Paper it s Everywhere

Transcription

1 Virginia TAX Streamlining Tax Return and Document Processing (or one agency s solution to handling all that paper!) FTA August 12, Paper it s Everywhere Incoming Tax Returns Supporting documentation Payments - Remittances Incoming Taxpayer Correspondence 2 1

2 And we can t just ignore it. 3 We have to process it..which means, we must. Pick it up from the Post Office Open it and sort it Route it to the appropriate work units Capture and post the return data Capture and post the payment information Deposit the checks Correct the errors. Issue the refund checks Read and respond to the taxpayers questions Store it and then later retrieve it.. 4 2

3 And that takes time + people + equipment + supplies + space = 5 And if we don t do it fast enough: Deposits don t get to the bank timely and the state loses interest earnings Refund checks are held up and incoming telephone calls and correspondence increase proportionately 6 3

4 The solution? Go electronic! And when that still doesn t eliminate all that paper. 7 Consider the advantages and benefits of An integrated image-based automated data capture and document management system 8 4

5 At VA TAX, We call it TACS A Total Automated Capture System 9 TACS Key Functions Tax Return Processing Manual Data Entry with backscanning for storage and retrieval Imaged-based, automated data capture using advanced recognition technologies Remittance & Return Processing image-based, using CAR/LAR Checks and full-sized returns separated upon receipt to ensure 24 hour deposit of all checks Coupon-sized returns processed via the Remittance system Document Management Front-end scanning of correspondence - integrated with Customer Relationship Management software (CRM) Backend scanning for storage and retrieval 10 5

6 The Objectives Improve data capture throughput and productivity - faster processing with less manual intervention Respond to taxpayer inquiries faster Deposit checks within 24 hours of receipt Issue 95% of refunds within 12 days of return receipt Minimize return & payment errors Develop knowledge workers Use resources effectively Minimize paper handoffs Minimize storage costs of paper 11 The Process - a High Level view Payments & Coupons Return & Payment data exported to Host Manual Data Entry Images committed to FileNet/ OSARS Correspondence, Backscanning, & Returns for automated processing Indexing of Backscanned returns & documents Indexing & Categorizing of Correspondence -CRM 12 6

7 Results - Automated Return Processing Approximately 1.8 million 760 Returns processed annually Data Capture Productivity & Throughput has increased significantly! Manual Data Capture = 34 returns per paid man-hour Automated Data Capture = 75+ returns per paid man-hour In % of refunds issued in 12 days or less In %+ of refunds issued in 12 days or less Significant decrease in staffing Storage Costs minimized Warehouse space has been decreased from 48,000 sq ft to 25,000 Central Files staff decreased - no more filing and pulling of paper returns! 13 Results - Remittance & Return Processing Data Capture Productivity & Throughput increased significantly: standard 8 day exception to 24 hour rule on April 15th decreased to 4 day exception - deposited $88 million more in April 2003 than April 2002 Coupon-sized returns keyed-from-image after daily deposit - no more transporting of coupon-sized returns to manual data entry plus no more re-keying of data already captured during check processing phase Images of all coupons and payments now available immediately following deposit Ability to search images using bank account information makes it easy to resolve posting problems Microfilm readers and printers no longer required - everyone with the appropriate security access can view check images from their desktop 14 7

8 Results - Document Management Inventory of incoming taxpayer correspondence decreased from 50K+ to less than 5K since January 2002 During peak periods, staff throughout agency can be allocated to work correspondence without any need to transport the paper documents Correspondence is scanned and categorized within 48 hours of receipt - and the images cannot be misplaced or misfiled! CRM provides statistical information for use by management Backscanning of returns and other documents has helped minimize warehouse space requirements Availability of imaged returns and other documents allows for quick response to taxpayer inquiries 15 Results - Other Information Over 5 million return and payment images stored since 2001 Telephone calls & correspondence way down for filing season 2003 (January 1st - May 15th) as compared to same period in ,306 fewer telephone calls (down 18%) 11,125 fewer letters (down 20%) Error inventory down to all time lows: Customer Services can resolve errors if taxpayer calls in because the return image is available Imaged returns easier to work - can be assigned based on error type, staff knowledge, and other priorities instead of by batch 16 8

9 Workflow Details Manual Data Entry Automated Return Processing Remittance & Return Processing Document Management Manual Return Processing All tax return types can be submitted by taxpayers using paper forms authorized by TAX Paper returns are dated, sorted, screened, and batched for data capture Data entry operators key the return data into a standalone data entry system called LifeWorks Keyed data is edited and key verified Verified data is formatted and uploaded to host system Returns are then backscanned and the images exported to FileNet Using a FileNet application, images are indexed and then stored storage devises are OSARS, Optical Storage and Retrieval 18 9

10 Manual Data Entry Returns delivered to data entry Return data manually keyed & verified LifeWorks Return data exported to Host Processed returns routed to IBML scanners Images committed to FileNet/ OSARS Images Indexed using FileNet application Payments to Remit TAX receives incoming returns Paper returns transported to destruction site 19 Automated Return Processing Image-based automated data capture system used to process current year resident individual income tax returns and schedules Returns are dated, sorted, screened, and batched specifically for scanning (all staples removed!) Returns are scanned using IBML ImageTrac II scanners The digital images are exported to Datacap software Datacap uses OCR, ICR, OMR, Barcode (standard & 2 dimensional), and pattern recognition technologies to capture return data Returns with 2D barcodes that fail to read are rerouted automatically to exact-positioning workflow Return images are committed to FileNet/OSAR 20 10

11 Automated Return Processing Return data exported to host system Returns delivered to scan operations Images exported to Datacap Automated & Operator assisted data capture processes Commit images to OSAR Payments to Remit TAX receives incoming returns Paper returns transported to destruction site 21 Automated Remittance & Data Capture System - Image-based automated remittance & data capture system used to process checks and coupon-sized returns and vouchers NCR itran transports scan the checks and coupons, creating images and separating the checks from the coupons. AFS software is used to process the checks and vouchers and balance the deposits After the checks and vouchers are balanced, the checks are re-processed through the NCR itrans for encoding and endorsement Remittance payment records are uploaded to the host system and images of the checks and vouchers are committed to FileNet Voucher-sized returns are routed to data entry key-from-image work queues following check processing Data entry operators key enter and verify the return data, which is then formatted and uploaded to the host system

12 Remit Processing An integrated remittance processing and key-from-image data capture system Checks and coupons are scanned Data entry operators assist automated recognition processes and perform keyfrom-image functions Checks are encoded, endorsed and then sent to bank for deposit Payments and voucher-size returns are prepared for processing Remittance and return data is uploaded to Host AFS TAX receives incoming payments and voucher-sized returns Images are committed to the OSAR 23 Document Management System Incoming Taxpayer Correspondence Centralized receiving unit opens, sorts and prepares incoming taxpayer correspondence for scanning Images of scanned documents are committed to FileNet/OSAR and notification sent to Siebel system Customer Service Representatives (CSR) working in Siebel system link images to taxpayer accounts and assign destination code for correspondence work queue CSRs access correspondence in work queues and prepare responses Document storage and retrieval Documents are prepared for scanning Images are committed to the OSAR Data Entry staff link images to taxpayer accounts 24 12

13 Document Management System Scan documents Images exported to OSAR Notification to Siebel Images linked to taxpayer accounts and work queue destination codes assigned Images linked to taxpayer accounts Host Scan Preparation Incoming correspondence and documents for archive Images viewed via Siebel work queues and Host accessed for customer history Responses mailed to taxpayers 25 Questions Lee Mikelson