Lacerte Remote Access Benefits for Tax Firms and Professionals

Lacerte is one of the most popular and reputable tax preparation and filing software for small—to medium-sized businesses. It offers robust features that allow tax professionals to reduce manual work and file returns more efficiently and accurately.

However, as desktop software, one of Lacerte’s main disadvantages is that it doesn’t offer remote accessibility. In this era, where organizations provide employees flexibility by allowing them to work from home, Lacerte desktop software doesn’t provide this functionality by default.

There are many other benefits of being able to use Lacerte remotely, but it depends on your access method. In this blog, we have discussed the top benefits of Lacerte remote access and different methods to implement this functionality.

Different Methods to Access Lacerte Remotely

Here are different ways you can access Lacerte from anywhere:

Remote Desktop Software

Windows Remote Desktop Software, or RDP, allows you to access any local system remotely. As a result, you can use any local system running Lacerte remotely using RDP.

However, it has certain limitations, such as the requirement that both devices be connected to the Internet and that the host always be powered on.

While it is the simplest way to work on Lacerte from anywhere, it becomes tedious when you have many issues. If not set up correctly, it might also cause security concerns and data loss.

To use Lacerte outside your office, you can also use third-party software such as AnyDesk, TeamViewer, etc., in addition to Windows RDP.

Hosted Virtual Desktop

Hosted Virtual Desktop is a Desktop-as-a-service solution where all your desktop apps and data are stored securely on the cloud. DaaS providers create a hosted desktop environment on the cloud, and you can access it anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

Lacerte Hosting

In this solution, your Lacerte tax software and data are stored on third-party cloud hosting provider servers. You can access Lacerte tax software remotely via their cloud portal or RDP server.

Moving Lacerte to the cloud means that your Lacerte software and data are stored on a secured data server of a third-party application hosting provider. The software and data can be accessed easily on a browser or via an RDP provided by the hosting service provider.

Thus, tax professionals are not bound to office premises to work on Lacerte. Instead, they can access the software anywhere, anytime, and on any device.

Which is the Best Method for Accessing Lacerte Remotely

Let’s now compare each of the access methods mentioned above and see which one is a good option for your tax firm:

Top Benefits of Lacerte Remote Access with Cloud Hosting Solutions

Work from anywhere

The functionality of accessing Lacerte virtually from any location allows tax professionals to work from anywhere, anytime. It becomes essential for professionals needing to work from home, travel frequently, or manage multiple office locations.

Lacerte remote access allows tax professionals to access client files, tax documents, and software functionalities without being tied to one office location.

Secure Cloud Storage

With Lacerte hosting, you get secure cloud data storage. As a cloud admin, you can access all your data and provide role-based access to anyone in your team. As a result, there is no need to send to-and-fro emails to get the required information from the team or clients.

Lacerte remote access helps reduce the time consumed for preparing tax returns for a client and increases the number of billable hours of tax preparers.

Real-time Collaboration

With Lacerte remote access via cloud hosting, multiple team members can work on the same tax return simultaneously, regardless of location. Thus, the entire tax preparation process is streamlined, and productivity is maximized.

The best part is that multiple team members can work on the same file simultaneously. Any changes in the file are reflected in real-time, so every user is on the same page while working on the client’s taxes.

Enhanced Security

Tax data and files are highly confidential, and the security of this data is essential for accounting and tax firms. Storing this data locally makes it vulnerable to security threats like loss or breach.

When accountants and CPAs choose Lacerte cloud hosting, they get high-end security such as:

• Two-factor authentication,
• Intrusion Detection System (IDS),
• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS),
• Antivirus and Anti-malware,
• Firewalls, and more.

Also, the hosting provider offers regular data backups to ensure your business runs smoothly, even in case of data loss or damage. Reputable Lacerte hosting providers like Ace Cloud offer 45-day rolling data backup.

Easy Integration

Intuit Lacerte alone cannot meet all the needs and requirements of a tax professional. Thus, Lacerte must be integrated with third-party apps and services for increased productivity and efficiency.

For example, Lacerte tax software can seamlessly integrate with QuickBooks. By integrating Lacerte with QuickBooks, you can quickly import relevant QuickBooks reports for taxes to streamline your tax filing and return experience.

However, installing all applications on a local device can help the performance of your system. This often leads to slow performance, affecting a firm’s billable hours.

With Lacerte hosting, all the applications and their data are stored/run on cloud servers, resulting in a faster and smoother tax filing process.

Affordability

Lacerte tax software hosting caters to the needs of firms of every size, be it small or big. Firms do not need to pay for the hosting features/resources that are irrelevant to them.

If the firm is small and the number of users is limited, or if a firm is expanding and wants to increase the number of users, they are priced as per their needs.

Besides, the number of users, storage, apps, and other services can be easily upgraded or downgraded according to the business requirements.

Seamless Scalability

With Lacerte on the cloud, you can seamlessly upscale or downscale as per your business requirements. For example, you might need more computing resources during tax season for optimal performance.

In that case, you can convey your requirements to your hosting provider. They will then instantly allocate more cloud resources without any downtime.

Once tax season is over, you can request that your Lacerte hosting provider remove any cloud resources you no longer need.

Conclusion

There are many ways to use Lacerte tax software from any location, including Remote Desktop Programs, Hosted VDI solutions, and cloud hosting. In this blog, we discussed the pros and cons of each access method. By evaluating these options, you can choose the method that best fits your business requirements.

However, Lacerte cloud hosting offers multiple benefits over other methods of accessing Lacerte remotely, such as seamless scalability and enhanced security. Explore Lacerte on the cloud with Ace Cloud’s secure and scalable cloud hosting services. Take advantage of a 7-day free trial to experience seamless performance and enhanced accessibility for your tax software needs.

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