pretty much the same — taxpayers who are
con;dent that their tax situation is not that
complicated. As they move toward middle
age, their taxes get more complicated and
they tend to use paid preparers.”
;e strength of the DIY market was indi-
cated in the recent purchases by H&R Block
of TaxAct and by ;omson Reuters of TaxSim-
ple. While both of the purchased companies
produce professional editions, their purchase
was motivated by the desire for a presence in
the DI Y market. “;omson Reuters does not
have a DIY program, and Block’s version has
been losing ground every year to Intuit in that
market,” said an industry insider. “;is was a
way for Block to double their share of the do-
it-yourself market and put it in the hands of a
very competent management team.”
Issues
FROM PAGE 1
E-FILING MANDATES
Most tax prep software providers are addressing the e-;ling requirements at both the state
and federal levels. ;e federal e-;le mandate
requires preparers who ;le more than 100
returns to e-;le 2010 returns, and will require
those who prepare more than 10 returns to
e-;le 2011 returns.
“We’re providing more robust tools to
monitor the status of e-;led returns,” report-
ed Scott Fleszar, vice president of strategic
marketing for the Tax & Accounting business
of ;omson Reuters. “Optimally, the preparer
can choose to turn on an automatic e-mail
alert to a client when the e-;led return has
been accepted. ... Our feedback indicates
that when clients have their returns e-;led,
they’re on the phone two days later asking
about the status of the return.”
;omson Reuters’ Ultra Tax CS has added
a client complexity factor, which assigns a
value to each client based on the types of
forms and schedules required by the return.
“;e principal or partner will understand the
relative complexity of each return and can as-
sign the work accordingly,” Fleszar said.
Also new is a key values indicator in each
return, which displays items such as adjusted
gross income and the Alternative Minimum
Tax. “It gives ;ve values — three years back,
plus the current year, plus a projection for
next year,” said Fleszar.
Ultra Tax has also added to its ability to run
across dual monitors, Fleszar noted: “It will
sense the monitor con;guration of the pre-
parer, and will optimize usage.”
Meanwhile, ;omson Reuters’ GoSystem
has built integration with NetClient CS, and
a new print system for partnership returns,
according to Fleszar. “GoSystem handles very
large partnership returns, some with thou-
sands of partners,” he noted. “;ere is more
flexibility and power in assigning for 1065
returns and customers.”
;e trend toward e-;ling, the paperless of-
;ce and integration will continue, echoed Jo
Ann Cummings, CPA and product manager
for CCH ProSystem fx Tax. “More types of re-
turns are being e-;led,” she said. “;is will
continue with states o;ering multiple types
of returns that can be e-;led. Going paperless
and integration between a ;rm’s tax software
with document management, practice, and
engagement software is continuing” as pre-
parers and their clients become more focused
on saving time and money.
COST-SAVINGS SPECIALS
CCH Small Firm Services has improved and
expanded its Scan & Fill feature for both ATX
and Tax Wise, according to product managers Bo Brown and Shannon Bond. “It has the
ability to read more and more forms, with
integration into all of our non-tax applications,” said Bond. A Web-based management
tool, Central O;ce Management, simpli;es
multiple-office management and allows
management, monitoring and support from
one Web site.
In addition to o;ering customers a cost-saving program for o;ce supplies through
Staples Advantage, CCH SFS’s software also
integrates with the Western Union Money-Wise card, so that clients can receive their
refunds on a reloadable prepaid card, and
also have their paychecks direct-deposited
onto the card, and add money at any Western
Union location.
STREAMLINED WORKFLOW
Intuit’s ProSeries, Lacerte and ProLine Tax
Online Editions have aimed at streamlining
work;ow and expanding e-;le o;erings for
state returns, according to product managers Julie Kozloski, Mary Kroenung and Jorge
Olavarrieta.
;e IRS’s new Modernized e-File system,
or MeF, went live last year and was supported
by Intuit primarily in its Turbo Tax products,
according to Kroenung. “It had some grow-
ing pains. At times, some returns had to be
resubmitted through the legacy system, but
all in all it was a successful launch. ;e goal
this year is to get more transmitters,” she
said. “Our software has the ability to send
the return to either system, so if there is a
problem with MeF, it will get sent through
the legacy system.”
“We‘ve added numerous forms as they
become available from the states,” noted
Kozloski. “E-;ling will have a big impact on
o;ces that haven’t already adopted it into
their work;ow processes.”
With its scan-and-populate and digital
download from ;nancial institutions, Intuit is
evolving its NED2 (“Never enter data twice”)
concept to plain NED (“Never enter data at
all”), according to ProLine Tax Online prod-
uct manager Olavarrieta.
RAL CHANGES
Drake Software hasn’t yet seen a huge de-
mand for scan features among its clients, said
vice president of sales and marketing John
Sapp. “Some mention it, but it’s not currently
on most preparers’ radar,” he said. “Unless it’s
a time-saver, it serves no bene;t. We do see
direct import as a time-saver, and will con-
tinue to add to our direct-import feature. We
will provide almost any tool within reason if
it saves time for our clients.”
Sapp sees changes coming in RALs. “It’s
not necessarily based on the debt indicator,”
he said. ;e IRS announced in August that
it would no longer provide a debt indicator
— a note in the acknowledgement of an e-
;led return that indicated whether a taxpayer
will have any portion of the refund o;set for
delinquent tax or other debts, such as unpaid
child support or delinquent student loans,
and which was used to facilitate RALs.
“Many people have a need to get their taxes
done and the refund in their hands as quickly
as possible,” he said. “;e RAL does this in an
e;cient manner, but consumer groups don’t
like it and the market will move to a less ef-
;cient way over the next few years.”
“;ere is always going to be a demand for a
;nancial product of some sort,” noted Chuck
See ISSUES on 53
