Choosing the right software solution is crucial for firms seeking efficiency and reliability in managing their tasks, particularly due to the rise in wealth transfers; however, it can be challenging to identify which platform best suits your needs.
In this analysis, we will compare two prominent software solutions: Estateably and Dye & Durham’s Emergent & WindUp products. Both aim to tackle similar challenges for professionals, yet they vary in features and pricing. Let’s assess each solution based on its unique features, cost-effectiveness, support options, and overall pros and cons to identify which is the better choice for your requirements.
Estateably is a leading cloud-based estate administration and accounting software trusted by over 4,000 professionals across Canada and the United States. It offers a user-friendly interface and robust features that support estate administration tasks built for professionals to save time and replace effort with efficiency.
Estateably is highly favoured among professionals, particularly renowned for the following pros:
However, Estateably also has the following cons:
Emergent, part of the Dye & Durham group of companies, is a well-established, on-premise estate administration software known for its comprehensive functionality that has met the need of professionals over the years. It focuses on providing detailed tools for document management, compliance, and task tracking.
Emergent is recognized by professionals due to its primary pros:
However, Emergent also has the following cons:
Estateably automates all probate forms, precedent letters, and federal notifications for estate administration. It promptly updates new form changes within the application, ensuring uninterrupted service to clients.
Emergent automates the process of completing probate forms required for administration in Ontario. However, when there are changes to these forms, they may not be immediately reflected in the software, and manual updates are required on each computer where the software is installed. This can lead to delays and disruptions in the administration process.
Estateably comes with an out-of-the-box administration task list for easy reference throughout a file’s administration. Users can leave notes, create to-do lists, assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and create reminders to ensure nothing is overlooked. Additionally, Estateably allows you to manage all your assigned tasks across all matters, enhancing personal and practice-wide workflow management.
Emergent offers default task management with an added notes section to keep track of information relevant to a matter.
Estateably captures input for all beneficiaries, estate trustees, alternate estate trustee’s, and relevant parties. It auto-fills contact information, such as addresses, when possible. Additionally, it automates required details for charitable organizations, including registration numbers and addresses, when a charity is listed as a beneficiary.
Emergent requires manual input of information about estate beneficiaries, which is then used to populate the necessary forms and letters.
Estateably offers comprehensive inventory management for estate administration, automating as many functions as possible, including automatically calculating currency conversions based on transaction or date of death. Integrated securities price lookups further streamline processes, minimizing manual research and upkeep during estate administration.
Emergent offers a comprehensive inventory management module; however, it requires manual updates, securities lookups, and currency conversions.
Estateably provides all estate accounting functionality with automation that saves professionals hours of manual input each month, most notably including a PDF extraction tool that scans client bank statements, extracts transactions, and seamlessly uploads them into the application.
Emergent separates its accounting offering into a separate WindUp product, which provides a comprehensive accounting experience with some features that Estateably is yet to support. However, their solution requires manual input of all transactions with little automation for getting data into the platform.
Estateably reports are available for every application section and can be generated with customized sections and date ranges with a single click. Informal reports can be personalized with your firm’s letterhead and full passing of accounts reports can be generated effortlessly in both Word and PDF formats.
Emergent can generate formal and informal reports, but customizations may take weeks to implement, with larger reports generally exceeding 10 minutes to produce. Additionally, reports are not available in Word format, so users cannot make changes to the reports after they have been generated.
Estateably offers a notice-to-creditors solution similar to Emergent’s functionality at a more affordable price of $105 for a notice publication and an additional $40 for an affidavit, totalling $145.
Emergent integrates with Dye & Durham’s NoticeConnect for notice-to-creditor publication at a higher cost of $190 for both a notice and an affidavit.
While both solutions offer a comparable range of features, Estateably distinguishes itself with extensive automation capabilities that streamline mundane, repetitive tasks, thereby saving professionals valuable time.
Estateably is priced on a per-file basis, enabling professionals to pass costs directly to the estate as needed. There are no setup, installation, or subscription fees associated with the estate administration product. Probate files begin at $129, with an optional accounting feature available for an additional $99.
Emergent’s Estate Administration product is priced per file, starting at $165 per file with a one-time $450 onboarding and setup fee.
Its’ WindUp product is also priced per file, with simple accounting files starting at $725 per simple accounting file (under 150 transactions) and over $1,000 for complex matters.
Estateably offers a variety of support options, including a comprehensive online knowledge base and email support. Demos and guided onboarding are available for new users. Estateably also has a 4.8/5 rating on Capterra, with most feedback centred around superior support and responsiveness.
Emergent has a limited online knowledge base and offers a paid customer support hotline. While email support is available, response times may be slower. On-site training is also offered but is limited to specific regions.
Estateably offers a secure, cloud-based solution designed to safeguard client data and ensure application security. All Canadian customer data is stored and backed up in the cloud, with all data exclusively stored and managed in Canada.
The notable benefits of using cloud-based software include the following:
Additionally, Estateably is SOC 2 Type II Certified, one of the highest compliance standards for software solutions. Read more about data security and privacy at Estateably here.
Emergent’s on-premises solution, can be disadvantageous for many reasons, including:
While Emergent enables network collaboration, its accessibility and reliability fall short compared to cloud-based software solutions.
Estateably is supported across all operating systems on web browsers. Using Google Chrome, Firefox or Microsoft Edge is recommended.
Emergent only provides support for applications running on Microsoft Windows.®8.1 and 10.
Considering the features, cost, support, and overall benefits of both Estateably and Dye & Durham’s Emergent and WindUp, it’s clear why professionals favour Estateably as their modern choice. Estateably offers a broader range of features, a user-friendly interface, and greater cost-effectiveness for professionals and their clients. While Emergent has been a longstanding solution, Estateably not only matches many of its functionalities but also surpasses them, providing a modern, secure platform for efficient file management. Known for its innovative approach, Estateably constantly seeks new features and integrations so that fiduciary professionals and beneficiaries alike can benefit from a simplified, streamlined experience that replaces effort with efficiency.
That being said, it is essential to carefully consider your firm’s specific needs and requirements before making a decision. If you have any additional questions or concerns, it is always a good idea to consult with other professionals or book a demo to evaluate the software’s value for your practice.
If you’re interested in getting started with Estateably, book a demo with our team to learn more about how we can help save you time on your next estate matter.
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Estateably Inc. © 2024
Estateably Inc. © 2023
