How Topco Cut Tax Rate Update Time by 85% and Uncovered New Financial Savings
Solution: Form generation, Data transformation
The company
Topco Associates LLC, a group purchasing organization with a supply and distribution Fuel Program, files a total of 72 monthly returns in 32 states. A dedicated team of three accountants oversee all accounting and tax operations for this Fuel Program.
The challenge
As Topco expanded into new jurisdictions, their tax software wasn’t cutting it.
“Some returns couldn’t be implemented so we were doing about 25 motor fuel returns manually, manipulating data from original source to final returns,” said Troy LaPorte, Accounting Manager at Topco.
The third-party software also didn’t have the functionality to notify the team of tax rate updates, causing inefficiency and increasing compliance risks.
“We had to do our due diligence and go to each state website and make phone calls to the jurisdictions to confirm rates on our own,” said LaPorte. “Unfortunately, during COVID, we missed some of those changes, which caused a ruckus here.”
“Something needed to change,” said LaPorte. “We needed a complete revamp.”
The solution
Topco began exploring tax software vendors with a clear focus on achieving four key objectives:
1. Comprehensive Automated Fuel Tax Return Generation
“The number one thing was tax filing capability,” said LaPorte. “We knew there was a system out there that could implement every return.”
2. Automatically Updated Fuel Tax Rates
“Even though there are heavy rates changes only twice a year, it still put a damper on our time because of all the research and calling jurisdictions,” said LaPorte.
3. Seamless Integration With SAP
“The third thing was SAP compatibility,” said LaPorte. “Being able to take our data and implement it into their software seamlessly was important.”
4. Software Return on Investment
“The last one was key to our upper management’s approval and focus, which was the return on investment,” said LaPorte. “The less manual work we have to do, the more time we gain back to do other tasks that we couldn’t get to.”
ComplyIQ by IGEN checked all the right boxes, empowering Topco’s tax team to accelerate digital transformation.
By partnering with IGEN, Topco boosted tax return automation by 188%, replacing 25 manual filings with 72 fully automated returns. Topco also gained a powerful data engine to streamline tax prep and filing, automatic monthly tax rate updates managed by IGEN’s experts, seamless SAP integration, and an industry-leading ROI with the fastest time to value.
Client-Powered Onboarding
Topco faced a tight deadline of just eight weeks to onboard all their returns before they lost access to their existing provider. To meet the challenge, Topco chose a Client-Powered Onboarding program. IGEN implemented the first half of Topco’s returns while training Topco’s tax team to become super users. They were able to implement the last half of their returns themselves.
“It was great because we got full exposure of how to implement everything from the start,” said LaPorte. “We could not have done this without Peder, IGEN’s Onboarding Specialist Lead, and we had him on site here at our office for a few days, which was terrific.”
Beyond meeting deadlines, this collaboration equipped Topco with the skills and confidence to take control of their system. As super users, Topco built lasting expertise and self-sufficiency for future growth.
The results
“I didn’t believe it at first, but returns are truly generated with two or three clicks, reducing our manual work,” said LaPorte. “ Tax filing used to take us eight business days and with ComplyIQ we take about five days and are on our way to minimizing that to three business days.”
“I also could not have done this without my team that picked up the process and training very quickly, our entire collaboration on this was a big key to our success,” said LaPorte.
ComplyIQ’s powerful data engine also identified previously overlooked discounts, securing a valuable discount on the Louisiana DEQ return when filed through ComplyIQ.
“IGEN has a smart enough system here that it realized we qualified for a discount if we filed on time, which was not being applied through our old tax software,” said LaPorte. “We are still in the works of recouping the last eight years of this, if possible.”
With their forms automatically generated, the team can dedicate more time to critical tasks like reconciliation, ensuring all gallons and liabilities are properly accounted for, and managing key accounting projects. These time savings enable them to take a more strategic, value-driven role within the business.
“Once we get down to about 3 business days’ worth of filings, we can get exposed to more areas of accounting that we normally don’t see,” said LaPorte. “This means we can get more exposure and more integrated in the company’s overall accounting operations.”
Topco’s Tax Team:
- Boosted tax return automation by 188%, replacing 25 manual filings with 72 fully automated returns.
- Implemented 36 of the 72 total completed returns in just two months with Client-Powered Onboarding.
- Cut Tax Rate Update Time by 85% by eliminating manual research, reducing the process from seven days to just one day with accurate, up-to-date tax rates delivered ahead of deadlines.
- Decreased time-to-file by 37% from their previous automation software provider.
- Gained financial savings from previously overlooked discount.
Automate Tax Compliance
Help your business do tax compliance right, with ComplyIQ by IGEN. Talk to an expert today.