SimpleumSafe for tax consultants
Protect client documents.At your firm and on client visits.
Keep tax assessments, asset statements and meeting notes encrypted on Mac, iPhone and iPad, clearly organised and available on your own devices when needed.
Confidential files are part of your advisory work
An asset statement for your next meeting, a tax assessment to review or notes on business succession: tax consultancy involves information that reveals a great deal about your clients’ financial and personal circumstances.
If you organise selected advisory documents yourself on Apple devices, SimpleumSafe provides a separate encrypted space for them. Keep related files together by client or topic and find them again when you need them.
Everyday tasks
Store advisory documents securely
Keep tax assessments, contracts, asset statements and reports together for each client. File names stored in the Safe remain encrypted too.
Prepare for client meetings
Keep meeting notes and selected documents ready on your own Mac or iPad. If you use optional synchronisation, allow the files you need to finish transferring before the appointment.
Capture documents on client visits
Photograph supplementary paper documents directly from the app and save them in the Safe without storing them in the general photo library. Then incorporate the captures into your firm's intended workflow.
A protected space alongside your practice software
SimpleumSafe supplements your firm’s existing document storage with an encrypted space for selected files. The Finder-like interface on Mac makes storing and organising them easier. No cloud is required for local use; encrypted synchronisation between your own devices is optional.
Decide which version is authoritative within your firm and how edited documents return to the intended workflow. Bookkeeping, deadline management, client communication and the primary management of accounting records remain in the systems intended for those purposes.
Confidentiality and proper record retention
Encryption protects the contents of your files. Whether records subject to retention requirements are maintained and retained in accordance with Germany's GoBD rules also depends on the overall process, including traceability, protection against unrecorded changes and procedural documentation. Encrypted storage alone does not demonstrate compliance with these requirements.7
In Germany, confidentiality is one of the general professional duties under section 57 of the Tax Consultancy Act (StBerG); section 203 of the Criminal Code (StGB) protects others’ secrets. Encryption can support your technical and organisational safeguards. The software alone does not ensure compliance with all professional duties or make your firm’s organisation GDPR-compliant.56
Data protection and security in detail
How does SimpleumSafe protect your documents, and what still needs attention in your firm’s everyday work? Open the topic you would like to explore. The legal references below concern tax consultancy in Germany and the EU GDPR.
Encrypt files and file names
SimpleumSafe protects file contents and associated information, such as file names, using AES-256. A closed Safe therefore does not reveal which clients or matters it contains through its file list. You can use multiple Safes, for example for selected client matters or to separate professional and personal documents.1
Protect access to confidential documents
You open your Safe with your Safe password or, where supported and configured, biometric authentication. A strong, dedicated password and a protected, up-to-date device go hand in hand. Keep recovery and setup information safe too.
Readable content may be accessible on an unlocked or compromised device. Encrypted storage therefore does not replace device protection or clear access rules within your firm.1
Check stored data for errors
The integrity checker examines the Safe's internal structure and the links to stored file data. Additional options also allow you to check whether files can be read and decrypted.
A successful check applies to the areas examined. It does not replace a backup and is not proof of GoBD-compliant retention or a document's unaltered origin.2
Prepare backups and emergency access
Back up your Safes regularly and independently of your working device, for example to a separate storage device. Files stored in the Safe remain encrypted in a complete Safe backup too. Check that the backup can be restored.
Create a recovery password in advance and store it safely, separate from your device. It allows you to reset a forgotten Safe password. It does not replace a backup or restore deleted files.1
Assess a loss or theft correctly
If a device or a copy of a Safe is stolen, effective encryption can prevent unauthorised people from reading the contents. Whether access credentials, key material or an unlocked device are also affected is crucial to the assessment.
Communication to affected individuals is generally required where a personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk. Under the conditions of Article 34(3)(a) GDPR, effective encryption can make that communication unnecessary. Notification to the supervisory authority under Article 33 must be assessed separately; the incident still needs to be documented.5
Synchronise your own devices in encrypted form
SimpleumSafe can be used locally without a cloud. You can optionally synchronise changes between your configured Apple devices in encrypted form, through iCloud or directly between devices; a shared folder is also possible between Macs. Each configured device has its own local Safe.
Normal synchronisation data does not contain the separate Safe key file. Copied synchronisation data and the Safe password alone are therefore insufficient for decryption. This statement does not apply unchanged if setup information, key material or a configured device is also compromised.
Synchronisation also propagates deletions and unwanted changes and does not replace a backup. For cloud services, contractual arrangements and data protection and professional requirements must still be assessed separately. Encryption does not automatically remove the need for a required data processing agreement.36
Photograph documents directly into the Safe
Using the camera in SimpleumSafe for iOS, you can photograph paper documents and save the photos directly in the Safe. They are not stored in the general photo library. This can be useful for supplementary documents from a client meeting, for example.4
For records subject to retention requirements, capture, quality control and retention must fit into the defined process at your firm or your client's business. Taking a photograph alone does not mean you may destroy the paper original.7
Account for originals, editing and exported copies
Importing brings a file into the Safe. Depending on the import method and settings, the original may remain in its previous location. Importing does not retroactively protect copies in an email inbox, Downloads folder or client portal.
A file must temporarily be readable for editing. On Mac, SimpleumSafe can provide a working copy in a protected temporary area. The editing application may create its own copies or cloud backups. Exporting or sharing creates a decrypted copy outside the Safe. Choose a storage and transfer method appropriate to the file's confidentiality.4
Sources and product documentation
- SimpleumSafe: Security and Encryption method – access, file information, backups and recovery passwords.
- SimpleumSafe: Integrity checker – scope and additional options.
- SimpleumSafe: Extreme secure synchronisation – device synchronisation, key material and limitations.
- How SimpleumSafe works and Take photos directly into the Safe.
- GDPR, particularly Articles 28 and 32–34.
- Section 57 StBerG, section 62a StBerG and section 203 StGB (German law); EDPB Guidelines 07/2020, “Hosting services” example, p. 16, on storing encrypted data on behalf of a controller.
- German Federal Ministry of Finance: GoBD (German), particularly paragraphs 110–111 and 136–141, and the amendment of 14 July 2025 (German).
Confidential advisory documents on your Apple devices
Would you like to keep selected client documents yourself in encrypted form? Explore SimpleumSafe’s features and find the right purchase option for Mac, iPhone or iPad.
What you can do with SimpleumSafe
Learn more about the features and protection for your files on Mac, iPhone and iPad.