Company Profile

• Nation's fourth-largest bank holding company
• Assets of more than $264 billion
• Offers a full range of financial services to commercial and business customers, and consumers
• Operates more than 1,900 banking centers in 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands

The Challenges

As if keeping track of payroll tax processing and electronic filings was not difficult enough, a recent merger with First Chicago Bank further complicated matters. Bank One was faced with the challenge of utilizing three separate payroll systems to process $648 million in federal withholding annually. Federal and state payroll taxes approached $1 billion annually.

Before adopting Sage Compliance Services solutions, the bank used data from the mainframe payroll system to create computer spreadsheets. "It was difficult to keep track of everything," says Ralph Pettis, Wage & Tax Manager. "It was extremely complicated and time-consuming to download items from the mainframe, plugging numbers into spreadsheets, then applying macros to allocate dollars to federal and state payments and reports."

The Sage Compliance Services Solution

The company consolidated the three payroll systems at the Columbus location, using Sage Compliance Services solutions to handle the complicated employer compliance requirements for their operations in 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Using centralized reporting through its server in Columbus, Bank One handles all payroll tax compliance and payments using the Sage Compliance Services payroll tax solution.

"One of the selling points of Sage Compliance Services was its compliance and speedy reporting, which really showed up when it ran in parallel with the spreadsheet process," Pettis says. Training on the Sage Compliance Services system went smoothly because the application is "very user-friendly. Navigation is simple in terms of screens, terminology and where to go next."

"I've told other financial institutions that I like the Sage Compliance Services process because it's a mechanical, systematic approach," Pettis explains. "In the tax world, it's a huge benefit to eliminate a lot of human error that occurs when items have to be keyed."

In addition, Bank One uses the Sage Year End Tax System for year end forms such as W-2c, the Sage EDP EPIC (Electronic Payment & Information Courier) for electronic funds transfer, and the Sage EDP Wage Attachment for automating wage garnishments.

"In the future, we see a place for the Sage EDP Compliance web-based system, for 24x7 access to tax reports and tax returns from any Internet browser," Pettis says. "It's a major step forward in payroll tax compliance and should be a big help in controlling overhead costs in our payroll department."

The Results

The Sage Compliance Services solutions now import and automatically merge Bank One's data into one format, seamlessly. The data is processed against compliance rules for federal, state, and local jurisdictions, which determines when consolidated payroll tax payments should be paid, and to which agency. Garnishments and year-end processes are handled in a similar fashion.

"It's a breeze compared to what was done before," says Tom Duncan, payroll tax accountant for Bank One. "The previous system was a real nightmare. I was trained on the Sage Compliance Services system and have nothing but good things to say about it. I'd definitely recommend it, because it's made things easier, and is easy to learn and use. I never had to take one Sage Compliance Services training class - my predecessor showed me how to do everything in a day or two."

Pettis particularly likes the system's ability to match up due dates and tax liabilities. "It's nice to know you have a system that tests that integrity for you. The excellent support from Sage Compliance Services is another selling point in my book. This is a system we can grow with."

What the Client Said

"The Sage Compliance Services system has given us better accuracy and compliance. We're a lot more compliant with our tax reporting than we would have been otherwise."

- Ralph Pettis
Wage & Tax Manager

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