SchedulingSoftwareInstructionsforNewHampshireTaxAppointments

TableofContents

QuickandSimpleInstructions(akaTheEssentials)......................................................................-2-How do I get help? .................................................................................................................................... - 2 -Making Appointments .............................................................................................................................. - 2 -How do I find out the upcoming appointment schedule for my site? ....................................................... - 5 -How do I find an existing appointment? ................................................................................................... - 6 -How do I reschedule an existing appointment? ........................................................................................ - 6 -Things to NOT do ..................................................................................................................................... - 6 -

DetailedInstructionsfor211Staff................................................................................................-8-The 211 Scheduling Page .......................................................................................................................... - 8 -The Site Page for 211 Scheduling ............................................................................................................. - 9 -

Appendix......................................................................................................................................-11-General Commentary On Limits of Software ......................................................................................... - 11 -Sample Email Sent to Client ................................................................................................................... - 12 -

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QuickandSimpleInstructions(akaTheEssentials)HowdoIgethelp?Ifyouhavequestionsabouttheschedulingsoftware,orthingsaren’tworking,oryouneedapasswordreset,etc.Emailjan@nedelka.netorcallortext603285-3873.MakingAppointmentsMakinganappointmentiseasy.Youcangoto:nhtaxhelp.organdclick‘scheduleanappointment’.Thisisthesameinterfaceprovidedtoclients.Ifyouareschedulingformultiplesites(likethefinefolksat211),youmayalsogotonhtaxhelp.org/211–pleasenotethispageisNOTintendedforthegeneralpublic.Bookmarkwhicheverpageformatyouprefer,bothdothesamething,justinslightlydifferentways.

1) Selectasite,dateandtime.

Numbersindicatethemaximumnumberofconcurrentappointmentsandtheappointmentdurationinminutes,respectively.

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Validdatesandtimesappearingreen;theothersarenotselectable.Asofthiswriting,someoftheinterfaceelementsappeartobechanging–thingsmaylookalittledifferentthanthescreenshots,butthefunctionalityisthesame.Afterselectingatime,entertherequiredclientinformation,andifatallpossibletheclient’semailaddress.Allclientswillreceiveaconfirmationemailifanemailaddressisentered,andareminderemailoftheirappointment24hoursbeforehand.

2) EntertheClientdataMostclientinformationisself-explanatory.Under‘HandicappedAccess’,asktheclientiftheyneedhandicappedaccess(typicallywheelchairaccess).Allsitesarehandicappedaccessible,butinsomecasesifthevolunteersknowaheadoftimetheymaychangetheroomtoeasetheprocessfortheclient.

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Under‘Whoismakingthisappointment’,selecttheappropriateoption:• Employeesof211shouldchoose‘211Employee’• ‘Volunteer’isintendedforanyTax-AideorVITAvolunteer• ‘Other’isintendedfor,say,paidemployeesofafacilitywhoaretakingappointmentsfor

clients(e.g.HolyRosaryCreditUnionstaff).• Volunteersmakinganappointmentforafamilymembershouldchoose‘volunteer’.

3) Confirmtheappointmentonthefinalpage,andyou’redone!

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HowdoIfindouttheupcomingappointmentscheduleformysite?Okay,forthisyouneedtologin.Selectto‘Reports/AppointmentReports’atthetopofthescreen.Selectthetimeframeyouwishtoknow.Ifyouhaveauthoritytoseemultiplesites,selecttheoneyouwantareportfor(orleaveitalone,andyou’llgetareportforallsites).Next,selectwhatinformationyouwantaboutyourupcomingappointments.Thesystemdefaultsto‘everything’whichisfranklywaytoomuch.Pickyouressentialsforeasiertoreadreports.

HowtologintotheschedulerYoudon’tneedtologintomakeanappointment.Butloggingindoesgiveyouaccesstomoreadvancedfeaturesandreporting.Usethelinkbelowtoaccessthesystemloginpage.Youfindithelpfultobookmarkthissite.Notethatthisisnotthesameloginasthe‘AccountLogin’tabonthepublicappointmentpage.Yeah,it’sabaddesign.Yourloginisfirstname_lastname,alllowercase,andyourpasswordisyourlastname,alllowercaseifyou’veneverloggedinbefore.Youcanchangeyourpasswordafteryoulogin.https://www.eznetscheduler.com/Login.aspx

