Whilst many of our colleagues and partners have set off on their summer holidays and well-deserved breaks, life carries on as usual here. On the one hand, we need to stay on top of property tax matters, implement the latest feedback from the community and roll out new features. On the other hand, we’re broadening our support offering. For example, we’re developing the How-2-Click! courses on the topic of Opti.Tax Land Tax We’re continuing as usual. This livestream will focus on the latest news from hsp’s headquarters in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld. This time, the updates will be presented by Samuel Königshoven.
Samuel begins by pointing out that the changes presented today may not sound particularly spectacular at first. However, they would bring about significant improvements to day-to-day practice at the law firm. For the sake of clarity, the livestream has been divided into four thematic sections.
The first topic is: Registering different ELSTER certificate holders. A single law firm registers its certificate centrally. In contrast, there are groups of law firms in which individual offices use their own certificates. Accordingly, a request was made to hsp to implement this in Opti.Tax to be taken into account. This will be the case in future. To this end, a new folder will be created in Project Management. Once the properties and permissions have been entered, the window labelled „Folder: Certificate Holder“ will be displayed. Here, you can specify that a separate certificate holder should be maintained for this folder. You can then enter the location details.
Small changes for more efficient processes
Next up is topic number two: ELSTER preview with document number. Previously, when a document was signed, it was not clear which version the signature belonged to. If changes were made to the document and a signature was obtained, it was not immediately apparent which version of the document was involved. This is now being changed with the introduction of the document number. Samuel begins the demo by creating a document. The document number, consisting of a long sequence of numbers and letters, is visible on the left-hand margin. If the document is amended, a different ID appears here. This means there is no longer any need to comb through documents to find differences; it is sufficient simply to compare the IDs.
The third topic is the calculation of the property tax value and the property tax assessment base. To demonstrate this, Samuel opens a project and accesses its live reporting. All data that has been entered or collected is logged there. If you wish to view the property tax value, select „Calculation of property tax value“ from the drop-down menu with the double-window icon in the top right-hand corner. However, this only works if a plot of land has been selected beforehand. In addition, this function is also available directly within the economic unit, i.e. the assessment declaration. Here’s an extra tip from Samuel: if any window has disappeared or the arrangement of windows within the software is no longer correct, the interface can be reset. This function can be found under the menu item „Windows -> Reset all windows“.
But how does the property tax value get included in the results document? In the „Live Reporting“ tab, there is a floppy disc icon. Above this, the menu option „Save PDF as attachment …“ is available. Samuel names the file „Calculation of the property tax value“. The results document now contains the PDF file as an attachment. Additional information: The Opti.Tax logo appears at the bottom of the document. Some firms have asked whether the logo can be removed or replaced with their own logo. This can be done via the menu option „Window -> Settings“. There, under the „Live Reporting“ section, you’ll find the „Formatting“ setting. The desired change can be made under „Logo (footer)“. It is also possible to set a logo for the cover page.
Time saved thanks to improved performance
The fourth and final topic is: optimisations. Since 1 July, it has been possible to submit tax returns electronically to the tax office. As usage increases, performance suffers – including when entering the reference number. This has now been optimised. Previously, the number was checked in real time as it was being entered. With the update, the number is only checked once a certain amount of time has elapsed since the last entry. This reduces the amount of data required and improves performance.
Elsewhere, the hsp development team has also been fine-tuning performance, for example with regard to the databases. As usual, there are further minor changes designed to improve specific processes. Should users encounter any issues, the hsp team is always keen to receive feedback and suggestions for improvement. Ultimately, this benefits everyone involved, particularly colleagues in other law firms.
In addition, Samuel, together with tax adviser Teresa Gerke, is offering the „How-2-click!“ workshop series. During these sessions, questions and specific cases relating to property tax are addressed using Opti.Tax. As demand remains very high, further dates have now been added. In addition, the „hsp.stammtisch – Property Tax“ is being launched. Every Monday for 60 minutes, tax advisers and other property tax experts will join us to exchange views and address individual queries that go into greater detail.
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