Tech News: H&R Block now offers AI tax assistance for customers

H&R Block offer AI tax assistance

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Tax preparation and financial services firm H&R Block released its H&R Block AI Tax Assist solution, trained on the expertise and experience of H&R Block professionals. The new software can provide information on tax forms, deductions and credits. It guides individuals through questions as they prepare and file their taxes. It answers tax theory questions and offer navigation instructions when needed. The technology can answer free-form tax-related questions, providing dynamic responses that clarify tax terms and give guidance on specific tax rules or general information about the U.S. and state tax system. The system can also answer questions about the Tax Code, and recently changed laws and tax policies. In addition to AI Tax Assist providing guidance on specific tax rules, it can also answer questions about which H&R Block DIY product is best for each filing situation to aid individuals filing returns. The company offers several options for DIYers to file online, plus H&R Block AI Tax Assist and Live Tax Pro support are included at no extra charge when you file with H&R Block Deluxe, Premium or Self-Employed Online Editions.

StanfordTax adds AI to client organizers

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Tax solutions provider StanfordTax has developed a solution to create tax organizers for accountants and tax professionals using AI. The technology consolidates data from 30-plus tax source documents, including 1099s, W-2s, K-1s and others, then integrates with all major tax software to complete and send the client organizer. StanfordTax enables accounting and tax firms to generate personalized client organizers based on prior-year information for 1040s 1120s, 1120S's, 1065s and more. The software connects with tax platforms including ProSystem fx, ProSeries, UltraTax, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, Drake and ATX. Once a client submits their info and documents, StanfordTax generates an organized workpaper. Documents are automatically categorized and workpapers are bookmarked and ordered so documents can be found. Client responses are automatically organized and every workpaper comes with an organizer that includes all responses provided by the client. The platform then generates a personalized questionnaire for each client, including prior-year numbers, document checklists and more. An overview video of Stanford Tax can be viewed here.

Bill enhances customization options, budget organization, user experience

Payment solutions provider Bill (formerly Bill.com), announced new features for its Bill Spend & Expense solution, formerly known as Divvy. Some of the new features enhance customization abilities. Users can adjust spending limits based on business needs or maintain continued spending with a buffer; implement spending policies for enforcement and compliance; create sequential or non-sequential approval flows involving key personnel; and control overspending to avoid unwanted card declines, or forgo budget limits and only get declines when a credit limit is reached. There are also new organization features. Users can view budgets together and gain real-time visibility about spend across the organization, organize multiple budgets with the new budget groups feature, and delegate budget management responsibilities to group owners without having to give up control.

Melio launches real-time payment solution

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B2B solutions company Melio introduced real-time payments, which provides payors with the option to deliver funds instantly to their vendors. Compared to ACH transfers — which have strict timeframe restrictions and can take up to three business days to process — Melio's real-time payments feature, supported by J.P. Morgan Payments, can process payments within seconds, even on weekends and bank holidays. Real-time payments can currently support approximately 60 to 70% of U.S. domestic B2B transactions, and with the recent launch of the Federal Reserve's FedNow instant payments infrastructure many more banks are expected to support this capability. Melio supports both the Clearing House's real-time payments network as well as the FedNow network.

LeaseCrunch to offer webinar on ASC 842

Lease accounting software provider LeaseCrunch announced an upcoming webinar, "ASC 842 Lease Management: Navigating Beyond Compliance." The webinar will take place on Dec. 19 at 1:00 p.m. CST and will provide participants with the knowledge and tools necessary to navigate the ongoing complexities of lease management successfully. The webinar will cover topics such as understanding how to handle remeasurements and modifications under ASC 842 for effective lease portfolio management; optimized decision-making for informed approaches or at least considerations pre- and post-ASC 842 for optimizing agreements and compliance; and frequently asked questions for streamlined compliance and operational implementation. Learn more at this link.

Partnerships and integrations

Bloomberg Tax & Accounting said that Riveron, a national business advisory firm, is the newest member of the Bloomberg Tax Certified Implementer Program. CIP members support clients' successful use of Bloomberg Tax software by optimizing each solution to fit individual clients' structure and needs. As a Bloomberg Tax Certified Implementer, Riveron will support clients by optimizing and implementing Bloomberg Tax Provision and Bloomberg Tax Workpapers to maximize efficiency across a range of corporate tax functions. … Online accounting software provider Patriot Software said that accounting customers can now accept credit card payments on customer invoices via a partnership with financial infrastructure platform Stripe. Accounting customers can connect their Stripe account or onboard with Stripe directly in Patriot's accounting software. With Stripe, customers can invoice through Patriot Software's accounting software and be paid via credit card. … Big Four firm EY has partnered with credit rating and analysis company Moody's. The alliance brings together EY teams' consulting capabilities with Moody's Analytics tools, models and data across risk domains. … Payment app Expensify announced a new integration with Booking.com for Business. The integration lets business travelers automatically upload travel receipts from Booking.com for Business directly into Expensify at the time of booking. … AR solutions company Versapay said that Yantra, a management and technology consulting firm offering enterprise and financial systems including NetSuite, Salesforce and other Oracle Fusion services, has been named a Versapay Premier Partner. As a Premier Partner, Yantra will have top-tier support from Versapay to streamline digital payment adoption. Along with that support, Yantra gains access to Versapay's products and resources that include custom marketing programs, and designated support through the sales, implementation and ongoing customer experience. … ZenLedger, a blockchain data and tax solutions company, announced a partnership with fintech company April to launch the first end-to-end tax filing experience in the crypto industry. Integrating with April, an IRS-authorized e-file provider, brings tax aggregation, optimization and filing into a single platform for managing and filing taxes for cryptocurrency and digital asset traders.

Tech News: H&R Block offers AI tax assistance