As one of the largest expenses for corporations, tax is an area worth scrutinizing. Changes in tax law as well as the way the profession is practiced can have a material impact on the success of an organization. And while tax law is not within our purview (unfortunately!), we do have some idea about common problems faced by tax professionals—after all, our team’s tax backgrounds have a big impact on the design of our property tax software.

Every corporate leader who invests in advanced technology is motivated in large part by the expected ROI it will produce. (There’s also a healthy fear surrounding what could happen as a result of doing nothing.) The same is true for the tax industry. Property tax professionals who have already started using the latest technology tools—including tax document automation software like CrowdReason—are seeing greater levels of productivity and higher-quality work product that makes their team more valuable for their organizations and clients. Why?

By now you’ve heard all about it: Technology is changing the way people work. That’s true across all industries and workplaces, whether it’s the floor of a manufacturing facility or the office space of an insurance company.

When was the last time you or anyone on your property tax team went home at 5 p.m. on a workday during tax season?

Sounds impossible, right? Well, that was the case with one of our clients, whose office I stopped into recently at the end of a workday. The place was deserted. When I asked where everyone was, the response was, “They went home. They’re done!”

Much of the recent Association of Computers and Taxation conference was focused on data analytics—how to manipulate data, and the opportunities and challenges analysis presents. A problem that was discussed at length is one most companies are currently struggling with: How do tax departments gain easier access to the variety of data that will help them make more strategic decisions?

Almost every business carries property insurance of some kind, whether it’s for the building the company is housed in (building insurance) or the assets inside it (business personal property insurance). But just because insurance is a necessity doesn’t mean it should be viewed as an expense line item that’s out of your control. (The same holds true for business personal property tax compliance—you have more control over the process than you might think.) The more you understand about business personal property insurance (or BPP insurance), the better equipped you’ll be to find the right coverage, and an insurance partner you can trust.

Thinking of purchasing new property tax software? Or maybe you’ve already invested in new software (of any kind) and are planning the implementation process. Either way, you’re right to be doing your homework in advance of the change. Tech-related implementations require the same level of attention as any other type of organizational change initiative—a substantial number of which are prone to failure due to lack of planning.

We do many sales presentations for our property tax management software. During every single one we emphasize the idea of data accuracy. And even though most of our audience agrees that data accuracy is important, there’s rarely the sense of urgency surrounding it that there should be.

By now, you’ve heard all about how automation saves time. Applied to the manual processes in any industry, it takes over the tedious and time-consuming (but necessary) tasks of everyday work so employees can focus on activities that provide a greater return. In the case of business personal property tax, automation means your team members can forego data extraction and data entry work in favor of long-term strategy activities like tax planning and predictive analytics—tasks that have real impact on an organization and make your team more valuable.

If you’re part of a corporate tax department, there are plenty of resources providing information about tax issues and strategies related to real property, but few doing the same for personal property—even though personal property offers similar opportunities for tax savings. To help with strategizing on both fronts equally, this article starts by defining each term at a basic level, then highlights the differences between real and personal property that are relevant to tax practice.