CCH ProSystem fx Hosting Benefits: Top Reasons to Move on Cloud

For tax professionals and firms, efficiently managing large volumes of paperwork, saving multiple forms, and maintaining various documents can be daunting. During the hectic tax season, gathering all this information swiftly is crucial to filing timely tax returns.

Tax software like ProSystem fx allows individuals and firms to streamline workflow and reduce paperwork. However, during tax season, the unavailability of centralized storage can hamper productivity. Accessing all the required documents and tax files from anywhere can be a game changer for your business.

To solve these issues, you can opt for ProSystem fx hosting solutions. With CCH ProSystem fx hosting, you get several benefits, such as remote access, enhanced security, seamless collaboration, business continuity, etc.

In this blog, we will explore the benefits of ProSystem fx hosting, compare it with traditional on-premises solutions, and explain why you should consider cloud hosting.

What is an On-premises ProSystem fx Solution?

According to the latest report by the Journal of Accountancy, ProSystem fx by Wolters Kluwer is one of the most comprehensive tax software programs for accounting firms of all sizes.

It supports almost all tax forms, allowing firms to file complex returns easily. However, with a desktop-based ProSystem, you can encounter many challenges, such as limited team collaboration, IT hassles, etc.

In a traditional setup, you install ProSystem fx on your desktop to work on it. To share it with other users you either host it on your LAN or a local server. This solution is known as on-premises setup.

In this setup, you have to hire an IT team who manage all the hardware and software infrastructure.

From buying and setting up necessary hardware to constantly upgrading ProSystem fx on all computers, your IT team will manage and ensure everything is up and running.

To secure your critical financial data from unauthorized access, you have to hire and manage a security or cybersecurity team. This team then fortifies the security of your tax firm to protect it against threats like ransomware, malware, etc.

Now, this increases the overall operational costs and indulges you in several IT-hassles rather than focusing on growing your business.

Let’s now see its pros and cons:

Pros of On-premises ProSystem Hosting Solution:

• Full control over hardware and software environment
• Direct access to physical servers

Cons of On-premises ProSystem Hosting Solution:

• Limited accessibility
• No seamless scaling as per requirements
• Higher infrastructural and maintenance costs
• Limited to no disaster recovery
• Security vulnerabilities
• Difficulty in integrating ProSystem with third-party apps

Also Read: Top 9 Features of CCH ProSystem fx Tax Software

What is ProSystem Cloud Hosting Solution?

ProSystem fx hosting is a platform that combines the best of ProSystem fx software and cloud hosting technology to offer a secure and economical tax filing solution to tax firms and individuals.

In this solution, ProSystem fx is installed on fast, dedicated, and remote servers, to which you and your team can log in from any device.

Your cloud hosting provider manages all the IT work, from configuring servers to safely migrating data to the cloud. This allows you to focus more on your business than worrying about in-house IT hassles such as buying hardware, configuring servers, deploying security mechanisms, etc.

CCH ProSystem Hosting vs. On-premises Solution

Working on an on-premises solution can present several data-sharing challenges in your tax firm.

For example, your team may have to save multiple versions of a file on local systems, which may lead to various versions of a file. This can lead to clarity and effective collaboration.

Conversely, utilizing the ProSystem Hosting solution eliminates these issues by providing your team members with anywhere, anytime data access. This central access allows everyone to be on the same page and removes the need to save multiple file versions on local systems.

Let’s now see other benefits offered by CCH ProSystem fx hosting:

CCH ProSystem fx Cloud Hosting Benefits

Reliability of Cloud

Data maintained by ProSystem fx software is vital and may be needed even after many years of filing the return.

Thus, it becomes vital to take care of data storage. When stored on-premises, there can be many issues, such as data theft, damage to the device, accidental deletion, or software glitches, which can also harm the data.

Moving this data to a new device can also bring many challenges as hardware technology changes rapidly.

However, when the software is hosted on the cloud, the cloud providers take care of the data backup. You will get the most recent data backup in case of any event or loss.

Reputed ProSystem hosting providers like Ace Cloud offer 45 days of rolling and immutable data backups.

