How did Vangent, Inc. achieve an 80%
reduction in the time they spend on
sales tax compliance...and save money
by bringing the function in-house?
With sales in just about every state
across the country, this information
management and business process
outsourcing company uses CCH’s
CorpSystem® suite of products to
automate its end-of-month
compliance process.
Vangent, Inc. Key Data
 Company history dates back to 1953
 Serving clients in the U.S. federal
government since 1973
 Based in Arlington, VA with offices in
twelve U.S. states and six countries
 Ranked #1 in the IT Services sector by
Washington Technology; #39 overall on
the list of Top 100 Federal Government
Prime Contractors, 2007
 Markets served include education, energy
& utilities, government, healthcare,
hospitality, manufacturing and retail
From visionary consulting to proven IT
development solutions and industry-leading
business process outsourcing, Vangent,
Inc. seamlessly delivers vital information,
services and programs to customers and their
constituents. The organization’s history is a
story of tremendous growth, from a small
division within a larger parent company to
a thriving, dynamic, stand-alone company.
Vangent succeeds by recognizing the right
opportunities, the right businesses, the
right people…and the right tools. By using
CorpSystem Sales Tax Returns Online, Vangent
was able to bring its sales tax compliance inhouse, saving time and money along the way.
Positive past experience
leaves a big impression
Before Jon Salvail joined Vangent, Inc. as
the company’s Tax Director, he worked
for a large, multi-state, multi-company
government contractor, dealing in both
products and services. It was there that he
came to appreciate how Sales Tax Returns
Online (formerly called ZIPSales Returns)
could transform an organization’s handling of
sales tax filing and compliance, even across
multiple companies with multiple divisions.
Now tasked with building a tax department
from the ground up for this newly restructured
organization. John chose once again to rely
on CCH.
“We had companies with four or five divisions,
and using the CCH product we could roll all
the data from all those divisions into a single
return for each state. When a tool works really
well in a very complex, robust situation like
that, I rely on that experience to help quickly
narrow my choices the next time I have a
similar need.”
– Jon Salvail, Tax Director,
Vangent
Hosted, web-based solution
automates compliance
The majority of Vangent’s current business
involves providing outsourced customer service
and support functions to government programs
such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Federal
Student Loan Program. Additionally, Vangent’s
Human Capital Management Solutions help
organizations optimize their hiring process
with a combination of innovative technologies,
custom hiring workflows, and world-class
pre-employment selection tools. It was the
sales of these hiring “kits” to organizations in
just about every state across the country that
drove the need for the CCH sales tax solution.
This hosted, web-based solution automatically
calculates Vangent’s sales tax liabilities using
the tax rates and taxability rules researched
and maintained by CCH, then populates the
data Vangent provides onto the required tax
forms and schedules for each individual state.
A different kind
of outsourcing saves
valuable time
Prior to implementing Sales Tax Returns
Online, Vangent was outsourcing the
handling of sales tax filings and compliance
to an independent contractor, who took
approximately 40 hours every month to
complete the job. Today, Dan Bourcy, one of
two staff members who has recently joined
Vangent’s tax department, spends no more
than six to eight hours a month of his time
while accomplishing the same volume of work.
This translates into more than an 80 percent
reduction in the time spent—and even greater
cost savings by bringing the function in-house.
“All I have to do is upload our data to CCH in
an Excel file, and Sales Tax Returns Online takes
that data and automatically calculates the
liabilities and populates that onto all the right
lines on all the different forms for each state.
The time I save frees me up to pay attention to
all of our other tax liability issues.”
