Thomson RIA — InSource Sales & Use Tax

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From the August 2006 Review of Sales & Use Tax Systems

InSource Sales & Use Tax provides an automated sales tax collection and compliance application that supports all sales tax jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, with forms support for more than 470 sales, use, seller use, rental and leasing returns. The program can either be used as a stand-alone rate lookup and compliance system or can be integrated with a business’ ERP or accounting system, allowing extracted data to be imported and automatically flow to the returns. InSource supports electronic filing to all jurisdictions that support it, including XML-format capabilities. The program is geared toward larger entities with complex, multi-jurisdictional sales tax compliance needs, with pricing based on usage and number of jurisdictions. As such, average pricing is difficult to establish, but Thomson notes that installation for most customers starts at around $10,000. The InSource Express RS web-based version offers a more affordable alternative for smaller entities. InSource can support any number of companies, divisions or subsidiary entities.

Navigation & Data Entry -- 5 Stars
General navigation and use of the program depends upon whether the system is mapped to the financial program in use by a company or if it is being used as a stand-alone system. As an integrated part of a business’ accounting platform, all compliance tasks are automated, from calculations to form preparation, with the user acting primarily in the role of reviewer and having the ability to run reports as needed. As a stand-alone system, the system’s data-entry features are easily accessed and all schedules and tax returns are replicas of the official forms. The program can also import from ASCII or spreadsheet formats.

InSource organizes entities into Binders that are accessible from the InSource Manager screen, which is the default window. Essentially a client list, this window allows searching and sorting via several methods. Returns associated with a particular entity are stored in the company’s binder and are sorted by time period (month, quarter, semi-annual and annual), and then by state or municipality. This file structure is created whether returns are created automatically by an integrated system or manually by a user. New returns are also initiated from within the client’s records, with company information automatically filled in on the forms. During manual return data-entry tasks, the system automatically performs necessary calculations, but allows overriding by authorized users. Management reports and an audit trail are available, ensuring greater control over compliance and enabling senior staff to monitor data flow. Reporting options include credit reports, period-to-period comparisons, exception reports and jurisdictional analysis.

The Dollar General chain of discount stores uses RIA’s InSource Sales & Use Tax software for its compliance needs, which are quite broad considering the company’s 2005 gross sales of $8.58 billion in its 8,000 stores. “InSource has the ability to import Sales and Use tax data from an ASCII file as well as from excel spreadsheets,” said Jim Bryant, the retailer’s senior tax manager. “This import capability is extremely important for our productivity, and the software has the ability to merge these two kinds of imports together to create one taxable sales or use tax number. “We also like the easy access of creating an Outlet Table so that we can bring in each store’s sales separately,” he said. “InSource prepares returns for states that have consolidated returns as well as states that have individual returns for each store.”

Filing, Electronic Compliance & Payment -- 5 Stars
InSource can be used to file and remit sales taxes electronically to all taxing jurisdictions that have electronic submission capabilities, or can print signature-ready plain paper returns.

Rate Updates -- 4 Stars
The CD-based version of InSource requires monthly rate updates that can be downloaded from the Thomson website or installed from disc. The program cannot be set up to automatically download updates. Previous rates for jurisdictions are maintained in the system, allowing transactions to be processed to prior period rates.

Help/Training -- 5 Stars
InSource includes a comprehensive collection of Help features, from content-sensitive assistance to filing instructions for state and local forms, while an online support center provides additional assistance. Thomson RIA offers various training options, including tutorials, workshops, seminars, web-seminars and the vendor’s annual user conference. Phone, e-mail and online support are included with the program.