Benjamin Franklin, who once quipped that death and taxes are the only certainties in life, was on to something. As of May 8, the IRS received more than 137 million tax returns this year, which is great news for resellers of tax documents and related software. But for others, keeping up with government regulations is almost "certainly" overwhelming.
Helping distributors navigate the complexities of this niche market is a top priority for Houston-based Apex Business Systems. In 2014, the company found success with TaxRight by ComplyRight, a convenient tax form solution for small businesses. "This was a very profitable promotion for both our company and our distributors," shared Neville Johnson, vice president of sales for Apex Business Systems. "Total TaxRight sales in 2014 increased by 127 percent compared to 2013."
Here, Johnson discusses the specifics behind Apex Business Systems' latest promotion:
Print+Promo (P+P): Describe a promotion of yours that you consider one of Apex Business Systems' best.
Neville Johnson (NJ): A very successful sales offering for Apex in 2014 was TaxRight by ComplyRight. TaxRight by ComplyRight is an all-in-one solution for printing, mailing and filing W-2 or 1099 forms. Tax forms, envelopes and software are packaged together to give the end-user simple options to order, as
opposed to trying to find matching envelopes and compatible software, etc.
P+P: What items were featured in this promotion, and what influenced that decision?
NJ: TaxRight kits are convenient all-in-one sets consisting of W-2 or 1099 forms and matching envelopes. They are available in sets of 10 or 25, and can be purchased with or without tax software. The software kits include 10 free e-filings. Included in each set are three transmittal forms and a ComplyRight tip sheet that includes clear, legally sound information on minimum requirements, penalties, common errors and employer do's and don'ts.
This line of eight SKUs was created to provide dealers with a quick and easy way to enter the tax form market. Instead of loading hundreds of items, you can set up these best-sellers and provide a smart solution that meets the needs of almost every small business.
P+P: How was this a profitable promotion for your company?
NJ: [...] Sales of the TaxRight kits without software in 2014 increased by 136 percent compared to 2013, while sales of kits that include software increased by 47 percent compared to 2013.
P+P: Did you encounter any challenges with this particular promotion? If so, how did you overcome them?
NJ: A main challenge was increasing sales of the kits that include software. To overcome this, we swapped out the TaxRight software with the TFP 20.14 software, which is a much more well-known software title. This helped to increase sales of the software kits by 47 percent in 2014 compared to 2013.
P+P: Do you have any advice for distributors interested in selling to the tax form market?
NJ: TaxRight is a very easy solution for new dealers to gain a foothold in the tax forms market. Our eight SKUs satisfy the vast majority of customers' needs. Setup is very easy, and we offer a drop-ship program with no minimum order. In addition, we offer free marketing tools to help our partners advertise the product line-including banner ads, flyers and emails. We also have developed a non-selling landing page promoting TaxRight. Dealers can place a banner on their website that links to the landing page to help customers with the purchase decision.
P+P: Is there anything you would like to add?
NJ: Our marketing materials can be customized to include our distributors' contact information for easy ordering.