Whether you’re new to property taxes in general or have acquired property in an unfamiliar location, or you have a few too many returns to file for the number of hands available, you’re here because one thing is clear: You need help with your company’s property taxes. The question is, what kind of help do you need—property tax consulting or a software management tool?

These days there’s much talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Will robots take over our jobs, or won’t they? What can we expect when these technologies ramp up? AI and machine learning technology will have a profound impact on the workplace. In many ways, they are simply advancements in a long line of improvements helping people do their jobs better. Computers changed the way people worked; the internet changed the way people accessed information, yet a succession of new computer applications will need mastering before they are useful—and this can take time.

If you’re wondering about the difference between secured vs. unsecured property taxes, I’d wager a guess you live in California. Why? Because it’s the only state in the union that uses this terminology in reference to this common ad valorem tax. Everywhere else, “secured property tax” is simply called real estate tax (real estate is attached to or secured by land); and “unsecured property tax” is called personal property tax (movable property not permanently affixed to a particular location).

Businesses can easily get bogged down in property tax data. County addresses, deadlines, valuation methods, depreciation tables, tax ratios… there are too many data types to list. And while there are common pieces of information people look for, the options are limited when it comes to places to look. That’s because a good chunk of this data varies by jurisdiction. So instead of having central repositories for “property tax information,” a single county website may be your only option. And even finding that isn’t quite as easy as it seems (we’ll get to that later).

What if you could manage your company’s property taxes from anywhere, in less time, with fewer errors, and with greater confidence in your work product?

If you’re like most companies, you’d jump at the chance. As the amount of data expands and the number of team members shrinks, lots of tax teams are in search of a property tax management system that can help them do more with less. They’re switching from the limited-functionality legacy solutions they’ve been using for years to newer, more modern solutions that encourage growth and support greater productivity.

Colorado is generally considered a tax-friendly state for businesses. However, business personal property tax seems to be a bone of contention as of late, with a number of bills having been introduced in recent years attempting to ease the burden. Passed in 2017, Senate Bill 267 gave small businesses a break, reducing tax liability for companies with business personal property valued at less than $18,000. (Efforts to reduce it further at the state level, however, have failed.) And in late 2018, Jefferson County voted to eliminate its business personal property tax completely in an effort to retain existing businesses and attract new ones.

By now every business leader has heard about the need to “digitally transform” to stay competitive. But not everyone is so clear as to what a digital transformation means in reality—and they’re even less clear on how to get the job done. Despite the confusion, many executives still name digital transformation a top priority.

Oklahoma is an attractive locale for businesses in a number of industries, with transportation and warehousing, aerospace, and health care leading the pack in recent years. It’s also home to two cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City, named among the best in the nation for starting a business. Oklahoma’s tax exemptions and low to moderate property tax rate are part of the reason for its appeal. If you do business in the Sooner State, here is what you need to know about Oklahoma’s business personal property tax.

Imagine if your team no longer had to spend hundreds of hours each tax season on data entry. What could they be doing with all that time?

No matter what you were hired specifically to do, as a property tax consultant, your ultimate goal is always the same as that of your clients: to ensure they pay only their fair share of taxes. But some property tax consulting firms deliver more value than others, not because of the type of work they do (advisory, valuation, or compliance) but because they approach the consulting process more strategically, which often translates into better (and more) work.