Scan, Organize... and Now Populate:
The Workflow Revolution Continues

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Although its form recognition and workpaper management capabilities are less comprehensive than many of the other auto-population systems designed for larger practices, Scan&Fill’s feature set is well suited to smaller and mid-sized practices using TaxWise and ATX and who are looking for a paperless solution that also provides time savings by automating much of the data entry associated with 1040 tax preparation services. The system costs $715 for a single-user license, $1,035 for up to five users.

Forms Supported for Automatic Population of a Tax Return and AutoFile to the Client Folder: W-2, 1099 (most versions)
Additional Forms Recognized for AutoFile to the Client Folder: K-1, 8879

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Copanion – GruntWorx
www.Copanion.com

Copanion is a new entry into the space, having debuted GruntWorx last fall. The fully web-based workflow management system provides scanning, identification and bookmarking of all client documents into a set of digital workpapers that enables users to quickly jump to any document when reviewing a return or performing other tasks. The system also allows the addition of tickmarks and notes from multiple users, allowing firms to keep much of their traditional processes intact. In its first year (TY2007), professional users at firms ranging from the Big 4 to small practices processed more than 350,000 client documents using the system.

In time for next tax season, Copanion is adding automatic tax return population features to the Pro version of GruntWorx, making it one of the few products on the market that is not from a tax software vendor and that integrates with multiple systems. For the 2008 tax season, GruntWorx Pro will automatically export data from scanned tax documents into GoSystem Tax RS. Support for additional tax preparation software packages will be determined and announced later in the 2008 tax year.

Among the more notable features of GruntWorx are several patent-pending technological aspects, including biometric recognition of forms. This feature in particular, which is similar to the technique used by law enforcement for analyzing fingerprints, gives the system the ability to recognize the most minute differences between various forms. Couple this with the intelligence of the program, which can actually learn as it goes and share this experience across all users, and the result is that GruntWorx has the ability to recognize virtually any type of form or consolidated statements, regardless of the issuer. The system also has the ability to identify tax organizers and handwritten notes.

The resulting product is an organized, bookmarked PDF file and coversheet, with a summary of client data that can then be uploaded into one of the supported tax preparation systems. GruntWorx also has an Image Enhancement feature, which improves the quality of scanned input. All of this processing power gives the system extraordinary accuracy, but requires significant infrastructure, which Copanion maintains at its secure facilities.