– Dan Bourcy, Senior Tax Accountant,
Vangent
Vangent’s tax department
has been able to:
 Successfully bring the sales tax compliance
function in-house
 Minimize training and support requirements
 Reduce time spent on sales tax compliance
by 80%, from 40 hours per month to 6-8
hours per month
 Eliminate time spent updating software
Painless implementation
keeps operations moving
According to Salvail, CCH customer
service made the Sales Tax Returns Online
implementation process fairly quick and
painless for Vangent. CCH collaborated with
Vangent to determine how best to get the data
into the proper Excel file format for uploading
to the web-based system. Within a month
they had established a functional methodology
and Vangent was immediately able to file
correct returns with every taxing jurisdiction
across the country. Over the next several
months they continued to work together to
refine the process until it worked exactly the
way Salvail wanted.
“CCH made the process easy. We were
definitely operational within a month, and
then we worked to perfect the process over
the next few months, tweaking it and dealing
with any minor issues that came up along the
way. From working with CCH before, I knew we
could count on their customer support reps to
really go above and beyond to get us where we
needed to be.”
– Jon Salvail, Tax Director,
Vangent
User-friendly interface
requires little training
Using Sales Tax Returns Online’s web-based
interface is simple and easy, according to
Bourcy. Once the data has been uploaded to
the system, CCH maps all the information and
aggregates it onto all the different state tax
forms. Bourcy then simply logs on to Vangent’s
secure web portal on the CCH server, and with
just a couple of clicks he can bring up each
state’s filing, including all necessary schedules
and worksheets down to the individual city
level. He can review, edit, print and audit these
signature-ready returns and download Detail
Filing Reports to streamline his check request
process. With a single click he can export all the
information back into Microsoft® Excel and then
send it on to their GL system.
Fast, accurate and complete
research for sales tax, income
tax and more
“I just go into our portal and pull up each state,
and all the information we sent to CCH will
already have populated the returns. Then all I
have to do is check to make sure that data ties
to what we sent them—and we’re good to go.”
In addition to Sales Tax Returns Online, Vangent
also subscribes to some of CCH’s web-based
research tools on Tax Research NetWork,
which provide functionality for their other tax
obligations, including federal and state income
and property tax issues.
– Dan Bourcy, Senior Tax Accountant,
Vangent
Each filing period’s forms are securely archived
right on CCH’s secure server in PDF format for
easy access. This affords Vangent the potential
to move toward paperless operations in the
future. Sales Tax Returns Online also supports
e-payment options for jurisdictions where that
capability is enabled.
Web-based benefits extend
beyond filing ease
According to Salvail, with no I.T. infrastructure
investment required, and no software to install
or maintain, Sales Tax Returns Online doesn’t
tax the workload of Vangent’s I.T. department.
Additionally, as states and municipalities adjust
their tax rates, and as tax forms change, CCH
automatically tracks and incorporates those
updates, assuring ongoing compliance. The
web-based system also allows users to log on to
their secure portal from any PC with an active
Internet connection, in the office or on the road.
“To the extent that we grow and acquire
companies, we can do so with the confidence
that the CCH product will be able to handle any
additional product sales and volume that come
with these acquisitions.”
– John Salvail, Tax Director,
Vangent
“This product is excellent at bringing in data
and filing sales and use returns, but it can’t do
everything, so we supplement it with CCH’s
online research tools. Together they help us
assure tax compliance in every aspect of
our business.”
– John Salvail, Tax Director,
Vangent
When you work with CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, you can count on a variety of
exceptional support options, including:
A Team of Experts – professionally trained in all areas of tax and technical support,
just a toll-free call away at 1-866-513-CORP (1-866-513-2677).
SalesTax.com – instant online access to product and training information, support, and
program updates.
Regional Support Team – ensures your smooth transition to the CorpSystem suite of
products and assists with any training needs.
Effective Training Options – from in-office sessions to Web conferencing.
For more information about the CorpSystem suite of sales tax, income tax
and workflow solutions, call 1-866-513-CORP (1-866-513-2677) or visit
CorpSystem.com.
1-866-513-CORP (1-866-513-2677)
SalesTax.com
ACS 90089581 8/08
© 2008 CCH. All Rights Reserved.
201534CPS