{"id":24881,"date":"2022-01-28T08:00:54","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T14:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxprocenter.proconnect.intuit.com\/?p=24881"},"modified":"2022-03-08T09:21:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T15:21:04","slug":"esignature-offers-oakton-tax-accounting-true-time-and-cost-savings-during-tax-season-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/accountants.intuit.com\/taxprocenter\/practice-management\/esignature-offers-oakton-tax-accounting-true-time-and-cost-savings-during-tax-season-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Intuit\u00ae eSignature offers Oakton Tax & Accounting true time and cost savings during tax season\u2014and beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Josh Paiva is the owner of Oakton Tax & Accounting, LLC<\/a>, in Fairfax, Va., a firm providing comprehensive tax, accounting, payroll, and human resource services. He began using Intuit\u00ae ProConnect\u2122 Tax<\/a> because he found it to be, \u201csuper easy to use, since it was built right into the QuickBooks<\/a>\u00ae accounting platform.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, once he began using the software and discovered Intuit eSignature<\/a>, Josh was even more impressed with what ProConnect Tax could do for his firm, especially when getting clients to sign tax returns, forms, and other documents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe ability to use electronic tax signing software to get everything signed and tracked\u2014all remotely<\/a> and all in one place with eSignature\u2014is really efficient,\u201d said Josh. \u201cIt usually takes clients some time to get things back to us, but when we send them their documents digitally using eSignature, the response is amazingly fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bottom line benefit of eSignature? Saving 8 to 10 minutes of prep time on every return<\/h2>\n

The speed and seamless integration of eSignature in ProConnect Tax is something that translates into real time and cost savings for Josh and his team.<\/p>\n

\u201dEven if postage were free, it takes a long time to print and mail something out for signature, get it back, and file. It eats up a lot of billable time. Because eSignature is built into ProConnect Tax, you can just click a button to request a client signature, and then e-file.\u201d<\/p>\n

Josh estimates that by using e-Signature, he saves at least 8 to 10 minutes on every tax return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith eSignature, it only takes a minute per return to execute the signature. If you factor in 100 returns a year, we are looking at trimming 11 to 13 hours. We’re doing more returns than that, but when you calculate the billable rate on those hours, it\u2019s certainly a significant cost savings, especially when it comes to eliminating the traffic back and forth, and snail mail costs of preparation time, postage, and printing.\u201d<\/p>\n

eSignature continually evolves to meet the needs of progressive practitioners and their clients<\/h2>\n

Another timesaver that Josh is eagerly anticipating is the coming integration of e-filing capabilities in ProConnect Tax, but the compliance and security<\/a> benefits of eSignature also bring huge benefits. For example, if clients aren\u2019t manually signing their returns and forms, they are obligated to get IRS compliant identity authorization. Signing electronically with eSignature includes compliant identity authorization\u2014and Intuit is one of only a handful of vendors that offer this capability.<\/p>\n

Josh\u2019s diverse range of clients, many of whom are in an older demographic, is not a concern when it comes to electronic signature. He does not see age as a barrier when it comes to offering eSignature to his clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have plenty of older clients, but they never have a problem with eSignature. People are accustomed to doing things online now, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve had a single client who has had issues. Plus, they look to us to provide the right solutions as their trusted advisors.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a glance:<\/h2>\n