Small and medium tax firms in Australia face a variety of pressing issues when it comes to preparing tax returns. First off, they often don’t have enough people, technology, or office space. This makes it hard to work fast and accurately. Additionally, tax laws keep changing and increasing in complexity. Keeping up with these changes is incredibly difficult, especially when there’s no extra staff to focus on these updates.
When tax season rolls around, these firms get swamped with clients. They have to work incredibly fast to meet deadlines, and with limited staff, that’s a real challenge. Often, they also have to deal with complex tax situations. Some clients might be self-employed or have income from several different places. Handling these cases is tough without experts on the team with time to dedicate specifically to these cases. Talking to clients and getting all the paperwork sorted can also eat up a lot of time, especially when they’re already busy. Having a solid system for managing client communication can only help so much and setting that up takes time and resources. And don’t forget about security – tax firms handle really private info like financial records. They need to keep this data safe from hackers, but without enough tech resources, that’s easier said than done.
MakeSense offers a cutting-edge solution to the challenges faced by Australian tax firms through its Tax Automation Platform, built using MuleSoft Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Managing data is vital for tax compliance, and the traditional manual methods involving spreadsheets are tedious and error-prone.
MakeSense’s RPA employs “bots” that mimic human actions to perform repetitive, rule-based tasks efficiently, thus freeing up staff for more valuable activities. This automation is particularly useful in collecting and reconciling data across different financial systems. The platform is modular, with a suite of bots that can work independently and scale with the business. These bots specialise in different areas of the tax process, drastically reducing the time and effort required for tax preparation, enhancing accuracy, and ensuring compliance with ever-changing regulations.
Evaluate the specific needs and challenges of the tax firms, and identify the processes that require automation.
Tailor the platform’s bots to address the identified needs, ensuring they comply with Australian tax regulations.
Seamlessly integrate the platform with the tax firm’s existing systems and financial data sources using MuleSoft connectors.
Provide training to the tax firm’s staff on how to use the platform effectively and set up ongoing support for troubleshooting and updates.
Implement the tailored solution in the tax firm’s operational environment.
Monitor the performance and gather feedback for improvement. Scale the bots as needed to accommodate the growth and evolving
requirements of the business.
Regularly update the platform to keep it compliant with changing regulations and enhance its features.
Printing a tax return following electronic filing is a manual and time-consuming process. It is a repetitive process that needs to be performed after filing tax filing is complete. The print bot reads a control file, starts the tax software, and makes the pdf print. The pdf is given a specific name and saved in a predetermined location.
The extension process requires tax staff to prepare using 3rd party software, convert to PDFs, and then submit them for review. Enabled by RPA, the bot takes a control sheet populated by the user with client information, enters that information in 3rd party tax preparation software, and generates and submits tax extension forms.
Once the client approval is received for filing the tax return, the tax associate will need to prepare for e-filing in the 3rd party tax software to e-file the tax return. E-file bot automates this procedure.The bot will read a control file and source the client information, and initiate the e-filing process in a 3rd party tax software. The client will receive a confirmation once completed.
The bots execute tasks quickly and accurately, eliminating human errors in manual data entry. They can also spot irregularities in data and alert staff swiftly.
Tax automation speeds up processes and boosts productivity, allowing staff to focus on complex tasks like making judgements and estimating complex transactions. This enhances the value of human labour.
Bots can handle large volumes of data faster than humans. They extract data from documents, input it into tax software, carry out calculations, consolidate results, and generate reports with updated data.
Bots significantly reduce time for key tasks. Printing tax returns takes less than 5 minutes, even for complex returns, saving up to 100% of human time. Similarly, filing extensions and e-filing tax returns, which normally take humans 10 and 14 minutes respectively, are done in less than 6 minutes, saving over 100% and 120% of human time respectively.
