CFS Tax Software -- CA & NY Sales Tax Preparer

CFS Software develops compliance
software for California and New
York sales tax reporting. Sales
Tax Preparer calculates state, district
and local taxes and prints quarterly,
partial quarterly and annual primary
returns, as well as supporting schedules
and forms.

The products have been
approved by the CA State Board of
Equalization and NY State Department
of Taxation and Finance. The CA
program costs $99 for the annual
program with $89 renewals. The NY
version is $169 with $149 renewals.
Both programs can be upgraded to
a network version for an additional
$50 each.

NAVIGATION & DATA ENTRY – 4.5 Stars
The primary screen for Sales Tax
Preparer is the same as all of CFS’s
tax products. Three panes provide
a list of clients, a list of forms
already completed or in progress
for a selected client, and the main
forms menu, which allows jumping
directly to a specific form or schedule
for a selected client, as well as
an invoice and memo template, the
system’s label maker utility
and a fax cover sheet. The screen
also includes icons for adding and
editing clients, as well as pull-down
menus for primary system features.
Sales Tax Preparer’s screen
design simplifies use of the system,
making it very easy to move between
clients and forms, and also to see
what forms are already in a client
folder. The program automatically
organizes the forms within a client
folder by form type, further simplifying
the task of finding prior-period
returns. The client list is presented
alphabetically but, unfortunately,
is not sortable, although it is
searchable via a Client Search function
poorly located in the Utilities
pull-down menu. These client list
issues could prove cumbersome for
some firms, but likely only those
with a very large sales tax client
base.

Data is entered directly onto replicas
of the actual forms, with the system
performing automatic calculations
where appropriate. These entries
are overrideable and, along with
data transferred from supporting
schedules, are presented via a color-coding
system that enables users to quickly
see where data came from. Aiding
in the review process, data transferred
from schedules or worksheets include
a link to that document. Sales Tax
Preparer can also import client
data from other CFS programs, including
TaxTools, Tax Corresponder, W-4
Calculator, Amender, Small Business
Tools and Financial Planning Tools.
A built-in calendar provides limited
note capabilities, and system reports
include a gross sales summary report.

PAPER FILING, ELECTRONIC COMPLIANCE &
PAYMENT – 4 Stars

California is limited in its electronic
filing processes, and New York does
not yet support electronic filing
of sales tax returns or electronic
payment, so this software does not
support either, although users can
use electronic funds transfer for
CA. Instead, the program is geared
toward print filing of returns and
has been approved by both states
to print all included sales tax
related forms onto blank paper.

RATE UPDATES – 4.5 Stars
California Sales Tax Preparer is
updated quarterly. California Sales
Tax Preparer updates can be received
on CD-ROM or downloaded online through
the system. Due to the frequency
of New York Sales Tax Preparer updates,
they are available online. The program
can also be configured to automatically
search for program and rate updates.

HELP/TRAINING – 4.5 Stars

Users can download a demo version
or purchase and download the entire
program from the company’s
web site. Either downloaded or purchased
on CD, the program includes a tutorial
that introduces users to the key
functions and features of Sales
Tax Preparer. The program has a
good built-in help utility based
on the Windows Help format, which
offers the ability to search the
Help files and includes form instructions
and a Tip of the Day. Support, including
the rate and program updates, is
included in the annual cost of the
program. Support is available via
e-mail and phone, in addition to
assistance available on the company’s
web site, which includes an FAQ section.

RELATIVE VALUE – 4 Stars
Sales Tax Preparer is inexpensive
and very easy to use. The system
organizes client files in an intuitive
manner using likewise intuitive
navigation features, which combine
to make the system friendly to first-time
and infrequent users. The system
does not provide extensive reporting
capabilities and, although it can
support a virtually unlimited number
of clients, could grow difficult
to use with a large number of sales
tax clients because of its rigid
client list. The program is best
suited to small and mid-sized practices
with clients collecting sales tax
only in either California or New
York.

2004 OVERALL RATING: 4.5

For this review of sales
and use tax preparation programs,
we rated products on a scale of
one to five stars based on the following:

Navigation & Data Entry – This section looks at an application’s ease-of-use, its navigation tools and how new or infrequent users could perform within the program, as well as how client sales and tax data is delivered to the program: whether by manual entry, import/export, or direct integration with a company?s financial software.

Filing, Electronic Compliance & Payment – As electronic filing has grown in popularity in 1040 and other entity taxes,
it has started to reach into other
applications, including sales and
use tax. This section looks at the
support for electronic filing and
payment of sales and use taxes,
as well as paper return print and
filing functions.

Rate Updates – For very small concerns, keeping up with rate changes may not pose a great challenge, but for those conducting business in several markets, this volatile tax compliance field can be demanding and a drain on staff time. This section addresses how the software vendors provide such updates, whether periodically by CD, downloadable from their web sites, scheduled system downloads or, in the case of web-based programs, automatically. Much of the value in a sales tax compliance package is the relief they provide by not having to keep up with these changes.

Help/Training – This component looks at how the program provides assistance to users
through built-in help utilities,
tutorials, online support centers
and general functionality, in addition
to training options.

Relative Value – This is akin to the proverbial scale of justice, wherein the reviewer offers a subjective opinion of what the value of the software is compared to its price. There is wide disparity in pricing in this review section, so this section looks at whether the added features and functions in the pricier options justify the price. Of course, the final decision on value will be made by the prospective user after determining which features and how much jurisdictional coverage is required for his or her client.

2004 Overall Rating – This final rating provides an overview of how a product scored
in the above categories, and is
the average of those scores rounded
to the nearest half-star.