Electronic Sales and Use Tax, Inc. -- efilesalestax.com

From the August 2005 Review of Sales & Use Tax Software

efilesalestax.com is a California State Board of Equalization Authorized Website that handles electronic filing and payment of California sales taxes, otherwise known as an ERO — an Electronic Forms Originator. efileSalesTax.com is also now available for
sales and use tax filing in Louisiana.

efileSalesTax.com charges $4.95 per filing. There’s no software to purchase, no upgrade fees, no subscriptions, and it’s free to register and try out the service. The company offers discounts if you pre-pay for future filings, up to a 20 percent savings. All extra features such as QuickBooks import, reminders, and technical support are included in the price.

Navigation & Data Entry – 4.5 Stars
The program is easy to use, intuitive and straightforward. Users connect to the web site through their browser and register to use the web site. Once registered, users login with their assigned ID and password. Next, they enter the CA Seller’s permit account number, choose new filing and select the form to be filed. Data is entered via on-screen forms.
Recently, a free QuickBooks import utility has been made available to enable easy import of data directly into forms.

Paper Filing, Electronic Compliance & Payment – 4.5 Stars
The company offers no support for paper filing, and the file copy generated by efilesalestax.com is a summary form, not the paper
version. Users will be hard pressed to find a system with better support for electronic compliance and payment. You have no software to load or maintain, and you get fast execution on a secure, 128-bit encrypted web site. All filings transmitted through efilesales
tax.com are archived and indexed by seller permit number for later access, review and printing.

Rate Updates – 5 Stars
Users are on cruise control here, as all updates are provided by this CA State BOE Authorized Website.

Help/Training – 5 Stars
efilesalestax.com is English/
Spanish bilingual including the web site, all forms and help windows, and live support. You won’t have to hunt for support as e-mail support is available at the click of a “support” button via the menu. Comprehensive FAQs are available on the web site, as well. There’s no manual, but I certainly didn’t need one. As well, I found under RESOURCES a comprehensive listing of links to CA BOE Websites for rules and regulations, forms, publications, address of offices, tax information bulletins, and plenty more.

Relative Value – 4.5 Stars
efilesalestax.com provides a superior value and is available on a pay-per-use basis via credit card, with volume discounts available for frequent filers and tax professionals. Users I spoke to were very content and pleased with their experiences, saying the service is “very easy to use.”

2005 Overall Rating – 4.5 Stars