Exhibit 1 provides a profile of survey respondents, demonstrating that the 2018 survey participants included representatives from small, mid-sized, and large practices. In addition, the percentage of practice in tax (65%) is identical to that reported in 2017 and similar to prior years. The median number of individual and entity returns was slightly higher than 2017, but as in previous years, the median was significantly lower than the mean, suggesting that respondents from small firms had a voice in the survey results. Overall, the demographics for 2018 indicated coverage of firms of all sizes, with participation from both small and large firms.

Those using Thomson Reuters GoFileRoom or FileCabinet CS can automatically save the completed return directly without leaving the application. GoSystem Tax RS has a minimalist approach, using intuitive user entry screens that are populated only with necessary features and functions. GoSystem Tax RS makes good use of tax organizers, allowing users to access the client organizer or the tax forms.

Benefits of in person learning for tax and accounting professionals

Batch-oriented, fully-automated software that processes your client’s payroll faster and more accurately. Integrate with partners such as HubSync to automate, simplify, and streamline the tax process for your firm. Create integration with your own applications by embedding the GoSystem Organizer and Tax Form view in an interactive iFrame. Live APIs are currently available for the following tax forms, 990, 1040, 1041, 1065, and 1120. These endpoints implement a JSON-based messaging structure, which allows for concise, lightning-fast requests to the GoSystem Tax product.

Overall, value for cost ratings have been fairly constant since 2015 for tax preparation software, although individual packages have shown fluctuations. For tax research software, on the other hand, there was a substantial improvement in the value for cost rating for 2018, although clarified auditing standards only two of the four most-rated products, CCH and Checkpoint, showed serious improvements. Of the survey respondents who had switched software providers in recent years, 52% indicated the change was made for cost considerations, substantially up from 37% last year.

• Although it is cited as an important reason for switching software, the relatively low ranking of customer support may just indicate tax practitioners’ lowered expectations or even tenacity.
• Once a return is completed, users have the option to preview the return for errors or omissions.
• Efficiency is key in the legal industry, and GoSystem Tax RS excels in streamlining your tax processes.
• The respondents represented firms with a wide range of practice sizes, which reflects national demographics of tax professionals, although New York practitioners do not necessarily report the same views as those found in national survey results.
• This tax solution is one of the most comprehensive tax preparation software aimed to assist professionals in making tax returns and aiding the process of filing tax returns.

Implementing GoSystem Tax APIs is as easy as picking from our standard out of the box and ready to go solutions with no developer experience needed. For more complex tax workflows, we offer the ability to customize an API solution that fits your business best. The CPA Journal is a publication of the New York State Society of CPAs, and is internationally recognized as an outstanding, technical-refereed publication for accounting practitioners, educators, and other financial professionals all over the globe. Edited by CPAs for CPAs, it aims to provide accounting and other financial professionals with the information and analysis they need to succeed in today’s business environment. Our software offers compatibility with leading accounting systems, allowing for easy data synchronization and eliminating the need for manual data transfer. Get anytime, anywhere online access to CS Professional Suite and select Microsoft® products in the cloud.

Integrate GoSystem Tax with the rest of your application tech stack

In addition, one package received only one rating; that package was added to the “Other” ratings in the summary. As in previous years, CCH, Intuit, and Thomson Reuters were the most prominent tax software vendors, with each offering multiple tax preparation or research products designed to serve different sizes of firms. Ratings for these vendors’ tax preparation products represented 207 (84%) of the 247 tax preparation software ratings received in 2018. CCH, Intuit, and Thomson Reuters’ tax preparation packages were used by 35%, 29%, and 20% of respondents, respectively. With 13% of the ratings, Drake Software was the only tax preparation package rated by a significant number of users that did not fall under the umbrella of one of the “big three” vendors. More than half (52%) of 2018 survey respondents experienced rejection of e-filed tax returns due to possible identity theft issues, which figure showed no improvement from 2017.

Firm and workflow management

The size of the firms utilizing these vendors in 2018 was generally similar to what has been reported in previous years. Overall, respondents rating CCH Axcess Tax and CCH ProSystem fx represented a cross-section of firm size categories, including the larger practices and more mid-sized firms. The other packages had users of all sizes, but were used primarily by firms preparing fewer returns, with fewer full-time tax preparers, and with 50% or more of their practice in tax. The value for cost rating decreased somewhat, and this continues to be the lowest rated feature for tax preparation software. Similar to previous years, the next lowest-rated feature was customer support, which at 3.72 was its lowest rating since the survey began in 2002. Customer support ratings varied significantly among the packages, but it is noteworthy that, similar to the 2017 results, top-rated Drake Software had by far the highest customer support rating, followed by second-place overall UltraTax CS.

Streamline Your Tax Processes with GoSystem Tax RS

Save time on return filing by letting our solutions import in real time hundreds of partners into a partnership return or update a specific value within the tax return using live APIs. GoSystem Tax Solution is a tax preparation software created by the company Thomson Reuters. The company named Thomson Reuters uses its intelligence and technological know-how to assist professionals in areas of law, tax, compliance, government, and media.

But survey respondents once again expressed overall satisfaction with the tax preparation and research software that enabled them to meet clients’ needs for compliance and planning. The overall weighted average ratings decreased slightly for both tax preparation and research software. Most survey participants continue to use the IRS and New York Department of Taxation and Finance websites and have discovered a variety of other helpful free online resources to assist in tax research.

Document management

Checkpoint’s rating on timely updates of 4.33 was the highest, followed by Bloomberg BNA (4.20), CCH (4.12), and the Tax Book (4.06). Three of the four commercial tax research packages with more than 10 ratings had improved value for cost ratings. The Tax Book, Checkpoint, and CCH all reported increases in their value for cost ratings, while Bloomberg BNA’s rating declined modestly. The Tax Book has emerged as the new favorite; its value for cost rating of 4.33 was the highest rating of any commercial package by a comfortable margin. Checkpoint, CCH, and Bloomberg BNA were ranked closely together, with average value for cost ratings of 3.63, 3.57, and 3.40, respectively. Respondents were also asked to indicate how long they had been using the software packages they rated.

Because all work is handled online, you’ll pay less in maintenance costs, face fewer storage issues, and rest easy with assured business continuance. GoSystem Tax RS does not currently offer a portal directly within the application, though it does integrate with the NetClient CS Portal. The portal offers easy document exchange between clients and firms, with clients provided secure access to the portal, where they can upload or download documents at any time. Data importing options are also outstanding in GoSystem Tax RS, with users able to import data from just about any accounting system. A variety of data can be imported including a trial balance, a client organizer, and tax forms. For the tax preparation software, Drake Software maintained the highest overall rating, as well as the highest ratings for value for cost and customer support.