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Click‘RunReport’-viola!youhavealistofyourupcomingappointments.Youmayprintthispage,orexporttoExcel,CSV,orWorddocumentsasyoulike.Orwritethemdownonapost-itnote.Whateverworksforyou.HowdoIfindanexistingappointment? Thisrequiresyoulogin.Onceyou’veloggedin,navigatetotheAppointmentReportingpageasabove,butselectanenddateofApril18th.Forthesecases,youcanprobablyignorethedisplayoptions,andsimplyentertheclient’slastnameunder‘searchoptions’.Iftheclient’snamedoesn’tcomeup,trysearchingfortheirphonenumber.Click‘RunReport’,andalistofclientswiththematchingfieldwillappear.HowdoIrescheduleanexistingappointment?Thisrequiresyoulogin.Onceyou’veloggedin,therearetwowaystorescheduleanappointment.Inbothcases,thefirststepisthesame:1)Performaclientsearchasabove,andclickonthe‘edit’icononthefarleftoftheappointmentyouwishtoreschedule:

2a)Select‘Delete’todeletetheappointment.Now,scheduletheclientanewappointmentasyouwouldanyother.Thetechniquerequiresretypingtheclientinformation,butyoucanbeconfidentthattheappointmentisvalid.-OR-2b)Changethestartandendtimesoftheappointment.Notethatyoumayneedtochangeboththestartandendtimes!Thistechniquepreservestheexistingclientinformation;HOWEVER,ITISPOSSIBLETOSCHEDULETHECLIENTWHENTHESITEISCLOSED,OROVERBOOKTHETIMESLOT.Usethisoptionwithcaution!ThingstoNOTdoInamoregeneralizedway,don’t:

. Deleteanyappointmentsmarkedas‘schedulefix’or‘slotfiller’unlessyou'reREALLYsurethat’swhatyouwanttodo.

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. Scheduleappointmentsthroughthecalendarviewunlessyoufeelreallyconfidentaboutwhatyou’redoing,andthesitecoordinatorapproves.

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DetailedInstructionsfor211StaffThe211SchedulingPageTosimplifyschedulingfor211staffasmuchaspossible,acustomwebsitehasbeenprovidedathttp://nhtaxhelp.org/211.Alinktotheseinstructionsisincludedonthepage.

Thispageincludesacompletelistingofsitesforwhich211canscheduleappointments.Eachsiteislistedasfollows:City(+/-)HostName(concurrentappointments/appointmentduration)

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A‘+’separatordenotesTax-Aidesites,whilea‘-‘denotesVITAsites.UsingtheBowsiteintheaboveexample,wecantellthatBowisaTax-AidesitelocatedatWhiteRockSeniorLiving,wheretheyscheduletwoclientsconcurrentlywithanappointmentdurationof45minutes.Virtualsitesaresiteswhichdonotprovidesame-dayturnaround;itisimportanttoletclientsknowthattheywilldropofftheirpaperworkoneday,andwillbescheduledtoreturnatalaterdate(typicallyaweek)topickupandsigntheirreturn.Toscheduleaclientorlearnmoreaboutagivensite,simplyclickonit.TheSitePagefor211SchedulingClickingonasiteonthe211schedulingpagetakesyoutoasitepage:

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Onthispageareincludedthedaysandhoursofoperations,aswellasthemaximumnumberofconcurrentappointmentsandtheappointmentduration.Thisgivesyouaquickpointofreferencetohelpclientsfindanappointmentthatworksforthem.Onlyvaliddatesandtimesforappointmentsaredisplayed.Ifagivendayortimeisfullybooked,itwillappearas‘unavailable’andbegreyedout.

