There are some relatively minor obligations that still cause your credit union undue stress. One of those things is sending out credit union tax forms. It doesn’t move the needle strategically, but there’s a major time crunch.
Have you ever wondered if there were an easier way to stay on top of your member tax forms?
If you have, then fear not:
There are solutions out there. In fact, some solutions require no additional work on the part of your credit union or employees!
One solution in particular is a surefire way to make your way through all the red tape.
Essentially, all you have to do is stop worrying about your tax forms at all.
Give Up? How Does That Work?
Let’s be honest:
Staying on top of government-mandated forms is a tedious job at best. Most people would be thrilled to stop paying attention to it. Once you consider how many other member communications you also need to send, the whole situation starts getting complicated.
However, burying one’s head in the sand rarely actually accomplishes anything. Credit unions generate millions of member tax forms every year. You don’t want those piling up. So, instead of burying your head in the sand, try something else:
Have someone else do it.
Why Your Credit Union Should Outsource Its Tax Documents
Vendors can save you time, money, and headaches. They’re built for one purpose, and they handle it well. For example, XDI has an efficient and streamlined tax form production facility. It incorporates automated production and delivery strategies for critical member tax forms, including:
- Form 1042-S
- Form 1098
- Form 1099
- Form 5498
XDI’s XpressTax service also ensure absolute document integrity with accountability features. No more double-stuffs!
After a credit union indicates their needs, XDI gets to work. They take a credit union’s native data feeds and converts them into professionally-composed, accurate, and clean-looking statements.
Lastly, vendors know that you don’t want to lose control over the process. They send tax form proofs to your credit union for review and approval before final document generation.
Faithful Delivery of Tax Forms
So, if the process is highly automated with vendors, then how does your credit union know when tax forms are sent out? And, in what form can a vendor send forms?
Vendors like XDI typically send member tax forms via traditional U.S. Postal mail. They qualify for the lowest available rates and then pass that savings onto you. But that’s not the only way they can deliver member communications. They can also be securely uploaded as electronic documents for mobile and internet banking purposes.
(Plus, credit unions have other valuable electronic delivery options. You can see XDI’s eXpressServices for more information about that.)
Finally, vendors can support PDF tax documents. For example, XpressTax sends your credit union PDF copies of all tax forms. The forms are indexed to your specifications. They also allow for fillable PDFs of standard tax forms for no extra charge.
Other Considerations
Turning to a vendor to stay on top of credit union member tax forms confers a lot of benefits!
For example, credit unions who offload tax form generation to third parties can expect:
- Multiple tax forms combined into one for significant paper and postage savings
- Flexibility to adapt tax documents to your credit union’s requirements
- Deeply discounted postage rates
- Optional member ID and SSN redaction, suppression, or replacement
- List-based or rule-based tax form suppression capabilities
Ultimately, outsourcing tax forms comes down to convenience. If you’re looking for an easy way to free up your employees’ time and energy, then outsourced member communications may be for you.
Further Reading
If you’d like to learn more about how you can:
- Engage your members
- Help your members understand their financial situation
- Create meaningful brand and marketing impressions
Then follow our blog! (Or just follow the links below.) We’ve got quite a few opinions about how credit unions can optimize their member documents.