The State of Hawaii’s tax return processing solution, which integrates FileNet, IBML scanners and Datacap Taskmaster, substantially increased efficiency and dramatically improved the Department of Taxation’s customer service response time.
The ChallengeThe Hawaii Department of Taxation (DOTAX) serves 1.2 million residents with four tax centers, located on the islands of O`ahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii. These four locations process more than a million returns a year in the tropical paradise known for its white sand beaches, magnificent waterfalls, active volcanoes, and lush green golf courses. |
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As a tax department subject to the annual schedules for tax
filing, DOTAX experiences an ebb and flow of activity throughout the tax year,
with the highest volume of processing from March through May. Hawaii has the
added logistical challenge of tax centers located on four different islands
scattered across hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean.
Prior to implementation of the automated recognition and data
correction system in 2006, significant contractual staffing was required to
manually key data during the peak tax filing seasons. DOTAX
tax returns were hand stamped with the Document Locator Number (DLN), manually
keyed via double-blind data entry, requiring two passes of manual data entry to
achieve an adequate level of accuracy, and then sent for filing to a paper
storage warehouse on O`ahu.
This labor-intensive processing resulted in prolonged intervals
between submitting a return and receiving a refund, a key metric for taxpayer
satisfaction. Additional customer service hurdles were faced by the Taxpayer
Services Branch of DOTAX, responsible for resolving taxpayer questions and
error resolution issues. Inquiries would often involve a time-consuming search
and manual retrieval for the paper tax return from the storage facility on
O`ahu. Waiting times as long as a week for document retrieval were not unusual
and longer for the neighbor island offices, depending on the location of the
document.
DOTAX
set out aggressive goals for their automation project: they wanted to trim
costs, reduce the need for temporary manual labor, accelerate processing time and
expedite customer service.The Hawaii
Department of Taxation (DOTAX) serves 1.2 million residents with four tax
centers, located on the islands of O`ahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii. These four
locations process more than a million returns a year in the tropical paradise
known for its white sand beaches, magnificent waterfalls, active volcanoes, and
lush green golf courses.
As a tax department subject to the annual schedules for tax
filing, DOTAX experiences an ebb and flow of activity throughout the tax year,
with the highest volume of processing from March through May. Hawaii has the
added logistical challenge of tax centers located on four different islands
scattered across hundreds of miles of the Pacific Ocean.
Prior to implementation of the automated recognition and data
correction system in 2006, significant contractual staffing was required to
manually key data during the peak tax filing seasons. DOTAX
tax returns were hand stamped with the Document Locator Number (DLN), manually
keyed via double-blind data entry, requiring two passes of manual data entry to
achieve an adequate level of accuracy, and then sent for filing to a paper
storage warehouse on O`ahu.
This labor-intensive processing resulted in prolonged intervals
between submitting a return and receiving a refund, a key metric for taxpayer
satisfaction. Additional customer service hurdles were faced by the Taxpayer
Services Branch of DOTAX, responsible for resolving taxpayer questions and
error resolution issues. Inquiries would often involve a time-consuming search
and manual retrieval for the paper tax return from the storage facility on
O`ahu. Waiting times as long as a week for document retrieval were not unusual
and longer for the neighbor island offices, depending on the location of the
document.
DOTAX set out aggressive goals for their automation project: they wanted to trim costs, reduce the need for temporary manual labor, accelerate processing time and expedite customer service.
DOTAX engaged Virginia-based system integrator CGI-AMS. The
eighth largest IT consulting firm in the world, CGI has a strong track record
in state government tax and revenue implementations, most recently with a
highly successful implementation at the Virginia Department of Taxation.
Robert Tross, Senior Consultant for CGI-AMS, had previously
helped DOTAX implement a high-volume scanning solution including IBML ImageTrac
scanners and identified a need to reduce the volume of paper and speed
processing time. “We spent five years redesigning and implementing an entirely
new tax system for DOTAX. During the installation of our Advantage Revenue
system, we identified a need to start reducing the volume of paper,” said
Robert.
CGI-AMS recommended an ECM solution integrating Datacap
Taskmaster, FileNet Content Manager and IBML high volume scanners. CGI-AMS
proposed Taskmaster for the State of Hawaii because of its seamless, proven
integration with FileNet, intuitive user interface, rules-based flexibility and
the advanced administrative queuing and indexing controls.
In test preparation for the 2006 tax year, DOTAX began scanning
two prior years of tax returns into FileNet starting in August 2005. Taskmaster
easily retrieved and matched past returns based on the stamped DLN from prior
years.
With the successful back scan test, DOTAX was ready to begin a
phased rollout for the 2006 tax season. In 2006, over 1 million returns were
processed with the new solution, with approximately 2.3 million recognizable
pages and attachments. Implementation will continue to roll out over the next
year, but DOTAX is already seeing substantial return on their investment. For
example, the productivity in processing business tax forms has increased
three-fold.
DOTAX uses a number of
Taskmaster’s unique features to realize this productivity. Taskmaster’s Paper Grey fonts, used in
the redesigned tax forms, allow for easier dropout of the form outline in the
document image and enhance the hand-print recognition.
In setting up the system, CGI-AMS used Datacap Reusable Rules to
build a workflow that meets DOTAX requirements for the proper division of
labor. For example, when Datacap validation rules discover a tax payer error -
either through a failed math check, look-up or cross-field validation the
return is routed to one class of operator, however, if the recognition
confidence requirements are not met, it is routed to another operator with a
lower job classification – helping to save DOTAX labor dollars. “Datacap Rules
significantly reduced the time required to configure the system and allowed for
maximum system flexibility,” added Bob.
The captured information is simultaneously routed to the Advantage Revenue System for processing, as well as combined with the tax form document image as index values and delivered to FileNet for easy retrieval.
In its first year of use, the solution has already achieved
DOTAX’s goals. Contractual labor costs decreased significantly for documents
that are now being data captured, which has allowed our contractual workers to
focus on documents that are not being data captured. As a result of the
efficiencies, only 9 of the 27 legacy Unisys data entry terminals are now used.
Taskmaster was designed to help DOTAX handle the extreme demands of peak
season. With recognition servers running overnight, Taskmaster now can process
close to 10,000 returns in an eight hours shift. Previously, manual data entry
operators were limited to a mere 50 returns an hour with the double-blind
manual keying method. The DLN is imprinted on the forms automatically by the
IBML scanner and captured as an index value by Taskmaster for easier retrieval
in the FileNet system. This has reduced paper storage and retrieval costs by
50% and ensured that all data is backed up properly.
In addition to faster data entry, DOTAX employees now can access tax return information in FileNet in seconds as opposed to hours, as they no longer need to wait for retrieval and neighbor island offices now have the same retrieval capabilities as those working within the main O`ahu office. Now inquiries can be answered during the initial call, making a huge difference to customer support. “This solution has increased efficiency and customer satisfaction while reducing cost,” added Joan M. Bolte, Taxation Services Administrator, Tax Services Processing Division, State of Hawaii - Department of Taxation.