207
TAXATIONTECHNOLOGY SUPPLEMENT July 2008
8
6
which can be customised and sent to the client. Based on the
Based on the
e
review of the data, it also evaluates business performance,
highlighting possible planning opportunities. It links to the
CCH publications British Tax Library and Tax Investigations
Reporter so users who subscribe to these publications can
ions can
access relevant information at the click of a button while
e
users who do not subscribe to them reach a static screen
c screen
n
help. The software, under its previous name TaxManager, won
on
the Taxation Awards best software award in May 2004.
.
The Practice Management software is built around a
a
central client database, forming a hub for all the modules.
It provides time recording, billing, fees and purchase ledger
r
functions. In addition, it has an on-screen client fi ling system
giving users access to client correspondence. It can hold
hold
d
scanned documents, telephone call notes, e-mails and work-
fl ow records. Functionality within Practice Management
includes Document Management which allows documents,
uments,
including e-mails, to be saved into the client’s fi le. This brings
s
to reality the paperless offi ce, and indeed some users
prefer not to keep any papers, instead returning them to
hem to
their clients to retain. The workfl ow management system
m
works by recording and monitoring work in progress and
and
deadlines. Recurring tasks are generated automatically and a
and a
list of task shows the jobs due within a specifi ed period.
.
All modules come with electronic manuals and on-
s and on-
-
line help. There is also a telephone help-line, and at least
at least
18 people support the products at any given time. User
r
groups, newsletters, online knowledge base, e-mail bulletin
ulletin
n
service, seminar programmes, and product review groups
roups
s
are among the support offered. Training on how to use
e
the software can be arranged at an additional cost, as can
n
electronic training.
.
The main releases of the software are provided as a
a
CD box set which includes the main installation as well as
as well as
as
a CD containing all supporting product release, support
pport
t
and training resources. Updates and demos are available
online.
.
Contact
Sales Administration
n
Address
CCH Software, Cleary Court, Church Street East,
Woking, Surrey GU21 6HJ
6HJ
Tel
01483 775070
70
Internet
www.cch.co.uk
Cost
Price on application. Products are priced
ed
according to modules included, number of users
rs
and number of cases.
Recspec
ec
Windows XP Prof; Pentium 4 upwards; 1GB RAM;
10GB hard disk space
ce
Digita
Digita is a very successful company which has been
been
producing tax software for 22 years. In April 2008, Digita
ita
became part of the Thomson Reuters Group. However,
managing director Jerry Rihll says it will be ‘business as
ess as
usual at Digita’, and he will continue in his current role. The
company continues to be based at its Exmouth headquar-
quar-
ters. Digita has ‘considerable growth plans and the means
to invest in further research and development’. In addition,
the fi rm is ‘recruiting in all areas of the business’.
.
Digita’s software basks in the glory of some interesting
g
unique statistics. For example, Digita Personal, Business
ness
and Trust Tax and Corporation Tax are the only UK tax
tax
products accredited by Microsoft for use with Windows. In
addition, these products are accredited under the ICAEW’s
s
IT accredited product scheme. Also Digita is the only soft-
t-
ware supplier to have won the LexisNexis best tax software
award three times: in 2007, 2006 and 2003, and to be a
fi nalist in every year since the award was launched.
.
As well as producing software for professional tax prac-
ac-
titioners, Digita develops fi nancial software for Microsoft
t
and MSN Money.
y.
Digita Personal Tax handles most aspects of the self
assessment tax return, including partnerships, Lloyd’s under-
-
writers, MPs and ministers of religion. HMRC help notes
s
and help sheets are included. Tax is calculated automatically,
showing the payments on account and the form SA303 for
r
reducing payments on account can be produced. The 2008
008
release includes the automatic calculation of foreign tax
x
credit relief, excluded income and the dual residency and
non-UK resident worksheets IR302 and IR304.
On the capital gains tax front, the user has to calculate
the total gains in some cases, as the system copes with
h
disposals only from one pool. It handles taper relief and
and
current year and brought forward losses, loss optimisation,
connected losses and attributed gains. It allows the gains to
ains to
be entered as a net gain before taper relief to accommodate
off-system calculations.
