Note: the Following Discussion and Screen Shots Are Meant to Supplement the Data Presented

Introduction to TWO for EROs

January 12, 2010

Note: The following discussion and screen shots are meant to supplement the data presented in Pub. 3189. There will be some duplication however.

This discussion does not cover the steps needed to physically set up the site, but deals only with the activities that a TC or ERO may need to do, either from his/her home computer or at the site. The person setting up the site will be the Administrator, and the ERO can be either that or be assigned SuperUser permissions depending upon local option.

Setting Up the Site Pre-Season

The Administrator has all the tools needed to setup the site, to prepare returns, submit e-files, and prepare client letters, setup defaults and more. We will first explore setting up the site with users and defaults, etc. See the Administrator toolbar, below.

Managing Users. Let’s start by illustrating “Manage Users.” The Administrator has full control over setting up users, passwords, and the assignment of roles. User names may be assigned to each computer or preferably to each counselor, the latter of which is the recommendation of TaxWise. Each user may be assigned one or more roles (permissions), as illustrated below.

Counselors assigned as “ReturnPreparer” are limited to preparing returns (which includes the printing and the writing of e-files) but they are unable to access returns prepared by any other user. They cannot actually transmit the returns either. The “SuperUser” role can access all returns and have a full range of permissions, with the exception of the ability to change the templates (defaults), or to Manage Users. They also have the capability of transmitting returns, although this requires additional steps, which immediately alert them as to what is happening. This allows them to discontinue this operation unless that is what was desired.

Note that the Administrator does not have the ability to prepare returns. Thus the person functioning as the administrator must set up a separate user, such as that of Diane, below, who has been assigned all of the permissions needed to administer the site. Note also that one may move inactive users to an alternate display so that the main display is not as cluttered.

We will discuss the other features of this display later.

User Settings.

While logged in as administrator, select the User Settings icon on the taskbar.

The User Settings screen displays a listing of several options for your use. You will find that the first two entries, Tax Preparer and ERO are optional for our Tax-Aide use. However the third entry, Display, may be useful if you wish to change the color scheme.

High Contrast Color Scheme. You may find it desirable to change from the default color scheme to one with higher contrast. It is easy to try this out since one can always switch back if desired.

Click on the Display entry to reveal the display setting screen. In the case below we have already checked the box for using the high contrast color scheme.

The next screenshot illustrates what your display will look like using the high contrast color scheme. You may ignore the yellow border since it displays only while in the template mode. Note how the required fields show up more clearly in this high contrast mode when compared to the standard mode. This setting may be a better one for our Counselors.

Custom Fields (for Preparer Section Use).

For the 2009 tax returns we no longer need to set up a custom field for the data retention question. In addition we can simply make any preparer field red for a required entry for preparer’s and/or quality reviewer’s initials. Hence you may skip the Custom Field setup if you wish. Otherwise refer to Page 52 of the TaxWise Online User Guide that was shipped with your software packagefor instructions.

User Defined Return Stages.

Assigning a Return stage to each tax return provides a very handy tool for the ERO when preparing to “transmit” returns to TaxWise. It is recommended that a Return stage listing be generated by the Administrator and that the Counselors be instructed on its use. Refer to the figure below to create User Defined Return Stages, using the following procedure:

1. Select Settings on the toolbar.
2. Select Return Stages by clicking on Return Stages in the tree at left.
3. The Return Stage screen will be blank initially.
4. Decide on your desired stage descriptions and the desired order.
5. Type in your first description in the bottom box.
6. Click Add. This will move your text to the main box.

The below descriptions are recommended, but you may choose your own.

Print Sets.

See the below figure. You may find that printing the Primary Forms and Signature Forms works well for your site in which case you need only to check the two boxes shown below. However this season we now have the ability to set up our own customized print set, in which case you should check only on the bottom “Create My Print Set” box. The procedure for selecting forms for your print set is identical to that of the desktop version.

The next entry under Administer Settings is Advanced. Clicking on this results in the below screen. If one has a suitable high-speed internet connection then data is written to the CCH servers as it is entered, which is the preferred mode since all of data entry is captured. This can proved to be quite helpful in event one loses connectivity for any reason.

On the other hand if the page refresh is noticeably slow then you may want to switch to Classic mode, which allows one to enter data more quickly but suffers from some limitations. In this case the data isn’t written to the servers until a Save command is received. Thus the below caution: You must select the Save Return icon to refresh the data on a page otherwise the entries will be lost. When using the Classic mode you must caution the counselors to save the data regularly and to make it a required procedure after finishing (or editing) a given form. Also, data can be more easily lost in event of an outage since all data entered since the last “Save” will be lost.

The next entry after Advanced is “Send Settings.” This entry is not of any use to our program and can be bypassed. It is intended for professional organizations with sub offices.

The last entry on the Administrator Settings listing is for “Carry Forward Templates.” This entry is for EFINs that used TWO the previous season. At the time this instruction was prepared (December, 2009) we cannot recommend the use of this option since it does not work properly.

