily, reliably and in a fast and efficient manner. Fujitsu scanners transform paper documents to digital files that can be easily incorporated into a document management system.

Lacerte: The CPA2Biz/Bill.com solution provides a simple, affordable method for all the front-office needs. As a Web-based solution, CPAs and clients can always be on the same page with respect to all the details related to a bill. We store and retain all documents, route them for approval and comments and pay them with a click. Since our software integrates with the accounting software, the CPA can more easily make sure the books are right.

Thinking three to five years down the road, can you tell us about any new solutions that your company or the marketplace in general will be offering CPAs?

Kepczyk: Our guess is that the entire profession will be using applications and services that are completely Web-based as the cost will be less and the security and availability will continue to get better.

Bourke: Once the masses have adopted paperless workflow or document management solutions, you see the vendors creating tools and applications to mine that data, integrate that data into other enterprise solutions and an onslaught of technologies to further streamline the process of sharing that electronic data between various vendor products that may not all be part of the same family of products.

Lacerte: The Web is the best place for transaction-oriented software. The benefits of controls, disaster recovery and shared costs will force more and more accounting solutions into the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. Over time, we will extend our bill payment technologies to the Accounts Receivables problem.

There you have it. There's no one-size-fits-all solution, but all the experts agree there's no substitute for being realistic about your needs and "keeping it simple" above all else. Before you know it, you'll have more physical space than you ever thought possible and productivity gains that are immediate and easily measurable.

Hank Berkowitz is the Publisher of AICPA's Insider™ electronic newsletter group in New York City.