A comprehensive dividend data feed from Interactive
e
Data calculates the dividends on shares, dividend paying
paying
g
unit trusts and interest paying unit trusts. It contains details
of the full FTSE equity dividends, well-known unit trust
t
managers and open ended investment companies. Data
Data
for 100 of the most popular companies is supplied free of
f
charge, while the full feed is available at reasonable cost.
Pension and ‘what if’ planning are possible. Accounts
ts
details can be imported from Digita’s own fi nal accounts
s
production software, as well as various other packages,
such as, CaseWare, Eureka, Microsoft Excel, ProAcc, Sage
SAP and SAPA, Viztopia and VT. The system also has prac-
tice management links with APS Advance, Caseware Time,
,
Practice Engine, and Star.
.
Digita Business Tax is a comprehensive system that calcu-
lates basis periods, assessable profi ts, capital allowances,
overlap relief and deals with changes of accounting date. It
It
produces the partnership forms and other required reports
and summaries. All relevant data is posted automatically to
the partner’s personal tax return.
rn.
As a result of Digita and LexisNexis Butterworths part-
t-
nership, Digita users can access the LexisNexis tax refer-
-
ence service through Personal, Business and Trust Tax.
Tax.
.
Returns can be submitted online at no extra cost. As
an HMRC self assessment fi ling partner, Digita works with
h
HMRC to promote the fi ling of online returns and has
s
jointly held seminars with HMRC to highlight the benefi ts
of online fi ling.
The software has a wide range of risk management and
nd
203
www.taxation.co.uk
7
workfl ow monitoring features built in. This includes the
Client Review tool which compares the income sources of
f
the client with the previous year’s return, eliminating the
need for paper comparisons. This signifi cantly reduces the
risk of errors and the automation saves the time that the
user would previously have spent doing the check. It also
links to the Client Costing tool enabling the user to create
te
a risk profi le of the client and monitor changes during the
he
review process.
TaxAware uses artifi cial intelligence to monitor the tax
return compliance process. It constantly polls the data
data
looking for inconsistencies, errors of entry, as well as plan-
an-
ning opportunities, warning the user during the process. The
he
key aspect of this technology is that all issues highlighted
hted
are specifi c to the client.
Digita Trust Tax deals with forms SA900 and its related
d
forms to allow users to prepare tax returns for trusts
s
and estates. A distribution tool allows the allocation of
income to benefi ciaries and then posted automatically to
o
the relevant sections of benefi ciaries’ personal tax returns.
A full range of reports and tax computations, R185 tax
certificate production facilities and internet filing are
included as standard.
rd.
Digita Accounts Production produces fi nal accounts and
is also accredited by the ICAEW. Like all Digita software, the
e
application has the look of a Microsoft Offi ce program so
so
will be familiar to most users. Trial balances can be created
in seconds and client fi les can be signed out for working at
t
other sites. It also links with Digita Personal, Business and
iness and
Trust Tax and Digita Corporation Tax.
Digita Contact Manager provides a single point of data
entry for contact and relationship information shared
ed
within the Digita range of products. It brings together client
information to allow for client management in one place.
.
Contact information is shared seamlessly across all products
ts
within the suite. As it adheres to xAPL, the ICAEW data
sharing standard, it therefore also enables integration with
h
third party suppliers’ products.
ts.
An additional, optional module is available for letter
r
writing and facsimile forms. It can, for example, generate
e
client mailshots so that a specifi c service, say pension
ion
planning, could be offered to those not already receiving
it. Other modules for time and fees, staff management,
t,
work fl ow, data mining and document management will be
be
released in the future.
Other Digita products include Company Secretarial, a
a
company administration package which includes electronic
lectronic
fi ling and helps with completion of form 42, and P11D
D
Production which Digita distributes in conjunction with
h
PKF.
An online manual is supplied with the software, and
d
training can be arranged at extra cost if required. Other help
is available in the form of online help-screens, telephone
ne
hotlines, customer website, newsletters, seminars, etc.
tc.
