[0:06]Good afternoon and welcome to our webinar this afternoon. Um, we are so pleased to have all of you join us. We have a lot of you coming in from the waiting room right now, so we'll give everyone an opportunity that is waiting to join the webinar. So, we're going to get started just a second. It looks like there's a good number of you joining us, so again, welcome. We're so happy to have you. All right, still looks like we have somebody some of you coming in. We'll get started in just a second. Okay, great. Well, I think it looks like most of you who are waiting in the waiting room have made it, and I want to start right at the top of the hour since we have 2:00 here on the East Coast and, um, so, and just I want to say welcome to everyone and we are so excited that you have joined us today. My name is Amanda Watson, and I'm really excited to welcome you to this session today as we introduce you to Drake Tax Online, which is Drake Software's cloud-based solution that we have designed specifically for tax professionals like you. And I know that those of you joining us today, some of you may be Drake customers, some of you may be exploring Drake for the first time, and no matter who you are, you're in the right place today with us and we're so excited to have you. So, before we start, I have just a few housekeeping items just so that everyone understands and can know what's going on today. Um, again, my name is Amanda, and I'm going to be hosting the webinar. I have some guest, um, that I'll introduce in just a moment, but first I wanted to tell you that in the Zoom tool, if you have any questions, you will be able to ask those questions today using the question and answer or Q&A panel. Right inside the Zoom tool, you should be able to click on Q&A and type your question there. Due to the structure of our webinar, we don't have any, um, live questions as I've spoken, I should say, but we'll be happy to answer your questions live in that Q&A. We do also have a webinar chat available, where you can find information, if we have any links to share with you, we'll be sure and enter that today. In about a week, you're going to get an email from us, no excuse me, maybe it's 24 hours. I should have said 24 hours. You're going to get an email with us, I'm so sorry, with an on-demand version of this presentation, so you will be able to view it at a later time. And with that, um, I would love to introduce you to one of our guests today, one of our panelists, Chris. Chris, introduce yourself to us. Hi, hi, everybody. Thank thank you so much for joining us today. My name is Chris Sabby, I'm a product manager with Drake Software. I've worked with Drake for almost 13 years now. Um, the time has flown by, and my area of focus has been with our online tax products. Um, and and I'm really excited to be here talking to this group today about Drake Tax Online. So, back to you, Amanda. Thanks, and I just a little bit about myself. I feel like I know everyone who uses Drake, but that's probably impossible. Um, my name is Amanda Watson, and I've been at Drake for a really long time, I would say, since 2003, so 22 years, perhaps. So, I have been a part of this this organization for a long time, and I'm really excited to, um, be here with you guys today. It's always one of my, um, most enjoyable parts of my job is working with Drake customers, like all of you, and even some of you who may be considering Drake. All right, so, um, again, if you're just joining us, I see a few people came in after we got started, if you have a question, any questions, use the Q&A panel, um, and we'll be glad to get to those throughout the presentation today. And just a couple of other things, if you're interested in learning more about Drake Software or obtaining any CPE that you may need. We have Business Success webinars generally almost every week, and you can find out more about those, um, on our website, you can sign up and register for those. Those are, of course, no cost for those. We also have a website that may be interesting to you, DrakeCPE.com, and DrakeCPE.com is a place where you can earn CPE credit by taking various tax courses. We have webinars, on-demand training, and self-study courses, so you can get the CPE you need while learning more, especially in a year like this and where we have tax law changes, um, so you can learn at your own pace. And for Drake customers, we also have in-person, I mean, live in a classroom, um, or virtual classroom training, all about Drake Tax and the the software, and all of our, um, supporting products and services, like Drake Portals, for example. We have a class just for Drake Portals. So, if you're interested in any of these opportunities, we'd love to have you, and you can learn more at our website, DrakeSoftware.com, and I think that there are some additional links again in the chat for you to learn more. So, again, today, we're we're really excited to to introduce you to Drake Tax Online. And Chris and I both introduced ourselves. We'd like to learn a little bit more about you. So, during the course of today's presentation, we will have some poll questions that we'd love to hear from you. So, the first question we have for you, the first poll is, are you a Drake Software customer? We'd love to know, um, if you're a Drake Software customer, it helps us know who we're talking to today. So, um, just take a moment and answer that poll, and that is, um, very helpful to us.
