Waiting for clients to sign the paperwork you’ve prepared for them can slow you down, as every accountant knows. Your growing business can be negatively impacted by the time it takes for several clients to complete their tax forms and submit them back to you—and this can also cause your clients to suffer from delays and errors in their tax returns as a result.
A quick and easy way to finish your taxes on time without sacrificing accuracy exists. A good place to start is with the use of two leading-edge business applications that are meant to make your work life easier while also streamlining your company’s processes.
Countless Tax Forms Can Be Done With e-Signed
Over 94 percent of all individual tax returns were submitted in this manner in 2020, according to the IRS. Customer expectations have shifted in recent years, and more operations on the tax preparation side should be digitally transformed to meet these expectations.
Adoption of electronic signatures is quickly becoming a commercial need for accounting professionals. Using e-signatures, you can turn around tax and financial papers in hours rather than days, allowing you to devote more time to client work and less time worrying about the efficiency of your approval procedures.
The efficiency with which your company uses this technology may have an impact on the entire performance of your company. But not all electronic signature technologies are made equal. Because of this, selecting an e-signature system with a track record of success among tax professionals is a wise decision.
Benefits of Using e-signatures During Tax Season
Thanks to technological improvements, the procedure of completing tax returns on the internet and sending such forms has become significantly simpler. Taxpayers just need to attach their digital signature to their income tax returns in order to file them electronically.
A digital signature programme, as defined by the Information Technology Act of 2000, confirms that the recipient has validated the tax return papers and that they have not been altered while in route.
Electronic signatures eliminate the need for tax preparers to print, email, or fax legal paperwork and instead allow them to save time and money. The following are some of the advantages that tax preparers and accountants might anticipate as a result of the use of electronic signatures.
Amplify the Entire Work Process
The standard way of sending tax papers often takes several weeks or even months to get the tax returns in the mailbox. It doesn’t matter how you used to sign your tax forms, because signing them electronically eliminates the need for the time-consuming paper method.
All of your key papers may be sent electronically to your clients, which is more efficient than sending them via paper. Rather than taking days or weeks, it allowed you to complete the entire project in a few weeks. Reduced paper use is another benefit that has been realised.
Increased Convenience
A long distance has been made in legal signatures thanks to improvements in community communication. It wasn’t until 2014 that the IRS added e-signatures to electronic filing that the number of e-filed returns jumped to around 100 million in 2017.
Consumers and tax preparers alike were left wondering how e-signature technology made the procedure so smooth.
Tax preparers and clients both benefit from the adoption of e-signature technology, which speeds up the process of filing returns and increases the number of customers they can service. As a result, they are able to save money, time, and effort, as well as avoid any inconvenience.
Make Clients Happy
Most clients want their accountants to be technologically adept, as you know. Clients demand more from accountants, according to 83% of those surveyed. Accountants can quickly and easily complete lengthy papers for their customers thanks to the paperless tax filing procedure.
Customers may see, sign, and submit their tax returns and other relevant documents electronically, regardless of where they are. It improves the overall client satisfaction.
Increasing Data Security
With the increase in online cybersecurity risks, the IRS has taken further steps to safeguard the security of electronically signed tax returns (e-signed returns). Additionally, taxpayers must follow specific guidelines.
Using a more secure sort of online signature is always a good idea. For example, a digital signature is more secure than a simple e-signature since it is encrypted.
As a result, be mindful of the sort of e-signature you employ to complete your tax return paperwork. It is impossible for cyber criminals to get their hands on a digital signature. Confidently sending and receiving tax documents with sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and financial records is now possible thanks to the new service.
The unique identity of the signer must be confirmed in the first instance in accordance with IRS e-filing legal requirements. The e-signature is linked to the electronic record to complete this verification.
Conclusion
All of us want the tax-filing process to be fast and easy. A paper copy signature chase can be time-consuming and stressful, though. You may save time and enhance productivity by using e-signature during tax season.
Effective client involvement may be achieved with less administration thanks to the ease with which customers can sign with confidence. In order to make signing tax returns as easy as possible, you may even use the greatest electronic signature software.
