Thomson Reuters GoSystem Tax RS Ensures Compliance, Improves Efficiency, And Reduces Costs

Thomson Reuters GoSystem Tax RS helps tax firms ensure compliance, streamline operations, and save employees’ time throughout the tax return process. With GoSystem Tax RS’s automation capabilities, firms can eliminate data entry and error, reduce preparation and review times, and take on more clients. Additionally, the robust API capabilities available with GoSystem Tax RS deliver added flexibility and efficiency.

Thomson Reuters commissioned Forrester Consulting to interview four representatives and conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study to better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with Thomson Reuters Tax Workflow.¹ Interviewees’ organizations deployed Tax Workflow by adopting GoSystem Tax RS or UltraTax CS and complementing them with SurePrep. This abstract will focus on the interviewees’ use of GoSystem Tax RS and its value to their organizations. Among the four interviewees, two used GoSystem Tax RS:

• The tax automation manager at a tax firm.
• The partner in charge of tax at a tax firm.

Interviewees said that prior to using GoSystem Tax RS, their organizations used legacy tax compliance software with limited automation and API capabilities. This left their organizations with a process for completing tax returns that was marked by poor data access, manual entry, and employee inefficiency.

After the investment in GoSystem Tax RS, the interviewees said that employees saved significant time as the software delivered seamless data access, automation, and API functionality. GoSystem Tax RS served as a comprehensive tax solution that handled all types of tax returns and improved efficiency and capacity. Key results from the investment include reduced preparation times, error elimination, a more effective review process, and cost savings.

INVESTMENT DRIVERS FOR GoSystem Tax RS

Before deploying GoSystem Tax RS, interviewees’ organizations used legacy software to complete tax returns. The interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges with these solutions, including:

• Time-consuming manual processes. Interviewees emphasized that a key pain point was their legacy solutions’ inability to quickly import and export data. This made tax preparation an overly manual and time-consuming process for employees. The tax automation manager noted: “[GoSystem Tax RS] has a lot of import and export capabilities. That was a huge piece of our decision to invest.”
• Limited capabilities. The existing tools at interviewees’ organizations sometimes lacked the necessary forms and sophistication to seamlessly handle all their different types of tax returns. Interviewees noted the importance of having a comprehensive solution since their firms did work for a broad array of clients across various jurisdictions.
• Need for smooth integration and API capability. Existing solutions were often closed systems that were difficult to integrate with data sources or other tools. Interviewees also noted the importance of API capability, which they said provided additional flexibility.

Key Results for GoSystem Tax RS

The results of the investment for the interviewees’ organizations include:

Reduced preparation time by 85% with the automated transfer of data. Interviewees reported that GoSystem Tax RS saved employee time throughout the tax return process, but particularly emphasized the substantial time savings related to data preparation. The software provided easy access to the necessary data along with automated import and intelligent mapping, which eliminated manual entry and often saved hours of employee time per tax return. At interviewees’ organizations, preparation times were reduced by 85% on average with GoSystem Tax RS’s automated transfer of data.

• Interviewees described the data accessibility and automated import functionality with GoSystem Tax RS as game changers. The imports with the correct mapping logic were also automatically created, which further streamlined tax preparation and saved employee time.
• The tax automation manager said: “Accessibility of data is a top benefit of [GoSystem Tax RS]. We don’t have folks spending additional time trying to copy and paste data in or out of the software. About 80% of a return is complete just through using the import capabilities and that’s before using APIs.”
• Interviewees said that GoSystem Tax RS served as a smart tool that knew what data to import from source documentation. They said that data was seamlessly imported from a broad array of sources, including 1099 consolidated statements, W-2s, Schedule M forms, trial balances, and white forms.
• The GoSystem Tax RS implementation at the partner’s organization was coupled with SurePrep. The interviewee said that the two Thomson Reuters Tax Workflow software programs worked together smoothly to organize data, delegate tasks, and automate the tax return process.
• The same interviewee spoke of the value of GoSystem Tax RS working with SurePrep: “[GoSystem Tax RS and SurePrep] both standardize how the tax return is prepared and automate that process. They’re tremendous software solutions for operational efficiency.”

Reduced preparation time with APIs. Organizations used an API with their GoSystem Tax RS implementations and saw additional tax preparation time savings on top of those driven by the solution’s core data import features. APIs delivered added flexibility and time savings throughout the tax return process, and interviewees reported that preparation times were further reduced as these APIs allowed easy access to any data they needed, including work papers, without reliance on specific import templates.  

• The tax automation manager explained that their APIs with GoSystem Tax RS provided efficiency in addition to that delivered by the software’s core capabilities: “With the API, we take data accessibility a step further. We’re not limited to specific imports. We can now pull any data point using the API. I can pull specific schedules, pull the information into my work papers, and then push it to the software. That’s a huge benefit.”
• Interviewees said the APIs provided a direct connection between the software and work papers and that they could build the imports and mappings they wanted without relying on specific templates.
• The tax automation manager said: “Being able to get partner information or admin data or apportionment [with the GoSystem Tax RS API] has saved countless hours. … There isn’t any data we haven’t been able to push and pull when we needed to.”

