Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
Issue link: https://cpapracticeadvisor.epubxp.com/i/36891
CFS Tax Software, Inc. — CA and NY Sales Tax Preparer 2011 OVERALL RATING BEST FIT: Small and mid-sized businesses with multiple locations and reporting requirements in CA or NY, or fi rms managing multiple businesses with such require- ments. STRENGTHS: • Easy to use • Gross summary reports • E-fi ling to CA • PDF output • Good client communication templates • Multi-client management tools • Automation of system updates 800-343-1157 POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS: • Only handles CA and NY returns • Lit le e-fi ling to NY because of state law changes • No integration with accounting systems EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & PRICING CA Sales Tax Preparer costs $119, with annual renewal priced at $99 and multi-user network version available for $169 ($149 renewal). NY Sales Tax Preparer costs $169, with annual renewal priced at $149 and a multi-user network version available for $219 ($199 renewal). For CA, this pricing includes unlimited preparation, e-fi ling and electronic payment of returns for any number of business entities. For the NY version, however, changes to New York law have complicated the e-filing procedure, so users are more likely to use the system for preparation only. T e systems are simple to use, whether managing one busi- ness or several, have great forms libraries and can handle entities with multiple locations within either state. PRODUCT DELIVERY METHODS: ■ ✔ On-Premises ■ SaaS ■ Hosted by Vendor {TRADITIONAL SALES TAX COMPLIANCE SYSTEM} BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS COMPLIANCE CAPABILITIES INTEGRATION & IMPORT/EXPORT HELP/SUPPORT Read the full review of this product exclusively online at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10293037 www.taxtools.com Avalara — AvaTax 2011 OVERALL RATING BEST FIT Businesses with sales across dozens, hundreds or even more taxing jurisdictions across the United States and Canada, with the need to automate tax rate lookup into their sales and ecommerce systems. STRENGTHS • Seamless integrat ion into accounting system • Rates are maintained by Avalara, no updates required • Generous reporting & oversight • Rates & rules for 14,000+ juris- dictions • Streamlined Sales Tax Compli- ance POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • No direct self e-fi le or e-pay for business • Primarily for client-side use, but with some multi-client functions 877-780-4848 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY & PRICING For businesses with sales across dozens or even hundreds or more unpredictable jurisdictions, inte- gration of AvaTax into an accounting system takes almost all of the routine and oſt en tedious work out of sales tax management. The rates are maintained and updated by Avalara, and then automatically feed into the accounting system during a transaction, with liability reports and forms preparation generated by the program. T e addition of the managed returns service can take even more of the headache out of compliance. Pricing for AvaTa x depends on the accounting/ERP program into which it will be integrated, and the number of transactions that will be processed (rate lookups). For the QuickBooks version, pricing starts at $350 per year for low- volume entities (up to 700 trans- actions). For higher volume businesses with up to 7,000 transactions annually, the cost is about $0.35 per transaction. PRODUCT DELIVERY METHODS: ■ On-Premises ■ ✔ SaaS ■ Hosted by Vendor BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTIONS COMPLIANCE CAPABILITIES INTEGRATION & IMPORT/EXPORT HELP/SUPPORT {INTEGRATED SALES TAX MANAGEMENT SYSTEM} Read the full review of this product exclusively online at www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/10296222 www.Avalara.com August 2011 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 45