CCH Small Firm Services — TaxWise

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From the April/May 2008 Review of Tax Compliance Suites

TaxWise is now offered by CCH’s Small Firm Services group, along with the ATX tax system (also reviewed in this issue on page 26), both of which have been popular with smaller tax practices, but for different reasons. The TaxWise system is geared more toward smaller tax offices with higher volume traffic and more need for bank products, as well as remote and multi-location capabilities. The program supports all entities with required IRS and state income reporting requirements, including individual, (1040) C and S-Corps (1120, 1120S), partnerships (1065), exempt organizations (990), fiduciary returns (1041), estate and gift taxes (706, 709), and reporting for employee benefit plans (5500).

Also under the TaxWise brand are several accounting and practice management programs, including W2-1099 compliance, fixed asset, document management, write-up/payroll, a website builder and banking products. The system is available in a variety of bundles. The all-entity and all-state-inclusive Complete Tax & Accounting costs $3,385, and includes the company’s fixed asset, document management and write-up/payroll programs as well as access to CCH research. The $1,032 ProFiling bundle is designed for practices with a large number of individual returns. In between are various combinations of the business, individual and specialty options and accounting programs, such as the $2,295 Power bundle, which includes all federal and state entities, online access to CCH’s Master Tax Guide and unlimited e-filing. All of the tax systems include English and Spanish-language client organizers, reports and communication templates. TaxWise offers a number of features to appeal to bilingual practices, including viewing or printing more than 50 of the most common individual tax forms and context-sensitive Help in Spanish, plus Spanish-speaking training, sales and support.

General Operations/ Ease-of-Use -- 5 Stars
After login, the TaxWise interface opens to a screen that provides general function icons across the top and the main work area, which is browser-like and includes a web address field, tabs for instantly viewing the IRS and TaxWise websites, and web-style navigation buttons. The remainder of the screen is occupied by a navigation menu on the left and the main work area. When no client is open, the main work area defaults to display a Tasks You Do Most Often menu that automatically updates based upon the user. The menu to the left also provides a link to frequent tasks, as well as to Incomplete Tasks, Communication options, Office Status, Hot Topics and the program’s built-in Appointment Scheduler.

Return tasks are accessed by a subwindow that pops up when first opening the system, providing options for starting a new return or opening an existing one. The client selection screen shows TIN, name, primary form type, status and contact information, with options for sorting the columnar data or searching by preparer name or client TIN. Within returns, data entry is performed on worksheets that are very close to being form replicas, and which automatically perform calculations and offer drilldown access to subsidiary worksheets, schedules and forms. The navigation panel on the left changes to provide an expandable menu of forms related to the return that also shows a Refund Monitor with AGI and Refund/Due amount, while tabs above the data-entry area offer options for adding, copying or removing specific forms. Users can also move forward and back between forms and form pages using browser-like buttons.

A panel below the data-entry area displays instructions regarding the currently selected data-entry field. During basic information entry, TaxWise always asks for ZIP Code first, and then automatically fills in city and state information. It also remembers previously entered EINs, so that when entered for a subsequent taxpayer, the company data is automatically populated on W-2s, 1099s and other forms and worksheets. The built-in e-filing system supports year-round filing of 1065, 1120 and 1120S returns, and automatically updates the program with information about all e-file returns, including status, acknowledgements and IRS codes. TaxWise offers the preparer interface, all forms, client organizers and letter templates in English and Spanish.

Workflow & Productivity Tools -- 5 Stars
The program’s developers have been quietly adding to TaxWise’s feature set over the past few years, with the program now offering options for client write-up, payroll, fixed asset management and trial balance, while it’s internal integration functions have been enhanced and automatically transfer data between associated returns, including pass-through of K-1 data. The program also offers multi-office capabilities that allow a tax practice to easily set preparers up at temporary or seasonal locations, such as kiosks at a mall, store or car lot, with the program automatically transferring data to the principal tax office where the return is actually completed. Any number of preparers at the same location can use the system at no additional cost, and there are discounts of up to 60 percent for additional offices.