Instead we recommend that the NTC recommended template document be downloaded and used to set up your (default) template. It is available on the AARP Tax-Aide Extranet web site under the Technology tab.

Filing Season ERO Functions

Now that the site has been set up we will next discuss performing ERO functions after returns have been accumulated from a site. See the figure on the left. Note that there are five normal views, shown by the red box. Instead of these various views one may search for any specific return in any category by simply entering a few characters into the Search Returns box. Entering a partial social security number or a last name, etc. works well. This is by far the easiest method of finding a single return.

From this same view one may Print Returns (Note: Printing from here turns out to be a chore; it is better to print from a return that has been opened).

Alternatively the ERO may Move Returns from one user to another, which is easily done by just following the on-screen instructions.

Active Returns View. This is the View that will be most commonly used, and the below screenshot illustrates some of the information that can be obtained from this view. This figure has been edited to remove the social security numbers and to show only columns 2 through five.) Other columns that aren’t shown here are “date edited,” and User Name. These will be discussed subsequently.

An ERO may sort on any of the columns.This is an important consideration that is extremely helpful in doing bookkeeping and the like.

The ERO view will list all returns from all users, with their status shown in either the US e-file column, the State e-file column, or the Stage column. For those returns that have been completed and the e-file written the US e-file column will contain a “Ready” notation. Some returns will also be listed showing blanks in the first two columns, but with a notation in the Stage column indicating the status. After sorting to group all of the “Ready” returns together, the ERO is ready to “transmit,” which in this case is just notifying the CCH computers to begin processing those returns into the IRS e-file cycle. Note that only the ERO (or an alternate helper with SuperUser permissions) has the ability to process returns into this cycle, but not ReturnPreparer users. On-screen instructions are provided to walk one through all of these steps. Caution: If a return is edited then an efile must again be created, just like the desktop version.

At this point the process is identical to that of the desktop version. A DCR is prepared and shown, with an option to print it. Assuming it is o.k. the ERO then clicks “continue,” which authorizes final submittal of those returns for eventual transmittal to the IRS.

After the usual wait time one can then query the system for an updated status by clicking on “Active Returns”. From the above view one can see that four returns that have been accepted by the IRS but are awaiting state acknowledgments. Once these four returns have received state ACKs, they will be automatically transferred to the Accepted view. The “All Returns” view will always show which returns are in the system as well as their status.

This view also shows that two returns have been sent but have not yet been accepted by the IRS. In the Stage column it also shows three returns that are being held for additional information. If, for example, one of the returns that have been sent is subsequently rejected, that fact will be evident when the acknowledgments are received and that return will also then show in the Rejected view as well.

An ERO can ascertain the status of any return that has been opened into TaxWise and that is marked as an e-file. Those marked as paper returns by the counselor will be listed in the Paper view. Good Counselor discipline will identify returns that don’t have a signed 8879 as a Hold, either by marking the return stage or by supplying a short written reason to the ERO.

In this manner bookkeeping of returns which are to be e-filed is taken care of directly without any additional logs, which of course may still be used if desired. All returns to be e-filed will remain listed in the Active view until either accepted by the IRS and the State or converted to a paper return or just deleted.

The other two columns mentioned above that are not shown provide additional important information. The Date Edited column provides useful information to help identify returns which have been waiting for additional information and the User Name column identifies the user who prepared the return.

Accepted Returns Viewcan provide a listing of all returns that have been accepted during the season, each screen displaying about 20 returns. Clicking on the View Acks” icon gives one an option of archiving returns, which are still available for viewing if required. Note that one must input the date range desired in order to display the correct list of returns.

However if one is looking for a specific return then the Search Returns tool should be used. By typing in a few characters such as the last name or a partial SSN the program will then find and display that individual return on the following screen so it can be opened for viewing or for preparing an amendment for example.

An alternate and perhaps better view of the ACKS is to click on the View Acks icon. You may view either recent ACKS, such as just after downloading recent returns, or you may view ACKS for any specific date range as well as print them out if you wish. To aid with bookkeeping one can also archive recent ACKS to clean up the display. Note however that archived returns are still available for retrieval and review. The below partial listing is from the Archive Folder, sorted on the Name. Again the SSN has been omitted as has the date of the acceptance and the DCN number associated with each return. These are all displayed in the original version and any field may be sorted of course.

Rejects View is illustrated below. In the example shown the Rejected display has already been clicked on, resulting in the short info box shown. One then must click on “more info” and another screen (not shown) in order to actually view the reject reasons, etc. This process is a bit awkward, but works.

Client Letters may be prepared however in earlier versions of TWO they suffer from several disadvantages when compared to the Desk Top version. The primary disadvantage is that they do not have the capability of displaying the state information. Also the field selection choices are much more limited than in the desktop version. (We have not yet seen the choices in the 2009 filing season software.)

In addition, the existing client letter format requires one to prepare different versions of the client letter for refunds, payment due, or others. Lastly, one cannot include the client letter in the print packages. This requires the counselor to the proper client letter from the listing and print it separately from the tax return.

AARP Tax-Aide National Technology Committee Page 1 of 9