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Ext. PublicationMotor Fuels Tax Minute, Episode 92: Why You Need Tax Software
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In this episode of Motor Fuels Tax Minute, our hosts continue their six-part series about tax software.
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Detailed Description of Weaver’s Motor Fuels Tax Minute, Episode 92
00:00:00
Leanne: Welcome to Weaver’s Motor Fuels Tax Minute, the vlog where we talk all things motor fuel. I haven’t said a whole lot for the past several episodes, maybe the past dozen.
That’s because Kelly has so many interesting things to say. And after that ERP [enterprise resource planning] implementation vlog, the last one that we posted, I thought, there’s still so many other questions on software.
So, one that comes up is why do I need tax software? All right, Kelly, tell me why I, as somebody who cannot really work a computer, needs tax software.
00:00:30
Kelly: I’ll start by saying, like we talked about last time, the ERP software isn’t usually driven by tax. So that’s usually not a tax decision. Whereas a tax person what you got to think about is filing. Some states will only allow you to file using an EDI [electronic data interchange] software.
And when I say that, I’m saying even if you have zero activity. You can’t just mail a zero return. You can’t just type in your numbers. You need to use an EDI file. A lot of companies get really excited. They’re going into different states. They’re doing their registrations, they’re doing all the right things, and then they get to filing and they’re all excited five days before it’s due. They realize they cannot actually file because it needs to be in an EDI.
So now, you started off on a good foot with the stage. You worked through your registrations. Now you either have to risk filing it late, having your first missed filing with the state, or even multiple ones while you try to track down exactly what software you want to use. Or you are scrambling to try to put something together internally, which still needs to be tested by the state and might still fail.
I know back when I worked in industry, we used to be able to throw together our own EDIs and manipulate them and send it to the state. Those days are gone. The states are cracking down. They have required software vendors that you have to use. If you want to use something internally, then you usually need to get approved and go through multiple layers of testing.
That’s all to say when you start those registrations, start having those conversations. Identify what state you’re going into, what you need to file in that state successfully, so you aren’t getting to the end and using up all those very valuable behaviors over no activity returns.
00:02:10
Leanne: So I think it’s pretty safe to say that I probably need a tax software really, in order to do my business and stay compliant.
00:02:16
Kelly: Correct.
00:02:17
Leanne: Thank you so much for that information. And that was this week’s Motor Fuels Tax Minute.