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AppendixGeneralCommentaryOnLimitsofSoftwareSchedulingsoftwareisstrange–thisparticularpackagewasselectedafterexamining18others–andnoneareideal.FittinghowvolunteertaxsitesacrossNewHampshirescheduletheirworkintoasingletoolisverydifficult,andoccasionallythesequirkssurfaceinvisibleways.Thesecommentsaremeanttoinform,notasinstructions:theyarecompletelyignorable.Butifyou’rewonderingwhysomething‘can’t’bedone,itmaybeforthereasonsbelow.Amongthemostcommoninourcase:Thesoftwareallowsustodefineanumberofconcurrentappointments–butthatnumberisthesameforallhoursofoperationforagivensite.Inrealitymanysiteshavedifferentstaffinglevelsdependingonthedayoftheweek,orareshort-handedduringschoolvacations.Tocompensateforthis,youmaysee‘filler’appointments:appointmentsthataremanyhourslong,andexistsimplytoreducethenumberofconcurrentappointmentsthatcanbescheduled.Somemaybesingle-dayappointments,whileothersmayberepeatingweeklythroughouttheseason.Theappointmentshelpensurethatsitesdonotbecomeoverbookedandshouldnotbechangedordeletedunlessyouaretheadministratorforthelocation.Thesoftwareonlyallowsonesetof‘operatinghours’–fortheentirestate.WhileeachSiteisconfiguredwithhoursofavailability,allsitesmustoperatewithinthehoursthe‘company’is‘open’.Thisuntoitselfisnotabigdeal.Whatmakesitcomplicatedisthatthe‘valid’starttimesforappointmentsmustallconformtoanevenmultipleofwhenthe‘company’is‘open’.Forexample:ifthe‘company’opensat9:00AM,that’stheearliestanysitecanopen.IfsiteAuses60minuteappointments,andsiteBuses45minuteappointments,thensiteAisrestrictedtoonlyofferingappointmentsat9,10,11,etc.SiteBisrestrictedtoofferingappointmentsonlyat9:00,9:45,10:30,etc.ThisbecomesaproblemifSiteBwantstoopenandtaketheirfirst45minappointmentat10:00AM–inthesoftware’ssimplemethodology,that’snota‘valid’time.Therearetrickstoworkaroundthis,andtheyaregenerallyhiddenfromclientsandyouasusers.Butartifactssometimepeekthrough.That’swhythe‘appointmenttime’selectoralwayshastonsof‘notavailable’timelisted,forexample.

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SampleEmailSenttoClientIfanemailisincludedwiththeappointmentinformation,theclientwillbeemailedtwice:onceimmediatelyafterscheduling,andasecondtime24hoursbeforetheirappointment.Bothemailsarethesame.Theexamplebelowisthestandardletterasof2017-Jan-02.

Dear [CustomerFirstLastName]

Thank you for making an appointment for free tax preparation via New Hampshire 211 and nhtaxhelp.org! We look forward to helping with your tax return at [ServiceProvider] on [AppointmentDateDW], [AppointmentDate] at [AppointmentStartTime].

If you no longer need your appointment, please be courteous and dial 2-1-1 to cancel your appointment so our volunteers can serve others.

If possible, please print and fill out the first two pages of this Intake Form

Please read everything below; the more information you bring, the more accurately we can prepare your return. WHEN YOU COME FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT, YOU MUST BRING:

• If married, it is preferable for both spouses be present • Original (or photocopy of) social security cards for taxpayer, spouse (if married), and any

dependents being claimed • Picture ID for taxpayer and spouse (must be a Driver's License, or state issued ID Card, or other

official document) • All W-2's for all places worked in previous year • Prior year tax return if applicable • Routing number and bank account number for direct deposit

If applicable, bring:

• If you’re not sure, bring it! We’ll be happy to review it. • Copies of any 1099's issued to you or you spouse (including social security!) • Form 1095A if you received or purchased insurance via healthcare.gov • Bank account interest year-end statement • Student loan interest statement • Proof of child care expenses paid (statement from provider with EIN # or Social Security #) • Statement of post-secondary education tuition expenses paid • Any other documents related to your previous year taxes. • Copies of last year's mortgage interest statements (including any points paid) • Real estate taxes paid statement • Proof of charitable donations • Statement of work-related expenses • Auto registration • Receipt of tax preparation fees paid last year • Statement of safe deposit box fees • Statement of union dues paid • Any other statements of allowable itemized deductions • If small business owner: Proof of income and expenses (in writing)

Please note that our volunteers are trained and certified by the IRS on a very specific range of tax forms and issues; some tax matters are considered 'out of scope' and we cannot prepare such returns.

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Things that are Out-of-Scope include, but are not limited to:

• Schedule C (Business Profit and Loss) other than that allowed under C-EZ rules but up to $25,000 expenses

• Complicated Schedule D or without proper paperwork (Capital Gains and Losses) • Schedule E (Rental Property) with expenses, including depreciation • 2106 (Employee Business Expense) • 3903 (Moving Expenses) • 8615 (Minor’s Investment Income) • Portions of Schedule As and Bs that are not included in our training • Schedule K-1s that involve depreciation or expense • Other rental income or business income