ONESOURCE Review
Best Tax Software for Enterprises
If you are at the head of a large enough company that international taxes and enterprise-level solutions are more your speed, you know things can get exponentially complicated. Rather than relying on the same tax filing solutions that individuals and small businesses use every year, your business needs a more expansive set of tools to ensure your taxes are aboveboard.
ONESOURCE
The Verdict
Corporate taxes are a complex beast to tame, but Thomson Reuters' ONESOURCE helps larger companies wade through international tax law with tools to help navigate complex workflows that automatically get audited by its built-in manager to ensure accuracy.
If that sounds like your situation, we recommend Thomson Reuters' ONESOURCE online tax software. Throughout our extensive review period, ONESOURCE stood out as the best solution for companies that need help with corporate tax preparation.
To learn more about how we chose ONESOURCE, you can read our methodology on our best picks page.
Why ONESOURCE?
The ONESOURCE tax software is designed to handle the needs of large companies, including those that do business internationally and have incredibly complex tax situations. Small business owners and entrepreneurs would likely find that this software's capabilities exceed their needs and would be better served by one of our other best picks.
For midsize corporations and larger businesses, ONESOURCE is a comprehensive solution that can be tailored to fit your tax needs. Since it is customizable, with many features available as add-ons to the base program, you will have to speak with a sales representative to determine how much ONESOURCE will cost your business.
Interface and Usability
Once you've selected all the relevant add-ons for your company's situation are selected and you're ready to start filing your taxes, you will notice that ONESOURCE's central dashboard is well organized. The main screen contains applications such as Corporate Tax, Accounting and Compliance, and Uncertain Tax Positions, which you can access to view different aspects of the tax filing process. Each application shares the information you upload with the other modules to eliminate repetitive data entry. Some applications focus on income tax, while others target indirect taxes or foreign taxes.
Many other tax compliance and reporting applications can integrate with the ONESOURCE dashboard as well. For international companies, ONESOURCE includes integrations that maintain rules for over 180 different countries.
The benefit of ONESOURCE's modular design is its scalability. If you're a midsize domestic corporation considering growth beyond the country's borders, you can use the ONESOURCE Corporate Tax application now and expand to include international capabilities whenever you're ready. We focused on ONESOURCE Corporate Tax for our review, but this module works in concert with the other available apps and shares data with them easily.
Features
In addition to supporting federal and state tax returns, Thomson Reuters' corporate tax platform comes with features to easily organize and share data. These are some of the features ONESOURCE includes:
- Web-based platform: ONESOURCE is a completely web-based application with support for multiple users to access it from different devices. This makes it ideal for a corporate tax department that has many employees working on compliance and reporting. It is also secured with high-level encryption to protect your information.
- Foreign expertise: ONESOURCE incorporates state, federal and international tax compliance rules, so no matter where your business takes you, it has you covered.
- E-filing: Like our other best picks, ONESOURCE lets you electronically file your taxes with the appropriate agencies through an encrypted channel. It supports state, federal and international tax obligations.
- One-time data entry: ONESOURCE shares data you've input throughout the system with all the appropriate applications, so you only need to import your information once.
- Excel workflows: You can import data from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets directly into ONESOURCE.
- Audit manager: In case your company is audited, ONESOURCE has a built-in audit manager to help you navigate the process. IRS scrutiny of your books is never an easy process, but ONESOURCE's audit manager includes helpful tools and recommendations.
- Process management: The workflow and process management features are essential when several members of your team are working in the software simultaneously.
Accuracy
Corporations and small businesses alike need to ensure 100% accuracy with their annual tax returns. ONESOURCE emphasizes accuracy in its filings by combining up-to-date tax laws and global rates for both direct and indirect taxes. The program also employs powerful analytic software that reviews your filings to make sure they are correct, and ONESOURCE's reporting tools keep you abreast of the entire process.
It would be hard to find more comprehensive corporate tax software than ONESOURCE. While it could be intimidating for the average user to navigate at times, its broad applications are a big benefit when used to their fullest. The more sprawling and complex your business, the easier it is to run into a tax snag, and ONESOURCE does a good job of mitigating that risk.
Customer Service
Posing as a business interested in ONESOURCE, we had a positive experience with Thomson Reuters' customer service. There was some waiting involved, but once we were connected, we spoke with an accommodating and knowledgeable customer service representative who took the time to explain numerous aspects of the ONESOURCE platform.
While online support for ONESOURCE is available 24/7 through web chat, instructional videos and online message boards, customer service by phone is only available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST on weekdays. Phone support is also available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on certain Saturdays and Sundays, which are listed on the company site.
Limitations
It's already been said in this review, but it bears repeating: If you are a small business owner looking to file simple business taxes, ONESOURCE is not really geared toward your needs. It's built to handle midsize businesses and up, so it could just complicate your filing process if your needs are more basic. This software focuses on complex tax needs and works best within a corporate tax department. Also, since ONESOURCE is enterprise software, it would cost you significantly more than an online tax platform with a small business plan.
Ready to choose your online tax software application? Here's a breakdown of the rest of our coverage:
ONESOURCE
The Verdict
Corporate taxes are a complex beast to tame, but Thomson Reuters' ONESOURCE helps larger companies wade through international tax law with tools to help navigate complex workflows that automatically get audited by its built-in manager to ensure accuracy.