Every accountant knows how frustrating it can be to wait for clients to sign the papers you’ve prepared for them. The time it takes several customers to fill out their tax forms and return them to you can have a chilling effect on your expanding business, not to mention the delays and mistakes that can occur to your customers.
It is possible to complete your taxes quickly and easily without compromising accuracy. Two cutting-edge business apps designed to simplify your workday while improving efficiency are a fantastic place to start.
Hundreds of Tax Forms Can Be E-Signed
The year after the IRS allowed electronic tax signing software for tax forms, the number of people filing electronically increased dramatically.
As reported by the Internal Revenue Service, this method was used by more than 94% of taxpayers in 2020. Increasingly, tax preparation processes must be digitized to keep up with customers’ rising expectations.
Electronic signatures are rapidly becoming a business necessity for accountants. E-signatures shorten the approval process for tax and financial documents from days to hours, allowing you to focus more on your clients and less on paperwork.
Your company’s success may hinge on how well you implement this technology. However, not all methods of digitally signing documents are created equal. This means it’s important to use an e-signature solution that has proven reliable among tax experts.
Tax Season: Why You Should Use Electronic Signatures
The process of filing taxes online and having them sent in has been simplified greatly by technology advancements. Electronic filing of tax returns requires nothing more than the taxpayer’s digital signature.
According to the Information Technology Act of 2000, electronic document signing software verifies that the recipient has checked and approved the tax return documents and has not been tampered with in transit.
By using electronic signatures, tax preparers can avoid the time and expense of printing, emailing, or faxing legally binding documents. If electronic signatures become the norm, tax preparers and accountants could see some of the following benefits.
Boost the Efficiency of Every Task
When filing taxes using the traditional method, the documents may take weeks or even months to arrive at their destination. Signing tax forms on paper is no longer necessary thanks to electronic signatures, but you can continue to utilize the method that has worked for you in the past.
In other words, establishing an online signature is an excellent option if you’re looking for a less time-consuming alternative to the IRS’s traditionally tedious tax submission process. It is more time- and cost-efficient to deliver to your clients all of your important documents electronically. It cut down the time it would have taken to finish the project from days or weeks to only a few weeks. One further benefit is less paper waste.
Improved Ease of Use
Legal signatures have come a long way as a result of developments in community communication. When the IRS began accepting electronic signatures in 2014, the number of electronically submitted tax returns skyrocketed to around 100 million by 2017.
Customers and tax preparers alike were mystified by the seamlessness of the process made possible by e-signature technology.
The benefits of electronic signatures technology is to prepare tax documents for clients by reducing wait times for return submission and expanding the businesses’ reach. They save money, time, and effort and don’t have to deal with any hassle.
Satisfy Your Customers
You already know that most customers expect their accountants to be comfortable with modern technology. Eighty-three percent of respondents said that clients are placing greater expectations on accountants. The paperless tax filing process allows accountants to swiftly and efficiently finish voluminous paperwork for their clients.
Tax returns and other required paperwork can be viewed, signed, and submitted electronically by customers from any location. Overall, it makes happy customers out of your business’s customers.
Strengthening Data Protection
The IRS has increased the security measures to protect electronically signed tax returns in light of the growing threat posed by cybercriminals (e-signed returns). In addition, there are rules that taxpayers need to observe.
In general, it’s best to use a more robust digital signature. One example is an encrypted digital signature, making it far safer than a regular electronic signature.
Carefully consider the type of e-signature you use when filing your taxes. Digital signatures are completely secure from cybercriminals. With this new service, taxpayers can transmit and receive tax documents containing personal information like Social Security numbers and bank records without fear of disclosure.
In the first place, per IRS e-filing regulations, the signer’s identification must be verified. The electronic signature is connected to the relevant record to finalize this check.
Conclusion
We’d all appreciate it if filing taxes was quick and simple. However, chasing them down to sign paper copies can be tedious and irritating. Using electronic signatures during tax time could help you save time and boost productivity.
Using an electronic signature method, such as making an electronic signature in Word, PDF or any other type of contract, can help reduce the possibility of mistakes. Customers can confidently sign documents with little effort, leading to more efficient client interaction with less paperwork. Using the best electronic signature software can be a huge time saver when signing tax returns.