Eliminated errors, resulting in a 95% reduction in employee time spent identifying and correcting errors. Interviewees explained that the automatic transfer of data with GoSystem Tax RS had the straightforward benefit of eliminating human error. This greatly reduced the employee time needed to check and correct errors. Among interviewees who could quantify it, the employee time spent identifying and correcting errors was reduced by 95% on average.

• According to interviewees, GoSystem Tax RS’s automation eliminated the mistakes that would sometimes occur when employees used their legacy software and had to manually input data The tax automation manager said: “Any return that’s leveraging [GoSystem Tax RS’s] import functionality benefits from a reduction in error.”
• The partner in charge of tax said that employees still exercise judgment and effort to prevent error, but that the Tax Workflow software makes that significantly easier. They continued, “Because the [GoSystem Tax RS and SurePrep] software automates the process, it greatly assists and complements the professional [in eliminating error].”
• More broadly, interviewees discussed how the increased accuracy with GoSystem Tax RS and SurePrep ultimately mitigated risk. They noted that inaccuracy could damage client relationships and, in more extreme cases, lead to penalties.

More effective and less time-consuming review process by 50%. Interviewees said that GoSystem Tax RS allowed for seamless access to the relevant data needed to properly review tax returns. Additionally, interviewees’ organizations used API functionality to automate key parts of the review process and provide direct access to work papers. At interviewees’ organizations, the tax return review process was 50% faster on average due to GoSystem Tax RS.

• Interviewees said that when using their legacy software or manual methods, such as spreadsheets or paper, employees who reviewed tax returns had to navigate multiple tabs or flip through pages to locate the needed numbers. In contrast, they said that with GoSystem Tax RS, the needed information was highly accessible and easy to use. The tax automation manager reported, “We’ve cut down the review time by half.”
• The same interviewee elaborated on the faster review process: “The review process sees a reduction of time [with GoSystem Tax RS]. I can click one button, and it links to the needed number, so I immediately see it. I can breeze through the review almost to the point where all I need to do is look at the summary sheet, look at the printed-out tax return, and just compare numbers.”
• Interviewees noted that they could have API functionality built out for several important review points on the return, further streamlining the process and improving overall efficiency.
• The tax automation manager said: “We improve the efficiency of the review process [with GoSystem Tax RS]. … We leverage the APIs to pull the tax return data right into the work papers and have a quickly staged validation, rather than printing a return and doing that side-by-side tick and tie.”
• Interviewees added that employees could more easily conduct reviews across offices or in a hybrid workforce environment because they can access GoSystem Tax RS and SurePrep from anywhere.

Cost savings from decommissioning legacy solutions. Interviewees said that GoSystem Tax RS had all the forms, calculations, and capabilities their organizations needed. As such, the software served as a comprehensive solution that they used for all types of clients, from large corporations to individuals. Since GoSystem Tax RS fulfilled their organizations’ tax preparation needs, their legacy tax solutions became unnecessary and were decommissioned.

• The partner in charge of tax using GoSystem Tax RS noted the comprehensive nature of the software: “Tax Workflow handles some of the most complicated organizational structures — Fortune 500 and other large multinational businesses with complicated structures. These are highly specialized tax returns and GoSystem Tax RS is the gold standard in the industry.”
• The tax automation manager gave their opinion on the virtues of GoSystem Tax RS compared to legacy solutions: “[Alternatives to GoSystem Tax RS] were more of a closed system. It was difficult to push and pull data and really streamline the tax return process. Also, their APIs were more expensive and not as strong [as GoSystem Tax RS’s APIs].”

Supported flexibility and agility. Additional benefits interviewees’ organizations realized with GoSystem Tax RS include:

• More time for higher-value work. Interviewees indicated that with the time savings due to GoSystem Tax RS, employees had more time for higher-value advisory work (e.g., focusing on adjustments or identifying additional tax benefits for clients). The tax automation manager said: “By using the automation and APIs with [GoSystem Tax RS], we’re able to spend time on higher-value work. We’re not wasting time on data entry. We can actually add value for our clients as opposed to just making it to the finish line.”
• Capacity for more clients. The employee time saved with GoSystem Tax RS reduced workload compression at interviewees’ organizations and also allowed them to take on more clients throughout the year.
• Integration and API capabilities. Interviewees said that GoSystem Tax RS had robust API functionality and integrated well with SurePrep and their other Thomson Reuters solutions. The partner in charge of tax concluded: “The beauty with Thomson Reuters is that everything has seamless integration. They developed the system architecture so that all these individual software solutions work standalone, but also seamlessly together.”

Appendix A: Endnotes