A look at tax software

Written by John Dolan FMAAT, Council member and a licensed member in practice

When tax software started to appear in the Eighties, I jumped on the bandwagon and have been a fan ever since. The thought of completing returns manually, especially in January, does not appeal to me at all, even if there are only a few returns to be completed. Good presentation, speed and accuracy around tax preparation ensures satisfied clients, and, of course, the Inland Revenue. The time saving of over 60% as opposed to manual computation is the greatest benefit to me.

“ Good presentation, speed and accuracy around tax preparation ensures satisfied clients and, of course, the Inland Revenue.”

I have a mix of tax client types ranging from the very basic employee / self employed to the more complex situation where there are many sources of income. The package I use to do the work is Forbes, a mid-range medium priced program. I hasten to add that I have no vested interest in Forbes and the following comments are my own views on this software that not everyone will share, “To each his own” as they say.

The software is easy to use and has a lot of error checking systems built in. The reports and tax computations are generated automatically, which is a useful timesaving feature. Internet filing seems to be the way forward and being able to check tax statements online is another helpful feature. The tax planner is very good for exploring scenarios such as changing of accounting dates, cessation, overlap relief and changing business circumstances. One last feature that is always useful is the facility to export data from an accounting package into the tax software as this can save a great deal of time.

Complex returns can be 35 pages long and the chances of getting a return of this type right first time are very low. With accurate input you can check things as you go and reach computation stage quickly. The tax calculation and computation is in an easy to understand format that can be transferred to a spreadsheet if you wish to put in more detail for your client. If you file the return through the Internet then the data goes from your machine directly to the Inland Revenue computer, where it is validated and processed in a few seconds. Almost straight away the successful transmission notice comes to you together with a confirmation email. You don’t have to worry about delays in the Inland Revenue processing offices and repayments are made straight away in most cases.

Online filing for payroll is well underway and this will create vast improvements. The Inland Revenue is offering £825 in tax free payments if you file online early and this will at least cover the additional software costs.

There is a wide range of tax software that is available for members in practice to choose from. The tax software range goes from the low-end basic package costing under £50 to the high-end package costing £1,500 or more. The Forbes tax software falls towards the lower end of this rage, starting at £195 plus VAT for the ProTax Starter product.

If you are new to public practice or if you are looking at changing your tax software, then Forbes is worth considering but, as always, you need to satisfy yourself that the tax software meets your requirements at a price that you can afford.

Further information regarding the software mentioned in the article can be obtained from:

Forbes Computer Systems Ltd

38 Station Road

Woburn Sands

MK17 8RU

Tel: 01908 584674

Fax: 01908 584676

Email: sales@tax.co.uk

Website: www.tax.co.uk