State and local jurisdictions constantly change tax rates.

Protection against audits, obsolete data and changing tax laws is a necessity. The requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley have increased the importance of not only staying current with applicable laws, but also storing and maintaining specific records for future reference. As state and local jurisdictions constantly change tax rates, the task of tracking applicable sales and use taxes is clearly a job for a computer-based solution.

A quick perusal of the software applications reviewed here reveal there are multiple ways for a company to arrive at the correct tax solution. As with many other applications, the challenge is selecting the best fit for your company, its products and the way it does business.

The key consideration in that selection is a company's size and its geographic presence. A small company with few products and a local sales reach most likely will find one of the manual lookup applications a good fit. As the size of the company grows and its product list expands, a manual process may prove too cumbersome to maintain. In addition, if a company has multiple business or shipping locations, an integrated method of maintaining correct tax application may quickly become imperative, regardless of its size. When that point arrives, new considerations present themselves:

A. Which application will integrate efficiently with existing financial and accounting applications?

B. If there are several options for "A," above, which application will fit best with existing company practices?

C. Which application will be best at producing and maintaining reports the company routinely needs or are required for regulatory purposes?

D. Finally, as more companies begin conducting business globally, a key consideration is which application will deal effectively with international taxes.

The good news is that, regardless of company size, business type and location, there are a number of effective applications that offer efficient sales and use tax solutions.

By Glenn Gordon

BNA Simplifies Staying Current with Tax and Form Changes

Established in 1983, BNA Software specializes in publishing tax software applications for professionals. BNA Sales & Use Tax Rates and Forms installed with the optional Rates File Generator spans tasks from application for tax identifier through compliance. With monthly CD updates and weekly downloadable rate updates, the application provides sales and use tax rate information for every U.S. taxing jurisdiction. In July the company will be announcing availability of the web-based version, which has all the features of the CD version.

Features

The application runs on Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP or higher. Install the CD-ROM as Forms only, Rates only or the optional Rates and Rates File Generator. Monthly updates also are in CD-ROM format for easy access, with a convenient "What's New" section clarifying changes from the previous release. Obtain more frequent updates online as needed.

The document workspace is familiar to Windows users and easy to navigate. An iconic tool bar at the top provides access to the most frequently used functions, such as opening documents, saving and printing, drop-down menus and hot keys. Open multiple forms at any time, with open forms indicated by tabs down the left side of the workspace.

Color designates form field types--aqua for fill-in fields, green for calculating fields and red for validation fields requiring data entry in specific formats. A pop-up note displays the correct entry format when there is a question. To keep track of where you are, the active field is outlined in yellow. Insert additional fields for notations or other information when necessary. Override calculations on a field, page or form basis and restore them quickly in the same manner.

You can customize the appearance of most forms to some degree. For example, if the aqua becomes overwhelming, as it did for me, you can change the default-field color scheme to suit your tastes.

The use of profiles, where information about client and preparer is stored, simplifies data entry. Applying a profile automatically transfers its information to the corresponding fields on the form. Incorporate profile changes simply by re-applying it to a form.

Search by ZIP, city, county or state in the Tax Rate Lookup section. Rate details appear in a chart format by Sales, Use and Location along with effective dates and previous rates. Clicking a button opens a window to calculate specific tax amounts. For quick reference, add frequently used jurisdictions to a favorites list. Export Sales and Use Tax Rates for one or more states quickly in a comma separated variable (CSV) text file.

The application supports special tax rate treatments such as combined/split rates, overriding rates and maximum tax levels, as well as special districts including transit, school, water and police.

The optional Rates File Generator allows quick and easy importing of rates into other applications by creating an ASCII file recognizable by virtually all tax-related programs. Data from previous years such as client data and profiles can be imported to eliminate time-consuming data entry.

All of the nearly 2,000 forms in the program are government-approved for filing, including forms for business registration, exemption certificates, powers of attorney and sales and use tax.

Support

Free, unlimited toll-free telephone technical support is available from Monday through Friday, 9 A.M. to 7 P.M. Eastern time. The company Web site provides interim maintenance releases and FAQs.

Summary

BNA Sales & Tax Use Rates and Forms is a package of flexible, easy-to-use tools that simplifies the task of staying current with tax and form changes.

BNA Software

www.bnasoftware.com

800-424-2938

By Glenn Gordon

Choose the ZIP sales Lookup Version You Need

As long as you have Microsoft Windows 98 or higher, you can put to work ZIPsales[TM] Lookup from CCH Tax & Accounting. CCH offers the ZIPsales Lookup product two ways: From CD-ROM, the application reviewed here, which installs on personal computers or networks, or the online version, which has somewhat less capability.

Several versions are available, including those specific to health maintenance markets and restaurants. Regardless of the version, the installation procedure is the same.

Install the basic ZIPsales Lookup application and ZIPProduct Manager application from the CD. During installation, select the states for which you desire data. You can purchase a single state version or blocks of either five or 10 states, eliminating the purchase of unnecessary data.

Features

Access the CCH database through the ZIPProduct Manager to download the information to which you subscribe. Keep information current by downloading monthly updates the same way.

As a separate product, the ZIPsalesDatabase can be imported into existing applications and systems not requiring the use of the ZIPsales Lookup application. As an add-on to the ZIPsalesDatabase is ZIP + 4, allowing access to more specific tax information.

The ZIPsales Lookup screen features a U.S. map with each state color-coded as to taxing level imposed, such as state or state and county. Icons for such functions as ZIP codes and lookup locations lead to six drop-down menus. I expected to click on the map to access information but found it is for display purposes only. The icons and drop-down menus are the pathway to all data.

As expected, you retrieve sales and use tax by city, county, state or ZIP. A handy lookup box triggered by the Lookup Locations icon opens to accept retrieval parameters. After entering a parameter, click on an arrow to bring up a list in which the closest match is at the top. Alternatively, after entering a parameter, clicking OK produces a list of all cities meeting that parameter and sorted appropriately.

Clicking the ZIP icon brings up a list of all ZIP codes, all of which can be re-sorted by city, county or state. Or enter a specific ZIP code in the Key field. Each keystroke re-sorts the list, and clicking OK returns the complete sales and use tax rates.

The displayed tax rate information includes city and county filing codes, city and county split rates, special districts and effective date for the rate for each taxing entity. Display prior tax rates and effective dates by clicking the Previous button. To display tax amounts, enter a dollar figure in the Amount box and click Calculate.

Click the New Tax Rate icon to access the List of Changes box providing tax change information dating back to January 1994. Selecting the state, level of detail, effective date and output method delivers what can be a hefty list of tax change information.

Files with tax rate information for custom locations can be imported in ZIPsales Lookup through a simple procedure allowing appropriate fields to be specified according to the import file.

You can print a full tax rate directory in book form from the main menu; select either all or specific states, and sort according to preference.

Support

CCH Tax & Accounting offers a variety of training and consulting services, including installation and training of the ZIPsales Lookup utility. ZIPsales Lookup includes a comprehensive, well-indexed help section. In addition, my experience proved that courteous, helpful telephone technical support is readily available to solve--as in my case--any update access problem. Support by e-mail and fax also are available.

Summary