CPA Practice Advisor

NOV 2014

Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.

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8 November 2014 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com TAX DOCUMENT AUTOMATION SYSTEMS Reviews BEST FIT ProSystem fx Scan works best when it is used in conjunction with Pro- System fx Tax and the other paper- less applications from Wolters Kluwer CCH. However, ProSystem fx Scan can be used on a stand-alone basis, so it has appeal for virtually any tax practice. STRENGTHS • Simplicity and independence from tax sofware • PDFlyer enhancements to Adobe Acrobat for work paper processing • AutoFlow Technology to extract tax data and import into Pro- System fx Tax POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Dependence on Adobe Acrobat rather than providing proprietary annotation tools • Limited to data extraction integra- tion only with ProSystem fx Tax SUMMARY & PRICING ProSystem fx Scan is a mature application that has evolved nicely in recent years. It can be used on a stand-alone basis or as part of the integrated suite of paperless applica - tions from Wolters Kluwer CCH. "ProSystem fx Scan is available in both firm-hosted and cloud ver- sions. Te base price for the frm- hosted, unlimited processing ver- sion is $4,995. Te base price for the web-hosted version is $630 annually w i t h p r i c i ng ba s e d u p o n t h e number client fles processed." www.cchgroup.com BEST FIT GruntWorx fts best in frms that use the integrated tax sofware which includes: Drake Software, Go- System Tax RS, ProSystem fx Tax and UltraTax CS. Even if you have another ta x program, the GW Organize application can be a big help for any size practice from sole practitioners on up. If you're looking for a solution that is easy to use and atractively priced, give GruntWorx trial program a try. STRENGTHS • Very easy to learn and use • Atractively priced • Fully organized and bookmarked PDF work paper • 100% web-based and delivered through a secure data center POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • No workfow application available • No proprietary PDF annotation tools • Does not process work papers beyond PDF, i.e. Excel, except for GW Trades SUMMARY & PRICING Overall GruntWorx is a very prac- tical, easy to use and cost efective tool to help you get your tax prepa- ration process more digital. Your goal should be to leverage all three core applications; GW Organize, GW Trades and GW Populate. Developing your Adobe Acrobat expertise is also important. Pricing for the GW applications is as fol- lows: GW Organize is $5 per return, GW Populate & Organize is $10 per return and GW Trades is priced based upon the volume of transac- tions at 20 cents per trade. Tese are base prices and volume discounts are available. www.gruntworx.com BEST FIT Te value of 1040SCAN increases with the size of your organization and the complexity of your returns. The modular approach to their products facilitates using this in small practices as well. If you are serious about automating your tax preparation workflow, you will defnitely want to take a closer look at 1040SCAN. STRENGTHS • SPbinder provides a work paper binder to process your tax engage- ments digitally • Optional human verifcation ser- vice • Ability to store fles on your local system or leverage SurePrep's cloud based servers POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Need to analyze the options for implementing 1040SCAN to meet your objectives. Scope of features will take more to integrate into your workflows, but worth the efort. • Using Adobe Acrobat when neces- sary will require an extra step SUMMARY & PRICING Te botom line is that the SurePrep solution is one of the most compre- hensive and provides you with options as to how far you want to go with your tax workfow automation. An important point to note is that SurePrep provides outsourced tax preparation services for frms across t h e c o u n t r y a n d t h e y u s e 1 0 4 0 S C A N a n d S P b i n d e r to manage their own workfows. Tat gives them the real world experience with their product that results in continuous enhancements. P r i c i n g f o r 1 0 4 0 S C A N : 1040SCAN Organize - $10 per return, 1040SCAN Trades - $20 per return, 1040SCAN Pro - $30 per return. Tese prices are cumulative a n d a l l o f t h e m i n c l u d e t h e SPbinder application. Te "human- based" verifcation service is avail- able for an average cost of $50 to $80 per return. www.sureprep.com BEST FIT Te best ft for Source Document Processing is clearly frms that use UltraTax CS and FileCabinet CS. If that is your model, then it only makes sense to rule this in or out as your frst choice. STRENGTHS • Direct integration with FileCab- inet CS and UltraTax CS • 100% cloud based processing which increases performance, reliability and security • Low cost per client POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Requires FileCabinet CS applica- tion • No ta x sof t ware integrat ion beyond UltraTax SUMMARY & PRICING Te full value of Source Document Processing rests in its integration with the other CS suite of applica- tions. Te integration with a docu- ment management, work paper and client portal application provides for a very comprehensive solution. Source Document Processing is avai lable for $6 per client , or unlimited clients for $1,500 per year. cs.thomsonreuters.com CCH ProSystem fx Scan GruntWorx Organize SurePrep 1040SCAN Thomson Reuters – Source Document Processing Read the full review for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12012137 Read the full review for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12012149 Read the full review for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12012154 Read the full review for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12012161 In addition to the four tax automation systems noted and reviewed above, there is another tool worth noting for users of Intuit's professional tax preparation systems. Intuit – ProSeries and Lacerte Tax Scan and Import For those of you who use ProSeries or Lacerte tax software, Intuit offers Tax Scan and Import (TSI.) This is a cloud-based service. You can upload your scanned tax documents and download 1099s and W-2s directly from fnancial institutions. The organized PDF document will be available within 20 minutes and then you can import selected tax data directly into ProSeries Tax or Lacerte Tax. Customer reviews have rated this application 4 out of 5 stars. Defnitely an application you should look into if you use ProSeries or Lacerte. Visit their website ( http://accountants.intuit.com ) and sign up for a free trial for up to fve returns.

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