2011 Review of SpeedTax — SpeedTax Core, Plus & Pro

SpeedTax — SpeedTax Core, Plus & Pro
888-349-2441
www.SpeedTax.com 

From the August 2011 Review of Sales & Use Tax Systems

Best Fit: Businesses with increasingly complex sales tax management and reporting needs across multiple jurisdictions that are looking to integrate real-time sales tax rates and calculations into the business’ sales platforms.

SpeedTax is an automated sales and use tax management system based on the SpeedTax Core calculation engine, allowing real-time rates, rules and other factors to feed directly into a business’ sales and financial management programs. The system, which supports all state and local taxing jurisdictions in the United States, can be integrated into most sales and financial management systems, from small business programs such as QuickBooks, to SaaS-based SMB accounting systems like NetSuite, as well as larger ERP solutions that include SAP and Dynamics. SpeedTax also offers a Sales Tax Filing and Remittance service, which integrates with the tax calculation system to provide signature-ready returns, or the option to have SpeedTax perform filing and payment as an outsourced service. The SpeedTax Pro version is designed for tax and accounting professionals and other firms specializing in state and local tax (SALT), providing them with tools for managing compliance for multiple business clients, importing tax data and additional features.

Basic System Functions:

Implementation of SpeedTax involves integrating the web-based tax calculation engine and compliance system with the core sales and accounting systems used by the business entity. After this initial configuration, the system essentially acts as a live-feed of tax rates and rules into the system, providing instant lookup and calculation of rates as sales, estimates and other transactions occur, including e-commerce activities.

The core system interface for users is the SpeedTax Console, a web-based dashboard that offers access to management of company, nexus, exemptions and transactional data, as well as return preparation and reporting functions. The Core version of the program is designed for in-house use by a single business entity, with any number of locations running on the same accounting platform. Multiple entities can be managed by professional firms using the Pro version, with a client selection screen enabling single-password access to each of the clients serviced. Since sales taxes are automatically applied to transactions as they are processed, the primary user functions in the system are centered around oversight and reporting, with users able to review jurisdictional liabilities and exemptions as well as drill down into transactions and certificates.

If performing preparation of forms in-house, the program automatically routes data into appropriate forms, including zero sum reporting, and offers a sortable list of all returns that can be reviewed, edited if necessary, and ultimately approved and printed. The program includes features for varying access rights and multi-level sign-off functions, as well as email alerts to remind users of due dates, returns pending review and other tasks. If using the compliance service, management still has review, edit and approval functions, but return filing and payment is handled by SpeedTax, which provides tracking and acknowledgements. Since the management console is web-based, it can be accessed remotely, including on mobile devices with full web functionality.

Compliance Capabilities: