Over the next few weeks, we will host three webinars highlighting features specific to the accounting profession. Join us for an exciting overview of features of your ShareFile account including the client portal, Outlook Plug-in, Folder Templates, and various other tools. Tax season is right around the corner, and we want to make sure you are ready for it.

Here at ShareFile we take pride in approaching customer service proactively. We reach out to customers at the end of the month, notifying them of overages and speaking with them to find a plan that best fits their business’ needs. We conduct daily webinars, free training sessions, and field any questions customers may have regarding their account. Upon the start of a free trial, customers receive a dedicated account manager, their one point of contact during the trial period, to help set up the account as well as provide tips and recommendations on how to best use the trial service.

Another example of our proactive approach to customer service is through our social media sites. We encourage our customers to follow us on Twitter and friend us on Facebook to receive the latest ShareFile news and stay up-to-date on current happenings in the office. Recently, we noticed a potential customer inquiring about the ShareFile service and wanting to learn more. One of our Sales representatives contacted the firm immediately to learn more about its needs and to see how ShareFile could help make the day-to-day workflow easier for the firm. After a phone conversation, they signed up for a free trial and are currently trying out the service for 30 days.

Our Account Services team was created in January, 2011 by Nick Woerner, who has been working with ShareFile since the spring of 2008. Nick saw an opportunity to raise the bar for service and developed Account Services to improve the availability and quality of training and ongoing, proactive support for ShareFile users.

Account Services representatives conduct daily training webinars and also one-on-one sessions for customers. The team has the opportunity to work with new our accounts and learn the reasons our customers chose ShareFile as a solution for their business. I recently asked two Account Services representatives, Alex Hofford and Amanda Rogers, about the features and benefits of a ShareFile account that are most helpful to people who are just getting started or looking to learn more. Below are some of the tips they shared.

What are the most common questions that you hear from new accounts?

Alex:
FAQ- One of the most common questions I get from clients is “What is my client going to be able to see when they log in?”

Answer- While the specific answer to this question will be different with each account, the fundamental answer lies within our Folder Access permissions. With these options, the account administrator can control not only which folders each client user can see in the system, but also any download/upload capability and email notifications. These options create a level of customization so that you and your clients can get the most appropriate use out of our system.

Amanda:
FAQ- “How is the transfer secure if we send out an email with a link to download a file? What if the email gets intercepted?”

Answer- I often get asked this question, especially when going over the ‘Require user to login’ option within ‘Send a File’. I point out that if the user isn’t already created as a user on the account, the system will assign them a password. I get a lot of concern over the password coming out in the same email as the link to the file. There are measures that the administrator(s) can put into place within their account to add additional security. Our first recommendation is to create the person as user in the system and then grant them access to a folder in the account that has the material you would be sending to them. If the user is created in this way, then they will be required to log-in each time before they can access the folder. They will be sent a temporary system-generated password in an initial email and will be prompted to change that password as soon as they log-in the first time. Email notifications can be turned on, so that notification will be provided as soon as new files have been uploaded to the folder.

I’ve also helped accounts with their email templates so that a new user’s password won’t go out in an email. Some accounts even change the passwords for all users to the last four digits of their SSN (for those in Accounting and Financial industries) and then only say in the welcome email that their password is the last four digits of their SSN. I also refer those who ask these questions to the Reporting feature in their account and let them know that they can trace downloads to an IP address and location to determine who is doing the downloading/uploading of a file.

If you are a new ShareFile user be sure to watch our informative training tutorial video on how to get started using your ShareFile account. The video contains all the information you need to get the most out of our secure file transfer services.

ShareFile Training Tutorial Video

We also offer a free live demo with a talented ShareFile Representative weekly.

Visit our Training page here to stay updated on the latest ShareFile training sessions.