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SALES & USE TAX SYSTEMS Reviews 16 June 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com BEST FIT Te Sales Tax Preparer product from CFS is a good ft for tax profes- sionals that need to prepare and fle sales and use tax in either California or New York State. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Product can be easily dow n- loaded from CFS website • Ret ur n users simply pay a renewal fee each year • Product ofers solid integration with other CFS products • Product allows users to create an entire packet of documents for each client which includes cover leters, a client invoice, mailing labels and envelopes POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Product ofers limited integra- tion w ith other fnancial and accounting applications SUMMARY & PRICING The product offers good help functionality, with users easily able to locate help fles as needed. CFS also ofers a central location on its website where users can quickly access product installation instructions, instructional videos, tax related links, FAQs. Technical support requests are also processed from this location, as are chat and remote support requests. For those who need to file California and New York Sales and Use Tax, CFS is an afordable, easy- to-use solution. Te product can be downloaded immediately upon purchase, and a demo is available for users to try out prior to purchasing. While the form creation is notable, the product's ability to complete and in California's case, electronically fle sales and use tax returns is laudable. Both the California and New York Sales Tax Preparer programs are rea- sonably priced, with the California version currently running $119.00 for new users, and $99.00 for renew- als. New York pricing is $84.50 for new users, with renewals running $74.50. Users can also choose to add a network upgrade to each product for $50.00. Product is only avail- able for those fling California and New York sales and use tax. www.TaxTools.com BEST FIT Vertex SMB is a good choice for professional accountants, as well as small to mid-sized businesses that desire a product that will calculate sales and use tax as well as process and fle returns. Te Preferred Part- ner Solution, a partnership between CPA.com and Vertex SMB, allows accountants to take advantage of one of their premier accountant programs: the Firm Advisor Pro- gram or the Firm Referral Program. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Users can choose from three options and three product ver- sions when purchasing • Of fers excel lent integ ration capability with ER P systems and Quick Books • Ofers two incentive programs for professional accountants • No long-term contracts needed POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • Very small users may fnd pricing prohibitive SUMMARY & PRICING Vertex SMB is a solid solution for accounting frms that provide their clients with sales and use tax management as part of their client services programs. Te product is also suitable for small to mid-sized businesses that wish to handle sales and use tax management in-house. Base pricing for accessing tax rate fles runs $300 per month. For those looking to just generate returns, professional pricing is also $300 per month for an average of 10 returns fled per month. For those wishing to both calculate sales tax and generate returns, base pricing is $350 per month, with additional pricing based on number of sales invoices and returns fled monthly, which may put it out of the reach of the smaller business. Each contact runs month-to-month, with no long-term contract necessary. www.VertexSMB.com BEST FIT CCH SureTax from Wolters Kluwer is optimally designed for end-users such as businesses, telecommunica- tions companies, and e-commerce merchants. CCH SureTax is scalable and suitable for just about any size business. PRODUCT STRENGTHS • Integrates with a variety of ER P systems • Can calculate taxes for a variety of vertical markets from the same platform • Multiple product deploy ment options available • Product is scalable POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS • A rray of features may be over- whelming for small business owners SUMMARY & PRICING Wolters Kluwer ofers the Tax and Accounting Support website, which provides users with various options, such as account management, the option to open a support case, as well as access to the product Knowledgebase. Designed for business owners and corporations, CCH SureTax from Wolters Kluwer ofers scalable pricing, and is based on the number of transactions processed monthly. www.SureTax.com CFS Tax Software CA and NY State Sales Tax Preparer Vertex SMB CCH SureTax from Wolters Kluwer Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211421 Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211403 Read the full review and see expanded ratings for this product online at: www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com/12211367 4.25 4.75 5 2016 OVERALL RATING 2016 OVERALL RATING 2016 OVERALL RATING Vertex Indirect Tax O Series Larger corporations with more complex needs may want to look into Vertex Indirect Tax from Vertex Inc. which ofers a host of tax solutions including sales and use tax calculations, along with consumer use tax and VAT. Part of the O Series of products from Vertex, Indirect Tax ofers easy integration with Oracle, SAP, and other ERP systems, and is available in a variety of deployment methods including the popular hosted model, which eliminates the need for expensive hardware. Te product also integrates with Vertex Enterprise for a complete tax management solution. Vertex Indirect Tax can be deployed as a SaaS hosted product, or installed on-premise. Vertex Indirect Tax handles tax calculation on sales, exemption certifcate management, and juris- diction identifcation, and users can export transaction data directly into the optional Vertex Sales and Use Tax Returns for quick processing. Product pricing for Vertex Indirect Tax is available directly from Vertex. Vertex O Series automates the calculation of tax on sales as well as purchase transactions. For sales transactions, tax is calculated from the point of order entry through invoice generation. For procurement transactions, the system calculates use tax from purchase through payment to supplier. Tese capabilities are also utilized when calculating input and output VAT for global transactions. Tere's also a specially designed Vertex O Series solution to manage the unique tax needs and complexities in the retail, hospitality, and leasing industries. www.VertexInc.com