The software uses Microsoft SQL/SQL Express database
e
technology which allows the user scalability of database.
.
The products provide full integration, regardless of whether
r
the user has only Digita products or has software from
m
other suppliers.
Contact
t
Karen Gardner
Address
Digita, Liverton Business Park, Exmouth EX8
2NR
Tel
01395 270311 Fax 01395 268893
268893
E-mail
kareng@digita.com
m
Internet
www.digita.com
Cost
t
Digita Personal and Business Tax from £300; Digita
a
Trust Tax from £214
214
Recspec
Windows XP/Vista; Pentium III or higher; 1Gb
b
RAM; 4Gb hard disk space
Drummohr Technology Ltd
d
Drummohr Technology was acquired by IRIS in 2008. Drum-
-
mohr will maintain its identity and continue to produce its
uce its
software as usual. In effect, being part of a large company
any
with all its resources gives Drummohr the ability to develop
evelop
p
its products and keep up with the relentless pace of legis-
is-
lative and technological changes that tax software houses
have to deal with.
th.
Tax Assistant, Drummohr’s comprehensive self assess-
-
ment package, comprises an integrated suite of linked
d
modules covering all aspects of self assessment. Used by
by
1,440 fi rms, it can stand alone or can be networked.
.
The Tax Return module covers all self assessment tax
ax
years. Most supplementary pages are catered for, including
g
Lloyd’s underwriters and ministers of religion. Data is
is
entered via menus or using the on-screen tax return. The
user can put additional information on notepad pages using
ng
context sensitive notepad icons, and this information is
s
printed in the form of supporting schedules.
Several calculators are available, including capital allow-
ances, business tax adjustments, car benefi ts, and capital
ital
gains. Data can be imported from most accounts produc-
-
tion software packages. The user can print an information
n
request for each client for the next year’s return, and the
return can be printed in summary form.
.
The tax calculation is done automatically following the
he
HMRC’s calculation, with a summary version also available.
The calculation deals with lump sum payments, chargeable
e
event gains, top slicing relief and the non-resident’s exemp-
-
tion. It calculates the payments due on account, as well as
ell as
s
the form SA303 for reducing those payments. An estimate
of the following tax year’s calculation can also be done.
.
The database management system, TaxBase is fully
ly
compatible with Microsoft Access, and holds the tax related
d
information for all clients, e.g. names, business and employ-
-
ment details, and pension contributions. An internal tax
administration record is created for each client, and a diary
y
feature lists various events for up to four years. Users can
an
use the system to fi lter lists of clients according to chosen
sen
criteria, for example clients whose tax returns have not
t
yet been submitted. Other administration features include
a register of tax offi ce addresses, a dividend database of
f
company dividends which can be edited by the user, mail
merges, and the generation of standard letters. Forms 64-8
8
can also be produced.
d.
199
TAXATIONTECHNOLOGY SUPPLEMENT July 2008
8
Other modules include the Trust and Estate Tax Return,
the Partnership Return and the Repayment Claim, which
hich
deals with the HMRC R40 form. All are similar to the Tax
Return module, and can be used either in conjunction with
with
TaxBase or on a standalone basis. Reports are displayed on
ayed on
on
screen, can be printed, and can be saved as a pdf document
for e-mailing to the client.
.
The Company Tax Return modules follow the style of
f
the personal tax modules. They produce the corporation
tax return and supplementary pages, as well as calculating
ating
the tax due, including marginal relief, research and develop-
p-
ment tax credit, chargeable gains and allowable losses, and
capital allowances.
.
Online fi ling is supported by the FBI Courier module.
ule.
This allows users to fi le individual, partnership, trust and
company tax returns online.
The P11D module produces forms P11D, calculating car
ar
benefi ts, and other benefi ts. Data from this module can be
imported directly on to the client’s tax return.
.
A online manual is supplied together with on-screen
een
help, a telephone help-line, customer website, on-line
knowledge base and e-mail bulletin service. The software is
s
available on CD-ROM and updates of the program can be
be
downloaded from Drummohr’s website. An evaluation kit
is available, free of charge, for users who wish to examine
mine
the software in depth.
