Exchanging sensitive and confidential information with clients is an important part of our daily routine here at Ellis & Co.
Due to GDPR and online security threats we are having to change the way in which we send sensitive information to you, our clients.
Email is no longer secure, and sending information via post is time consuming and costly (for both parties).
Due to these reasons we now have our own client portal called IRIS OpenSpace, a safe, simple and secure collaborative tool for accountancy practices and clients to share documents with each other and get client approval electronically.
We can securely share a draft set of accounts, a tax return or a financial statement with our client, while you can send bank statements, payslips and trial balances to us!
Why have a client portal?
1. Greater protection: We’ve introduced two factor authentication to bump up security even more. This means that when you log in, OpenSpace will send you an email with a code you must complete to confirm your identity. Even if someone knows your password they can’t log in without this code. Set it up via the account menu.
2. Better security: All passwords are encrypted using a salting and hashing algorithm, which means nobody can see your password, not even us.
3. Safety tools: We’ve just introduced a password strength indicator – to help you to ensure it’s strong and won’t be breached.
4. Encryption: Documents are encrypted as they are being uploaded using SSL and AES technologies – which means your information is safe and protected while in transit.
5. GDPR compliant: The OpenSpace platform is based on Microsoft Azure, with EU-based servers, therefore meeting the new requirements.
And these are just five of the newest reasons.
“Not only does our client portal offer greater protection and is GDPR compliant, but it also helps the team work closer and more intuitively with our clients,” said John Moorhouse, accounts senior at Ellis & Co.
“Our clients are busy running businesses, we want to ensure they have more time to do that than copying, faxing and posting out documents to us, with multi-approvals and eSignatures it’s all done within the portal.”
How do I sign up?
To use our client portal you need to contact your account manager who will then send you an activation email.
Once you have received your email (noreply@irisopenspace.co.uk) click on the link to activate your account.
You will then need to register your account and set a memorable password.
What next?
Once you are registered and your password is set you are ready to use our client portal.
All documents and data that was previously sent by email/postal/fax, will now be uploaded and stored on the portal.
For further information about our client portal contact John Moorhouse on 01244 343504 or email johnmorrhouse@ellis-uk.com