Because you are using a competing product and are getting tired of re-customizing your template every time you do an update? Customization is a part of our template.
Because you are tired of manually linking and sorting your notes? Notes are added and linked at the click of a button and sorted automatically.
Because you are tired of checking and updating a stack of checklists instead of having automatic warnings and only four documents to update? Simple warnings and effective functionality reduces your admin time.
Because you are tired of being told "Sorry, our templates don't do that" or "That electronic signature will cost you $X"? Flexibility is the hallmark of Keystone Templates, firm headers, footers and electronic signatures are features, not options.
Keystone Templates Inc. has been in the business of creating templates for CaseWare since 1995. We were the first company in Canada that is still around today to specialize and sell templates to accountants and we are still doing it. Until July of 2008 we were known as CaseView Solutions Inc.
These are just some of the benefits of using a template from Keystone Templates Inc:
Training Stop spending money on training as new CaseView versions are released or new staff members are hired. Stop writing off time due to inexperienced staff taking longer than necessary to complete a given project.
Consistency All files have the same look, the same functionality and the same level of accuracy, regardless of the level of training, computer skills or personal preferences of the staff member producing them.
Flexibility A properly designed template can handle 80 to 90% of your client files without modification, dramatically reducing, if not completely eliminating, time spent to customize each client file.
Efficiency Modifications are quick and easy. Let us figure out how to implement new changes or how to fix things that aren’t working while your staff focus on billable items.
Continuity Once a change is made to the template, all files from that point on incorporate that change and files previously completed can be updated with the click of a button. Once an error is fixed, it remains fixed.
New Features With a properly designed template, upgrades to the latest version should take no more than a minute or two provided correct file storing procedures are used. A consultant also provides the ability to implement those features without your having to bear the cost of learning all their pitfalls.
Summary When you have difficult tax work, you hire a tax specialist, you don't just shuffle it off to someone in the office who may or may not have some spare time. Why is this? Because the specialist can answer difficult questions quickly and efficiently. Most, if not all, of your client files have financial statements. If you're going to do it, don't you think you should do it right?
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions
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What makes you think I need a new or updated Keystone template?
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Why shouldn't we be using the design mode to set up financial statements?
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What's wrong with having my staff know how to do everything?
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We have spent so much time and money developing our current template, why should we switch?
Answers
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Q: Why does my firm need a Keystone template?
A: In order to be effective, CaseView needs to be set up properly. Starting with a solid template at the beginning will save headaches later.
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Q: What makes you think I need a new or updated Keystone template?
A: Ask yourself this question: when preparing a fairly standard set of financial statements, do you enter the design mode? If you answered yes, then you need a new template.
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Q: Why shouldn't we be using the design mode to set up financial statements?
A: This is an unnecessary step. A good template will eliminate the need for repetitive actions. The vast majority of tasks that a preparer will need to do in the design mode can either be designed in by default or automated.
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Q: Does it not make more sense to have my work done in-house? That way, if something goes wrong, I have an expert on site immediately.
A: This concern deserves to be analyzed in some detail. Let us assume that your firm hires a CaseView specialist to develop a template. What do you do with this employee when the work of developing templates is complete, especially if the templates are designed properly? At $15 per hour over a six month period, this employee will cost you $14,400 in wages alone, and will probably have very little work to do after the first three months. Now that you've invested so much money into your template, imagine for a moment that the accountant down the street from you offers them $17 per hour. You now have an adequate $15,000 template with no easy way to maintain it.
As far as the immediacy of an expert goes, if that person is dedicated exclusively to CaseView, they will be immediately available all the time. However, if they have done their job well, after about six months there will be little or no need for their services on a full time basis. Once that happens, you can either pay them to wait around for problems to occur or begin to employ them in other areas. As soon as they are working in other areas, they are no longer immediately available.
With email and fax technology, our response time is usually within a few minutes of you sending us a file with a problem. Worst case scenario will be the next day. If there is a huge rush, we are almost always available on a cell phone to walk you through any problems you may encounter.
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Q: What's wrong with having my staff know how to do everything?
A: It certainly makes sense to have a well-trained staff. However, to hire an employee and provide a week of training at $50 per hour will cost $2000. Then the employee must gain experience and practice before making effective use of their time in file preparation. With a good template, all your employees are experts from day one.
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Q: Can you match all of my customized aesthetics?
A: Exactly? Maybe not. The template, however, is incredibly flexible, allowing you to choose your fonts, bolding, italic and alignments as you see fit. If it can't do it right out of the box, chances are that with some minor adjustments, the template will work for you. Send a mock-up of a client file to us at sales@keystonetemplates.com, and we'll tell you how close we can come to your current look.
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Q: We have spent so much time and money developing our current template, why should we switch?
A: How much money you've spent so far is irrelevant. What is relevant is how much you are going to spend on your template from now on. How easy is it to fix bugs on your template? To add new notes? To add new accounts? Are you interested in taking advantage of CaseView's latest features? How will you handle any introduced bugs when you CaseWare releases the next version? How easy will it be to introduce a presentation change with your current template? How do you update your existing files to the latest GAAP standards? How easy is it to update your aesthetics to a new format? If any of the above take more than a few seconds, your template is not flexible enough.
Assuming a charge out rate of $50/hr (for the person maintaining your in-house template) and assuming that they are working 50 weeks of the year, if they spend more than 36 minutes per week doing any of the above items in CaseView, you are paying more than it would cost you to use our template.