Contact
Sales
Address
Drummohr Technology Ltd, 3 Mount Frost Drive,
Markinch, Fife KY7 6JQ
JQ
Q
Tel
01592 753111
1
E-mail
l
sales@drummohr.com
Internet
t
www.drummohr.com
Cost
Tax Assistant: from £500 plus VAT
Rec spec
c
Windows XP or Vista; 256mb RAM; 300mb hard
disk space
Excelsior LawDesk Limited
mited
Various niche companies exist in the software market and
d
one such is Excelsior LawDesk Limited, now in its twelfth
th
year of operation. David Williams, formerly a partner in a
a
Brighton fi rm of solicitors and now a retired member of
STEP, created this small concern which produces software
e
primarily for estates work. The products, which are all
l
Excel based, are highly specialised, but ones which fi ll a gap
gap
p
nonetheless.
In view of the forthcoming launch by HMRC of a
a
complete new suite of inheritance tax forms, no information
is available regarding the company’s products – Probat-
-
eDesk, ExecutryDesk, and FormDesk-IHT400 and Form-
Desk-IHT400(Scotland), at the time of going to press.
.
Contact
David Williams
Address
Excelsior LawDesk Ltd, Summerfi elds, Furners
Lane, Henfi eld, West Sussex BN5 9HS
HS
Tel
01273 494978
E-mail
l
inform@lawdesk.co.uk
k
Financial Software Ltd
Ltd
Financial Software Ltd is a specialist software house that
hat
has been operating in the UK for 14 years. It undertook
the design, development and marketing of a capital gains tax
x
solution called CGiX, which automates CGT calculations
on investment portfolios. It uses an SQL Server 2005.
5.
CGiX contains CGT legislation from 1965 and holds
corporate event data for all UK listed companies since early
y
1982. Financial Software receives data from four different
nt
data vendors and can provide a global corporate event
event
service. CGiX corporate event transaction types cover over
er
100 CGT specifi c defi nitions of corporate events.
The product can integrate with standard investment
ment
management systems through a confi gurable interface,
,
thus allowing the investment management system to use
the database to calculate and format reports and What-If
f
scenarios. Other key features include:
:
■capital event history for UK unit trusts, open-ended
investment companies, off-shore funds and hedge funds
with extensive coverage of equalisations;
;
■broad coverage of international capital events;
;
■dividend and income processing and reporting;
orting;
■historic dividends for UK quoted securities since 2004
and broad coverage of international dividends;
;
■processing and CGT reporting of traded options and
other forms of linked and fungible securities;
es;
■legislation database containing rules and defi nitions for
UK CGT and Income tax relevant to individuals, compa-
a-
nies and life companies with chronological context;
;
■UK rebasing rules, indexation and taper relief including
election of March 1982 and 1965 values;
■take-on positions for pooling including adjustment of
costs and indexation allowance for rights taken up within
1982/85 pool;
l;
■transfer and relief processing such as inter-account
transfers, probate, employee shares schemes, gifts, gain
in
deferrals, venture capital trusts;
;
■short sales;
■loss allocation to external gains, gains to external losses
sses
and losses carried forward;
■rules and defi nitions for Australian CGT and income;
;
■rules and defi nitions for US capital gains;
;
■account aggregation and shared account processing for
trusts;
;
■UK HMRC formatted CGT reports in addition to an
extensive reporting pack that includes backdated port-
d port-
-
folio valuation, capital gains, income and calculation audit
reports;
■detailed audit trails;
ls;
;
■multi-currency functionality;
;
■thin client browser-based solution with relational data-
nal data-
base technology and application server architecture;
ecture;
■system segregation within a single database for multiple
companies;
■ single sign-on security for imbedding within host applications;
ons;
■MSMQ messaging;
■WSDL web services.
ces.
CGiX Australia contains the rules and definitions
for calculating capital gains and income with respect to
Australian tax rules. It also includes a corresponding
g
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