Enhanced Security

When your ProSystem fx software is hosted on the cloud, you are assured of the best data security.

Cybercrimes are on the rise, and we have witnessed several ransomware attacks recently; third-party cloud hosting providers strive to provide the best security features and services.

Many security measures (such as end-to-end encryption, complex password policies, and others) protect against intrusion and other security issues while ensuring complete data privacy. In short, your critical tax data is safer on the cloud than on-premises

Other security features:

• Firewalls to safeguard against
• Anti-virus to protect against malicious malware
• Encryption of data before storing on the cloud
• Physical security of data centers and enhanced security of server rooms with 24×7 surveillance and only allowing strict access to authorized personnel only

Collaboration Made Easy

An accountant, tax professional, or other employee may have to work on the same file while they are located at different locations. They need to send the file back and forth via email, which increases the possibility of errors and file duplication.

It also takes up storage space. However, ProSystem fx software on the cloud makes collaboration among different users much more comfortable, and there is no need to exchange emails or install them locally.

As all your data is stored securely on the cloud, you can, as a cloud admin, provide role-based access to all your team members. This way, everyone has access to the files critical to their work while you have access to all the data.

Collaborating on the cloud can save time when traveling and meeting in person. As most issues are discussed and addressed on the same cloud, the need for meetings is reduced. Almost 25% of every meeting that lasts an hour is wasted, collaborating on the cloud can be a great productivity booster.

Reduced Cost

For SMBs, buying hardware and hiring IT staff can be substantial expenses. To stay updated, they would also need to upgrade the hardware regularly, which would cost an IT team to handle.

With ProSystem fx’s cloud hosting, you can avoid maintenance and hardware costs, as it is not dependent on local infrastructure.

You can seamlessly scale according to your business requirements. If you need more storage space and RAM during tax season, you can ask your hosting provider to allocate more resources.

Furthermore, you will save money on implementing costly cybersecurity and data backup solutions, as your cloud hosting provider will handle everything.

Backup and Disaster Recovery

Tax files or data are crucial for every tax preparer. If your data is stored on-premise, there are many risks, such as data theft or accidental loss. The best solution is to take regular backups.

However, a manual data backup process will not only consume a lot of your time but also create a possibility of humanoid ignorance. You can also deploy expensive automated data backup solutions, which will increase your operational costs.

However, cloud hosting providers take regular, automated backups stored in different locations. This ensures that you can recover your data whenever needed.

Anytime, Anywhere Access

Cloud technology allows users to access applications from anytime, anywhere, with an internet connection. This easy accessibility feature of the cloud adds immense convenience for tax software users.

So, with ProSystem fx Tax software hosting, there is no restriction of being tied to your system in the office, and you can work on tax data from home or anywhere else.

Unlimited Integrations with 3rd Party Apps

Integrating ProSystem fx with third-party apps or software on-premises may cause issues like slow system performance, as it depends on your local system requirements.

Be it accounting software or CRM, With ProSystem fx cloud hosting services, you can add as many integrations as you want.

Irrespective of the total integrations you are using with ProSystem fx hosting, your productivity will not be hampered.

Above all, if you have any custom integration requirements, most reputed cloud hosting providers can also accommodate them!

Flexible Pricing

In an on-premises ProSystem fx solution, you constantly invest in purchasing and upgrading hardware, staffing an IT and Security team, and other operational costs.

On the contrary, most cloud hosting providers offer a pay-as-you-go pricing model, meaning you will only pay for the resources you use on the cloud.

Overall, ProSystem fx hosting pricing depends on many factors, such as resources, the total number of users, and the additional features you need.

Conclusion

As a tax professional, you always look to streamline workflow and file more tax returns quickly and efficiently. ProSystem fx hosting technology makes this happen by allowing you to prepare and file taxes from anywhere.

ProSystem hosting offers numerous benefits such as remote accessibility, seamless scaling, state-of-the-art security, etc.

If you want to learn more about CCH ProSystem cloud hosting, connect with our expert today! Plus, grab a 7-day free trial to explore ProSystem cloud hosting before deploying it in your tax firm.

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