Computer Software Essays - Taxation In The United States

Computer Software Comparison of Three Tax Preparation Software Packages, Including: Turbo Tax by Intuit, Inc., Simply Tax by 4Home Productions, and Tax Cut by MECA Software Prepared for Finnerty Professor Prepared by Joseph Wise Accountant Wise's Wild Toys Bay Village Ohio, 44140 April 13, 2000 Wise's Wild Toys 24407 Electric Dr. Bay Village Ohio, 44140 Tel. # (440) 835-1234 April 6, 2000 Ms. Finnerty, Chief Financial Officer Finnerty: Per your request, I have chosen to do my report on an evaluation of three separate tax preparation software packages for potential use in our company. The following are the programs that I evaluated for Wise's Wild Toys: Turbo Tax by Intuit, Inc., Simply Tax by 4Home Productions, and Tax Cut by MECA Software. My research concluded that Tax Cut by MECA Software would be the optimal program for our company to purchase. This program provided the greatest value as far as price and helpful features are concerned. During the evaluation process, Tax Cut proved to be a superior program in every category in which it was tested. The information in this report was primarily obtained through a personal interview with Jonathan, a Sales Manager at CompUSA computer store. Additional information came from journal articles, which were found in the Grasselli Library of John Carroll University. Thank you for affording me the opportunity to conduct this research project. My associates and I are looking forward to working with this new method of preparing our tax information. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. I will be happy to assist you in getting this project underway. Sincerely, Joseph R. Wise Accountant I Table of Contents Letter of Transmittal.................................................................................................................I List of Illustrations.................................................................................................................III Executive Summary...............................................................................................................IV Introduction..............................................................................................................................1 Purpose..........................................................................................................................1 Scope..............................................................................................................................2 Limitations.....................................................................................................................2 Turbo Tax by Intuit, Inc...........................................................................................................2 Price................................................................................................................................3 System Requirements...................................................................................................3 States Available.............................................................................................................3 Special Features.............................................................................................................3 Installation..........?.......................................................................................................3 Error Recovery and Support........................................................................................4 Preparation, Guidance, and Filing..............................................................................4 Simply Tax by 4Home Productions........................................................................................5 Price................................................................................................................................5 System Requirements...................................................................................................6 States Available.............................................................................................................6 Special Features?.............................................................................................6 Installation.................................................................................?..........................?..6 Error Recovery and Support........................................................................................6 Preparation, Guidance, and Filing..............................................................................7 Tax Cut by MECA Software....................................................................................................8 Price?...........................................................................................................................8 System Requirements...................................................................................................8 States Available.............................................................................................................8 Special Features............................................................................................................9 Installation.....................................................................................................9 Error Recovery and Support............................................................................9 Preparation, Guidance, Filing............................................................................10 Conclusion?.?....10 Works Cited?...............................?..................................................................................12 II List of Illustrations Figure 1 Suitability to Task for Turbo Tax by Intuit, Inc.....................................................5 Figure 2 Suitability to Task for Simply Tax by 4Home Productions..................................7 Figure 3 Suitability to Task for Tax Cut by MECA Software............................................10 III Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to determine which tax preparation software program would be best suited for use in Wise's Wild Toys. The company has undergone a rapid expansion since its organization in 1960, and it continues to grow today. In keeping with the constant developments in computer technology and software, it has been decided that a tax preparation software package will increase the efficiency of the company's business transactions. This report evaluates the following software programs: Turbo Tax by Intuit, Inc., Simply Tax by 4Home Productions, and Tax Cut by MECA Software. These three packages were evaluated in the areas of price, system requirements, states available, special features, installation procedures, error recovery and support features, as well as preparation, guidance, and filing mechanisms. A personal interview with an employee of CompUSA computer store provided the primary information for this report. Journal articles gathered from the Grasselli Library of John Carroll University provided the remainder of the information on tax preparation software packages. It has been concluded that Wise's Wild Toys should purchase the Tax Cut program produced by MECA Software. This program produced superior results in the several categories in which it was evaluated. IV Introduction Wise's Wild Toys began in the early 1900's selling discounted toys mainly to those families in poorer areas of Cleveland, Ohio. Today Wise's Wild Toys has customers all over the Cleveland area. Their generosity to the underprivileged has given them great publicity in the Cleveland area has brought many people to see this wonderful store. Due to its expanded clientele, Wise's Wild Toys has recently expanded to a second location to meet public demand. They now have stores located on the east and West Side of Cleveland. Purpose Wise's Wild Toys has increased their inventory by 900% in almost 100 years and their hired employees from the 2 owners to roughly 100 employees. Due to Wise's Wild Toys increase in size its managerial duties have become more difficult to organize. It has become obvious with the advances in computer technology and software design that efficiencies can be gained through the use of a modern accounting and tax software package. The purpose of this report is to evaluate three tax preparation software programs and submit recommendations on the premium program for Wise's Wild