[6:49]So, um, and then, um, as we jump into our presentation, I have one more question after that, which would be our second poll question. Because not only do we want to know if you're a Drake Software customer, we want to know what you're hoping to get, what your goal is for today. What, why are you joining us? Are you a Drake customer hoping to learn more about this, um, um, this program, the Drake Tax Online platform, or are you just evaluating a new tax software, um, program for the upcoming year? So that second poll question will be, um, launched in just a moment. Um, thank you for for, um, answering that so we can know more about you who who's here today. So, um, I noticed that a lot of you are already, um, dropping in some Q&A and our questions, and some of those will get to in just a few moments. So, um, and there's no CPE courses for this course today. Just I wanted everyone to know that. Okay, so with that, let's get started because I know that you guys have a lot of questions, so hopefully we can answer some of your questions throughout our presentation today. So, for those of you who may not be familiar with Drake Software, I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you just a little bit about Drake Software and and why we're here and what we do. Drake Software has been serving tax professionals since 1977, and was built specifically by tax professionals for tax professionals. Our founder, Phil Drake, was working in a tax office with his family, and he saw a need, and he developed software to fill that need. And since that time, Drake Software has has had a reputation for reliability, performance, and exceptional customer service. And we built our platform and all of the enhancements we've made along the years have been with been with tax professionals in mind, which means, um, every feature and everything we do is centered around the professional and what would help you work more efficiently, more accurately, and of course, more confidently. Um, Drake Software has is an award-winning program that has won awards with the Journal of Accountancy, the NATP, and various prestigious industry organizations. We've found millions of returns every year, and we have been, um, been there for tax professionals for many years. So, I just wanted you to know a little bit about Drake Software. We have a long history in this space. And so, really what we're going to talk about today is Drake Tax Online. So I I'm sure you all came to learn more about that. So, first, let's talk about why we built Drake Tax Online. Why now, why an online product? Well, there are several aspects to offering an online tax product, and we know as tax professionals, one thing that you always rely upon is technology, and technology itself has evolved dramatically, especially if you just think about the last decade, for example. Technology has changed drastically and continues to change. And so, Drake Tax Online does address some of those technology changes. And one thing that's really important to consider is the way we work has changed, um, especially in the last five years, I would say, and it and it has been evolving that way even before, but after 2020, the way we worked changed for a lot of people. Remote teams are now very common, tax firms may employ remote workers, or need more flexibility about where and when you can work. Collaboration is really important, collaboration across devices, time zones, even communication tools. So, that is one reason that this product is really important. Um, another, another thing, well, let me just back up for a moment. And I I think about in the early days, or when I started at Drake in 2003, which may not be the early days. Um, we saw that a lot of tax work happened in a single office, with a single computer or a single network, and now we see that more flexibility is needed, um, that's no longer the reality for a lot of tax firms today, it's to have a central office. We see people working across locations, as I mentioned, with remote staff, and often juggling multiple tools, um, for communication, for access, and file sharing, and using a lot of different tools sometimes can become a little bit overwhelming. We also noticed that tax pros, or we know that tax pros, have a need for modern solutions today. Tax pros, like yourself, expect accessibility, mobility, and of course, a modern experience that will enable a a seamless collaboration, not only with your clients, but with the staff in your office, with one another. And we know that today that, um, software is really important. The tax prep process is really important, um, but we know that software has to do more than tax prep. It has to support how you actually work, which is why I've noted that workflow is essential. It's it's it's really important to how we conduct business today. And and it's the tax engine itself and the calculations and the forms, that's critical, of course, and we understand that. But we understand that also workflow is really important for you, and taking client documents to e-filing of returns to delivering tax documents to your taxpayers. All of those are essential parts of the tax prep process, and that you rely on a network of tools for access, communication, file sharing, and workflow these days is not a nice to have, it is essential. And so, with those things in mind, we have, um, we're introducing Drake Tax Online. And I want to make a few things, um, clear that I think there's a little bit of misconception as I've talked to people as we're introducing Drake Tax Online, is that Drake Tax Online is not a replacement. It is not a replacement for the Drake Tax desktop program. If you're using the Drake Tax desktop program or considering using it, that is really the cornerstone of our tax prep engine, and has