Update on COVID-19 and it's effect on how we serve you.
Hello Clients and Friends,
We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on Covid-19 and it’s effect on EGP and how we serve you.
By now you have probably heard that Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson issued an appeal yesterday for all Arkansans who have the ability to do so to stay home and work remotely. In keeping with our vision of being responsible community-minded business citizens, EGP honored that request by immediately closing all offices and sending our personnel home. In doing so, we have equipped them as much as possible with everything they need to carry on with their work on a remote basis, fully realizing the challenges many will face in carrying on their work, while attending to their own health and, in many cases, attending to the needs of children who are also now at home because of the closure of schools and day care facilities.
Given this new dynamic, there are several things we need you to know that will greatly enhance our ability to continue to serve you, our valued clients:
- All of your normal contacts are still fully available by telephone and email. If you call, it is likely that initially you will either be connected to voice mail or to someone designated to take messages. These messages will be forwarded as appropriate, and your call will be returned as soon as possible. Our goal is to return calls within 24 hours if at all possible.
- We are fully leveraging the full power of our investment in current state-of-the-art technology, including digital information transfers and video capabilities. For instance, we can employ GoToMeeting capabilities to review your return with you on screen.
- From this point forward, we are asking clients to send and receive documents and tax returns via digital means. This will limit the need for physical interaction with those documents by you and by our staff, which the CDC has stated is an important part of limiting the spread of the virus. We have several tools that allow us to do this, including our ShareFile secure email and file transfer system, as well as RightSignature, an IRS approved method for digitally signing documents. With these tools, the experience literally can be a paperless one, and we highly encourage its use.
- If digital sharing of documents is not possible, you can, of course, mail your information to us or drop it into the night deposit or door mail slot (it differs by office) of the office serving you. At some point during the day, an administrator in each office will arrive to check for these documents and the mail. IMPORTANT: if for some reason your documents will not fit in the designated drop off, please call the office phone number and the administrator will arrange a time for you to bring your documents to the office. The administrator will either place a container outside the door in which you can securely place your documents and then will retrieve them, or will ask you to stay in your vehicle and will retrieve them from you there.
- If your documents do come in physical form rather than digital, as recommended by the CDC and Department of Health, our administrators will wear gloves when retrieving documents and will QUARANTINE them for a 72 hour period.
- In an effort to limit sending paper, we intend to e-mail invoices and statements as much as possible. If you prefer that we mail the invoice or statement, please let us know. We are still accepting check payments, and also currently waiving our normal service charge to process payments via credit card. We are exploring other possible electronic payment options for your convenience, as well, and hope to have them implemented soon.
- As stated above, our preference whenever possible is to transfer documents and information digitally, and that includes returning to you your tax returns, tax vouchers, etc. once they are done. In the event that is not possible, our next preferred alternative is to send them to you via USPS or FedEx. However, if you need special assistance and neither of these is an option for you, our administrator will schedule an appointment for you to come in for assistance.
We realize that these measures may seem extreme, and frankly, they are. But the goal at this time, in keeping with CDC and Department of Health guidelines, is to protect your health and that of our team members by eliminating as much as possible physical interaction between individuals. Believe us when we say, we don’t like it any more than you do, but it is the right thing to do.
One final piece of information that has just been released. As we mentioned in our last email to you, the IRS previously had deferred income tax payments due on April 15th to July 15th. In response to intense lobbying by our profession and others, it has now been announced that the due date for actually filing tax returns has also been delayed from April 15th to July 15th.
Bear in mind, this is for federal only returns, and there are still specifics about which we are waiting to hear. For example, at the new filing deadline of July 15th, will additional extensions of time to file be available for those taxpayers that need them, or do we still need to file for the regular automatic extension on April 15th that gives us until October 15th to file? Is the June 15th estimated tax due date also extended? These are important and unanswered questions.
Many states, including here in Arkansas, are still trying to formulate plans in response to this latest IRS pronouncement. In any event, as stated in our earlier email, we will still push to complete as many returns as we possibly can under these challenging circumstances. We will continue to keep you informed on this developing situation.
Please rest assured that we remain committed to doing everything we can to serve our clients’ needs, both immediate and for the long-term, at the highest level as we respond and adapt to this ever-changing environment in which we are now operating. We can’t thank you enough for your patience, your understanding and the continued trust you place in us!
