Get Organized in Time for Tax Day with These Document Management Tips

Epson Offers Best Practices for Small Office, Home Office and SMB Tax Day Preparation

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Mar 26, 2019, 03:01 ET

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Tax Day 2019 is fast-approaching. Whether you are still scrambling to get your documents together for your personal taxes, managing an accounting firm or running a small business and need to prepare your business or clients' expenses, it's not too late to assemble everything you need for filing without the hassle.

The IRS recommends retaining a summary of business transactions throughout the year including gross income, deductions and credits, which means stacks of paperwork and receipts can easily pile up. But once you have these important documents identified, what is the best strategy for storing, safekeeping and easy accessibility? By the time April 15 rolls around, you will be ready to handle your business' expenses or sit down with your tax preparer after following these three recommended steps from Epson:

1. Organize and File Your Hard Copies
Avoid a last-minute scramble by arranging a bookkeeping or physical filing system. Instead of placing records and documents into the nearest folder or drawer, keep all your supporting business documents, including receipts, purchases, expenses, assets, tax records, and more, in a file management system. For easy identification, sort by category or type of document and in chronological order. Following a single, consistent method for sorting your files can help save significant time and easily locate important files.

2. Digitize Documents for Easy Accessibility
The next step is to create a digital filing system that mirrors your physical filing and bookkeeping system, ensuring critical information is safe on your system and easily accessible by the right users. Another benefit of scanning and digitizing documents is creating backup records, in case anything might happen to your physical files. With advanced tax and document scanning software, it's no longer a daunting task to convert bundles of physical records into digital files. Utilizing intuitive accounting and document management software, such as Epson's ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software¹, can simplify and streamline the process of uploading, organizing, and sharing receipts, financial documents, and more.

3. Invest in the Right Document Management Equipment
Whether juggling multiple deadlines for clients or preparing individual taxes, speed and ease-of-use are paramount. When it comes to organizing, filing, digitizing, and accessing your document database, a reliable receipt scanner is needed to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Boasting fast speeds, feature-rich software and powerful receipt management functionality, Epson's quality portfolio of receipt scanners includes four models to suit your individual budget and scanning needs. Epson's most popular model, the WorkForce^® ES-500WR wireless receipt scanner, is designed specifically for small business and home users and comes equipped with Epson's ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software¹ to streamline the process of organizing and sharing documents, receipts and finances.

"One of the most daunting tasks associated with Tax Day preparation, for home and business owners alike, is accounting data entry," said Sean Gunduz, group product manager, Scanners, Epson America. "Epson designed scanning solutions like the ES-500WR, equipped with ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software¹, which allows for automatic file naming and receipt recognition to address this pain point. Helpful tools like these can significantly simplify this tedious task, ultimately helping to ensure all appropriate documents are organized, accounted for and shared with the IRS by the tax deadline."

Epson's receipt manager function can automatically extract data from receipts and export to QuickBooks^®, TurboTax, Quicken, and Excel, saving significant time. In addition, Epson's automatic file naming and receipt recognition tool, with machine-learning capabilities, identifies important data such as vendor names and logos, and streamlines the process of storing and finding critical data and documents².

With speeds up to 35 ppm/70 ipm³ and a 50-page Auto Document Feeder, the ES-500WR breezes through stacks of documents, business and ID cards, extra-long invoices, and more. Wirelessly scan 2-sided reports, business cards and receipts to laptops, tablets and smartphones, and easily scan to cloud storage accounts, or to searchable PDFs and editable Word and Excel^® files⁴. Also equipped with a TWAIN driver, the ES-500WR allows for simple integration with virtually any document management software, enhancing existing business workflows.

For more information on Epson document and receipt scanning solutions, please visit https://epson.com/receipt-scanners.

About Epson
Epson is a global technology leader dedicated to connecting people, things and information with its original efficient, compact and precision technologies. With a lineup that ranges from inkjet printers and digital printing systems to 3LCD projectors, watches and industrial robots, the company is focused on driving innovations and exceeding customer expectations in inkjet, visual communications, wearables and robotics.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 81,000 employees in 85 companies around the world, and is proud of its contributions to the communities in which it operates and its ongoing efforts to reduce environmental impacts.

Epson America, Inc., based in Long Beach, Calif., is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/EpsonAmerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

1 Epson ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software supports Windows 10 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 8/8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) SP1 and Mac OS X^® 10.11.x to macOS^® 10.13.x.
2 Requires Epson ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software. Not available for iOS® or Android™ mobile devices.
3 Based on letter-sized scans at 300 dpi in Black-and-White, Grayscale or Color Mode, using the USB interface.
4 Wirelessly scan to smartphones or tablets (Android/iOS devices) via the Epson DocumentScan App; wirelessly scan to the cloud, PCs or Macs with Epson ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software installed on the connected Windows PC or Mac. Epson ScanSmart Accounting Edition Software supports Windows 10 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 8/8.1 (32-bit, 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) SP1 and Mac OS X 10.11.x to macOS 10.13.x.

EPSON and WorkForce are registered trademarks and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Mac, macOS and OS X are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android and Google Drive are trademarks of Google LLC. Excel and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other product brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2019 Epson America, Inc.

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.