been for many years. This is just an addition to our product family, so I want everyone to know, and I saw a question in the chat earlier, is this going to replace the desktop? No, absolutely not. This is not a replacement. This is just an additional offering for those professionals who may have a need that this product would meet. Second thing I want to make sure that everyone knows is that while Drake we're releasing Drake Tax Online right now, we've actually at Drake Software been supporting online tax prep for many years since 2008 to be specific. Um, we have a product or had a product historically called Web 1040, and Web 1040 was a web-based solution for only Web 1040, excuse me, for 1040 returns. And over the years, our clients have filed millions of personal returns using our Web 1040 product, and it it this is just we've added more features, and as Chris will show us in just a little bit, the addition of the capability to prepare some business returns online. So, we wanted to add that that capability. But I want you to know it's not a new product. We've had a web-based product for many, many years. So, what's new today is that we have more comprehensive offerings, and we are trying to always work for you and create a flexible experience for the professionals who may need a web-based product and the power of Drake Software in the cloud. So, I'm going to tell you about a few features, and then we're going to jump into a live demo. So you can see Drake Tax Online for yourself. Um, but before we do, I have another poll question that I'd love you guys to answer. I'd like to know, have you ever used a cloud-based tax platform before? And it's a simple yes or no, or maybe you're not sure. We'd love to hear from you to see what kind of experience you have, um, using a cloud-based tax platform, because it is a little different than a desktop. And again, if you missed it, we're not replacing our desktop program. Um, okay, that's great. Perfect. All right, so the first thing that we're going to talk about here is the ability to work from anywhere, and with Drake Tax Online, you don't have to install any software, there's no manual updates, there's no data backups for you to worry about managing, and you'll you'll also have a lot less need for IT support. And it's not a remote desktop type solution. It is a web-based solution. It works right in your web browser, and you can work from anywhere. You can work from home, if you're on vacation, if you still have work to do, but you want to travel, you can do that with Drake Tax Online. So, it's a very flexible solution. And someone mentioned in the chat here that this could also be a boon to seasonal employees, and I absolutely agree, especially for people working from home and remote. So, having that flexibility to be able to work wherever you are is a huge benefit to Drake Tax Online. Another thing that we're going to talk about and that's available on Drake Tax Online is customized workflows. Um, you know, we have a new guided workflow option for preparers who are new to tax preparation, and we also have direct data entry for people who are, um, seasoned preparers. And so, you can choose which of those options works best for you and in your office. And what that does is that enables multi-user collaboration. You can have multiple people working in the same return at the same time, without bumping one another out of the return. That's also a great thing about that. And when you have multi-user collaboration, that also enables real-time access. So, when one preparer is doing something, another preparer, or the reviewer is doing something in the return, you can see that in real time. And that's a huge benefit of Drake Tax Online. It also has integration with Drake Portals. And Drake Portals is our secure client portal system that we have, which is really great for securely exchanging documents with your clients. And it allows you to communicate with your clients directly from within the program. So, you don't have to download a PDF, send it out through a different program to your clients. You can communicate with your clients directly from Drake Tax Online. And that's really exciting. And we also have integration with Drake Pay. And Drake Pay is our processing system that we have, so you can invoice your clients directly from within the program. They can pay their invoice via credit card, again, without you having to change programs or anything like that. And that helps streamline your accounting process.
[20:53]And Drake Tax Online has a trusted tax engine. We've been doing this for 48 years. We are a pioneer in IRS e-file, we're an industry recognized leader. Tax professional focus. We have return diagnostics, and we have comprehensive federal and state forms. We also have resident and part-year state returns. And prior-year returns are available. So, that's really important to know because that's our core competency that we have. And that goes to the core of Drake's brand, is making sure that we have accurate calculation, reliable software, and trusted tax professionals. So, that is going to be consistent in Drake Tax Online. Our next thing here is that Drake Tax Online offers modern security. And that is our multi-factor authentication, secure 128-bit encryption, and continuous security enhancements. And security is always at the forefront of Drake's mind. It's always at the forefront of what we're working on, to make sure that our clients are our clients' data is secure. And we do use multi-factor authentication, which is what the IRS is requiring today. So, we're glad to be able to offer that with Drake Tax Online. So, that's just a few key features I wanted to tell you about that are very important to us. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you, Chris.
