Power-Up Your Business with the Internet
The Internet has been around for more than two decades and is becoming increasingly popular with both individuals and businesses. As a tax professional, if you are not using the Internet, you are at a disadvantage. For many practitioners, the Internet is the gateway to numerous tools and services that can increase productivity, profitability, and help maintain sanity during tax season. The top ten reasons to use the Internet in your tax business are:

10 Advertising
Many practitioners use the Yellow Pages as their primary advertising tool. But many consumers now prefer to use the Internet, rather than the phone book, as a way to locate local businesses. An Internet website is an inexpensive way to present your business to potential clients. Drake Software, provider of www.1040.com, hosts free preparer websites for all Drake customers!

9 CPE
If you can’t get away to an exotic location for CPE courses or if you are on a tight budget, CPE opportunities abound on the Internet. The Internet provides an inexpensive way to stay professionally current at your convenience, from the comfort of your own office. What could be easier? Earn CPE credits by reviewing Drake Software’s Evaluation Guide available at www.drakesoftware.com.

8 Better Customer Support
Communicate with your software company, the IRS, and state DORs electronically and improve your customer service experience. These entities have their own websites that are great information sources 24 hours a day. Many offer tax publications, links to other tax-related sites, and provide a way for you to ask questions without having to wait while a technical support representative researches your answer. Drake Software customers find our online Knowledge Base a great source for helpful tips and answers. Other useful websites include:
• www.irs.gov
• www.1040.com
• www.taxingsubjects.com
• www.aboutefile.com

7 Tax Research
Speed up your tax research by using the Internet. In addition to quickly locating documents, keyword searching greatly decreases research time. The IRS and state DORs have current and prior-year instructions available online, and many practitioners use the Internet to locate instructions on obscure federal forms or obtain information on those unfamiliar foreign state returns that pop up several times each filing season. Drake Software provides complimentary access to online tax research to every Drake customer.

6 E-Filing
The IRS wants you to electronically file client returns and so do the states. In fact, many states now mandate electronic filing of their tax returns, and that number is growing. The good news is, by e-filing returns and using direct deposit, you can deliver refunds to your clients in as quickly as a week to ten days. Your clients will love you for it! Drake Software offers free, safe, and easy e-filing for individual, business, and state returns.

5 Return Status
When a customer calls you about the status of their return, the answer can be just a click away if you’re connected to the Internet. You can track an electronicallly filed return from the time it is accepted until the refund is issued. You can even check the status of non-electronically filed returns on the IRS website. Drake customers have access to an online database and reporting system which is updated continuously, providing the most current information possible.

4 Email
Stay in contact with your customers through electronic mail, better known as email. Use email for everything from reminding clients of their appointments to requesting missing tax return information. Email can be less intrusive than the telephone, since you can respond to an email request at your convenience. All Drake customers receive a free email account that can be accessed directly from within the software.

3 Online Documents
Many large payroll companies offer online versions of their W2s. This can be especially useful in January when the early birds want their taxes done and have not yet received copies of their W2s. Most financial institutions offer electronic documents as well. This might be an opportunity to complete a return more quickly, rather than waiting for your client to search for brokerage statements, bank statements, and the like. With Drake, you can provide documents electronically too. Drake includes PDF printing options in our software that not only allow you to email files, such as completed tax returns, but store them electronically as well.

2 Additional Revenue Streams
Bank products are a great way to increase your tax season income. With the Internet, you can easily add significant revenue by providing this service to your customers. In addition to adding revenue, receiving payment for your services is guaranteed since your fees are withheld from the refund and deposited into your account. Drake Software has four bank partners that allow you to provide quick refunds in the form of Refund Anticipation Loans, Instant Loans, Debit Cards, and more.

1 Software Updates
Tax software changes are very common during tax season. Legislative issues require tax software companies to release patches. Some practitioners wait for a CD to be released, which can mean days, or even weeks, of preparing incorrect returns. Savvy practitioners now demand their software companies release their patches electronically. Receiving patches electronically allows you to continually have the most up-to-date software, a vital component to preparing accurate tax returns, all season long. Drake customers can schedule automatic updates each time they log in to Drake’s secure server.

From April 2005