More than two-thirds (78%) of valuation experts use an online tool to collect documents and other information from clients, according to the first in a series of “Two-Minute Practice Builder” surveys. Practice management advisor Rod Burkert (Burkert Valuation Advisors), who initiated the survey, points to one respondent’s comment as to the reasons why valuation experts use a portal: “One reason is encryption and security. The other is professional branding, looking tech savvy. The third reason is to give clients confidence in the firm.”
The respondents’ tool of choice is ShareFile, used by over a third of respondents (36%), with SharePoint coming in at second place (see chart below). In the “Other” category are Smartsheet, Drake, Egnyte, DealRelations, FileInvite, and Client Axcess.
| ShareFile | 36% |
| SharePoint | 20% |
| Dropbox | 8% |
| Suralink | 8% |
| OneDrive | 8% |
| Other | 20% |
Of those who are not currently using a file-sharing tool for client information, over half (55%) say they are considering one. In addition to the reasons stated above, one commenter said: “Clients increasingly expect us to offer/use a portal for information sharing.” Of those who are kicking tires, half of them are looking at SharePoint and others are considering Dropbox or JetPack (or are not sure). But one commenter noted that Dropbox is a problem due to “confidentiality/integrity concerns.” Another respondent extolled the virtues of Suralink as a “fantastic platform for secure data exchange. It provides status of each outstanding request and comments can be swapped to cut down on back-and-forth emails. Highly recommend.”
Our thanks to all who participated—and we will have a new survey on another topic in the next issue.