CCH Revamps Tax Research Service

CCH has introduced IntelliConnect, the next generation of its widely used online information service, Tax Research NetWork.

IntelliConnect ties together the various elements of Tax Research NetWork and offers a more modern interface with tabbed browsing and a tri-screen view of tax research. The software relies on Microsoft’s FAST search engine to filter results. “You get right down to the answer you’re looking for,” said product management director Tanya Rose. Users can select particular states, countries and U.S. federal tax information when they do searches.

CCH created the new software after conducting interviews with more than 500 customers, she noted. The company listened to focus groups and did one-on-one observations of how customers were using its software. It plans to offer IntelliConnect in April to new customers and migrate existing customers beginning in May. Pricing will be the same as for TRN.

CCH also plans to take the software global and begin marketing it in Australia and Canada, as well as add multilingual capability. The company will later offer the IntelliConnect software with its line of legal and human resources products.

CCH product management director Sue Torgerson also told WebCPA about the company’s plans for future products, including version 4.0 of its Standalone SaaS Client, which will be available October 1. The software will integrate with ProSystem fx Tax and will have the ability to set expiration dates for document access.

A new product, WorkStream, can set up defined workflow processes within a firm. CCH also plans to introduce Knowledge Coach, an enhancement to its ProSystem fx Engagement product that will compete with CaseWare and PPC’s audit products. A “tips pane” in the software provides contextual guidance to users.

CCH’s upcoming Knowledge Management product captures knowledge from sources such as instant messages, e-mail and BlackBerry messages. Torgerson also talked about CCH's upcoming ProSystem fx Suite Roadmap, and the company’s plans to create a development kit that will allow outside developers to hook into the software. ProSystem fx will also include a more sophisticated correspondence manager for creating client communications, printing them and publishing them to a portal.

For more information, visit www.cchgroup.com.

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