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24 October 2015 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com W-2/1099 PREPARATION PROGRAMS Reviews New Laws and IRS Rules Make Year-End W-2 and 1099 Reporting More Challenging by Mary Girsch-Bock W ith more businesses utilizing con- tractors to perform services tradi- tionally relegated to employees, the need for sound 1099 pro- cessing and repor ting is more important than ever before. Tere are numerous types of 1099 forms processed and filed yearly, with 1099-MISC remaining the most frequently used form. And while W-2's, like 1099's, are processed and fled at year end, 1099 forms ofer a level of complexity that W-2's do not. Without a system in place to ensure that these forms are fled promptly and properly, business owners run the risk of being non-compliant, and possibly beholden to the IRS or other state and local agencies for income not reported or reported incorrectly. With businesses frequently overwhelmed by the varying year end fling requirements, it falls on accounting professionals to step in and assist their clients. New challenges facing accounting professionals in recent years are the new requirements put into efect as a result of the implementation of the Afordable Care Act (ACA), and the numerous repor ting mechanisms that have been put into place as a result. W hile many of the products reviewed already have these additional reporting mechanisms put into place, vendors typically continue to add new features until the product release date, which is typically in late fall. In fact, many of the products reviewed this month have not released a fnal product. Many of the products also ofer a demo, so users can take the sofware for a test drive, prior to purchasing. 2015 Reviews: • AccountantsWorld A fer-the-Fact Payroll • A MS Sof ware - 1099-Etc. • Avalara AvaTax 1099 • CCH Small Firm Services - W2 and 1099 Payroll Compliance • Real Business Solutions - W2 Mate • Spokane Computer - M AG-FILER • Tenenz LaserLink When reviewing these products, we looked at four diferent areas, which include: Basic System Functions – where we looked at product format and ease of use and tried to address common issues and atempt to answer questions such as does the product ofer anywhere or mobile acces- sibility or do users need to install the product on their computer? Are network versions of the product available? Are user data entry screens easily navigated? Does the product ofer forms-driven data entry? What forms does the base product support, and are there options such as add-on modules available to support additional forms or functionality? Reporting – In this area, we looked at reporting options that were available in the product. Does the product print on both pre-printed and blank forms? Is there an add-on module available for users to pur- chase that will allow printing on blank forms? Can forms be saved as a PDF file? Are there summary reports available? Under reporting, we also looked at the availability of electronic form filing. Does the product fle all forms electronically, including state forms? Is an additional module required to e-file forms? Import/Export/Integration options looked at what options were available to import data from other applications. Some of the questions we answered include the ability to integrate with popular third party accounting applications such as QuickBooks and Sage 50. Can data be imported to Excel or CSV fle formats? Can data be exported to those formats as well? Is the W-2/1099 product part of a suite of products that ofers full integration with client accounting data? Can reports be exported to Excel or PDF? Help/Support options were also looked at. Tis included covering product support options as well as questions such as are product updates available? What about email and chat support? What are the training options available, and does the product contain good help functionality, getting started wizards, users manuals, or any other tools designed to assist new users? W hile we attempted to answer many of these questions in the following reviews, the needs of each frm plays a large role in deciding what product to ultimately purchase. W hile some products are an excellent ft for frms processing a small number of forms for clients, or even for small business owners that wish to process forms in-house, many others are more complex, and designed to work within a suite of products. In any case, whether you'll be processing 70, 700, or 7,000 W-2's and 1099's this season, there's a solution available to suit your own particular needs. BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS REPORTING & MONITORING INTEGRATION/ IMPORT/EXPORT HELP/ SUPPORT OVERALL RATING AccountantsWorld After-the-Fact Payroll AMS Software - 1099-Etc. Avalara AvaTax 1099 CCH Small Firm Services - W2 and 1099 Payroll Compliance Real Business Solutions - W2 Mate Spokane Computer - MAG-FILER Tenenz LaserLink