Date: January 24, 2002

The City of Green Income Tax office has been using TaxMan2000 Plus since July 2000. Because of this software, we have what I believe to be the most comprehensive municipal income tax collection systems in the State of Ohio. Not only do we have a Windows-based database from which we can select standard and customized reports, but also the ability to quickly send out our special letters customized exactly as we need which can change at any time. From an auditor’s point of view, the letter writing process is a highlight. The ability to choose your own "canned" explanations according to your ordinance combined with a free flowing entry field for further explanations and comments gives the taxpayer the information that they need in order to feel confident that an adjustment is not only correct but adequately explained.

Within TaxMan2000, the ease of reviewing accounts with the "Tab" feature allows moving quickly between Activity, Annual Returns, Withholding payments, etc. We really like the "Activity" field which allows us to track all of our comments with a taxpayer such as Notices Sent, telephone calls, tax office comments, visits to the office, and whatever other message we need to help manage the account. The Activity area is an extremely powerful tool which can be searched for various criteria either when looking at an individual account or to search the entire database for something as important as non-completed items due on a certain date for all of our accounts. We can also search for all telephone calls, all returned mail, all delinquency notices, etc. and even narrow it down further by which employee entered the comment.

Our goal to streamline the data entry process as much as possible was also accomplished. We added the "Plus" part of the tax software by adding an imaging application which allows us to see on our computer monitor the tax returns, correspondence, and other items exactly as they appear on paper. This is a huge advantage in the auditing process or when a taxpayer calls the office and is referring to what they have sent and we can speak from what they wrote on the return or an attachment without running for the paper. The coolest thing is you can be in the tax software and click on the "Image" button and a few seconds later the entire document is on your monitor. Obviously, no need to stand on your toes to put a paper tax return back in a creaky file cabinet to later find out you put it in the wrong place anyway. Also, no need to ask another tax office employee for the same paper taxpayer file which you need to review at the same time. You both can look at the file simultaneously on the imaging system at your desks.

Although our first year using TM2k involved learning a new system, moving our office a few miles, and hiring a replacement employee for someone retiring, we were still further ahead with all of our compliance programs in addition to setting up processes which we never before had the time to establish. All of this was done without adding any additional employees. Even someone with a very limited amount of city tax experience can enter the information and the system will calculate the correct amount of tax which should be paid. Taxpayers who walk into the office can have their return prepared and walk out with a printed return which has already had all of the data input into the system. One employee who had never worked in an income tax office said "The screen looks just like the menu on other non-tax programs I’ve used; this is easy."

Our audit process works better than ever. We can have all of the tax returns for an individual or company in front of us at the click of a mouse button. For example, if we need to see all twelve employer withholding statements for the year 2001, we can display the twelve documents (and whatever is attached) for that employer. Also, imagine how quick and handy it is to display all of an employers W-2 forms attached to an Annual Withholding Reconciliation to determine if the correct amount of tax has been paid. We save a lot of time by not going to the file cabinets to find what we need.

Everything that we wanted when we first looked into a new system is there. Also, things that we plan for the future such as Electronic filing can also be accomplished. Not only has our collection process been streamlined, but the information that we utilize can be manipulated in many more ways.

The cooperation between the Ohio Municipal Income Tax Service, Inc. and Casnet, Inc. is nothing short of fantastic. They have put their eyes on the future and have brought it to the present for us. Because of the inherent "hooks" designed into each their systems, the individual pieces of software work together beautifully as a seamless interface which is not only extremely quick to use, but eliminates duplicate data entry. The attentiveness and always helpful attitude of the people at these two companies is wonderful. I cannot say enough good things about how easy they are to work with and eager to continue to improve an already superb product. It is fantastic that we were able to adapt this software into our operation in a way that is effective for us to run our business of collecting the Municipal Income Tax. Without the flexibility of this system, we may have had to conform to changing our operation to fit the system instead of molding the system around how we run the Income Tax Division.