SmartVault vs TaxDome, and cheaper options

Choose SmartVault if your firm already runs on desktop tax software and wants a secure document store and client portal that files into it. Choose TaxDome if you want to replace several tools, from CRM to invoicing, with one system. Choose neither if the job is only getting documents in from clients.

Neither vendor encrypts files so that only your firm can read them: both hold the keys, by their own security pages. That is normal for a portal, and worth knowing before you put Social Security numbers and passports in either.

Every SmartVault plan includes unlimited storage, a custom branded client portal and a way to “request, track, and collect client documents”. Business Pro is $55 per user per month billed annually with a three-user minimum; Accounting Pro, $65, and Accounting Unlimited, $85, have a two-user minimum and add integrations with Lacerte, ProConnect, ProSeries, UltraTax, Drake and CCH. E-signatures are an add-on below Accounting Unlimited (SmartVault pricing).

Clients answer a Doc Request through SmartVault’s portal; a client who is not signed in is prompted to log in (SmartVault: responding to a document request). SmartVault encrypts at rest with AES-256 and says a limited number of its staff can access document contents with your permission (SmartVault security). The SmartVault alternative comparison goes further.

TaxDome prices per seat per year: Essentials, for one user only, is $700; Pro is $900 and Business $1,100 per seat per year on a three-year commitment, billed upfront. Every plan includes a CRM, the client portal and mobile app, unlimited document storage and e-signatures, workflow automations, email and SMS, proposals and payments (TaxDome pricing).

Clients can upload through a file-request link without logging in (TaxDome: client actions without portal login). TaxDome says customer data is “encrypted with keys controlled by TaxDome” (TaxDome Trust Center). For health data, see is TaxDome HIPAA compliant.

If you already pay for Microsoft 365 for work, OneDrive Request files lets anyone with the link upload to a folder you choose, with an email to you on each upload (Microsoft: create a file request); Business Basic is $7.00 per user per month paid yearly (Microsoft 365 business plans). Microsoft manages the keys by default. The Dropbox and OneDrive file request comparison covers this route.

A ShieldFive document request costs nothing for 14 days with everything unlocked, then 1 open request at a time free (links last up to 7 days), or €29 per seat per month for unlimited. The client needs no account, you list the documents you need, and each file is encrypted in the client’s browser so only your firm can open it.

If you want what SmartVault or TaxDome actually sell, ShieldFive is not a substitute. There is no client portal or login, no e-signature, no invoicing, no workflow, no CRM and no tax-software integration.

Chasing is light. On Firm seats (and during the trial), if you add the client’s email, ShieldFive reminds them at most twice, after about three and seven days, while required items are missing. The reminder cannot contain the upload link, because the decryption key never reaches our server, so it points the client back to the link you sent. You also get a reminder to follow up. Your firm name and logo appear on the upload page on the paid plan and during the 14-day trial. There are no recurring requests.

You need a free ShieldFive account to create requests; only the client skips signup. Every link needs a PIN of at least four characters.

Like any web app, we serve the JavaScript that does the encryption. The guarantee is “encrypted in the client’s browser, ciphertext at rest”, not a claim that no compromised server could ever interfere. The request security page sets out the threat model, and the client portal guide compares portals more widely.