Congratulations to our survey prize winners!
Thank you so much to everyone who filled out a survey this year! Your input is invaluable to helping us provide better software and services. Each prize winner was able to choose an Amazon Echo Smart Speaker, Fitbit, or $100 American Express Gift Card. In addition to the prize winners that wish to remain anonymous, this year's winners included:

2018 New Features & Enhancements
It’s an electronically driven world out there and even premium taxes are leaving paper behind. Each year more states are opting for mandatory efile requirements and we are working hard to make those clicks as easy and convenient for you as possible.

Efile via OPTins: See What's New!
The OPTins process has been tweaked! See what’s new with efiling in Premium Pro via OPTins, as well as our other supported efile options. more info}  

OPTins
On the Finalize Submission tab, you may now review the Excel version of your return, which will be sent to OPTins. The Excel file is for review purposes only and cannot be edited.

TriTech bids Cathy Han Adieu
Thank you for 22 wonderful years! Cathy Han, TriTech cofounder and co-owner, leaves the TriTech office after 22 years to embark on her next adventure. Cathy officially retired this past spring. While we still see her in the office from time to time, her role is now one of friend, confidant and encourager.

But don’t worry! She hasn’t slowed down or been misusing her time. Since her retirement Cathy has been taking classes at a local Baptist Seminary and traveling on various mission trips and sharing the gospel with those she meets. Godspeed Cathy!

In the Community: Texas and beyond…
In 2017 the employees at TriTech really tried to live out what it says in 1 John 4:19: “We love, because he first loved us.” For us that means taking care of those around us that are in need. Not just with charitable donations and fundraising for a cause, but also physically being a presence in our community and around the world. We are constantly looking for opportunities to help where we are needed, to love out of the abundant love we are given, and share Christ’s message of Hope, Grace and Love with everyone we encounter.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts
After watching Hurricane Harvey bring about a massive flood and witnessing the devastation it brought to our brothers and sisters along the Texas coastline, we also saw countless ordinary people stepping up to do extraordinary deeds to help those in need. This inspired TriTech to do our part as well. Our employees donated over $20,000 to hurricane victims, but we wanted to do more. We joined a local church and many of our employees drove down to Houston and put our hands to work cleaning up and rebuilding a church and damaged homes.

“You never know the impact a mission trip will have on you until you’re there. The experience I had far exceeded my greatest expectations. From the generosity of the church members to open up their homes to complete strangers to the group members who gave up their time and money for the weekend to help others, this trip surprised me in every way. We all set our political, social, and personal issues aside and worked together to help those who needed it the most. At first, I honestly didn’t think I was making a difference (we were working in an air-conditioned house getting served Chick-fil-A), but by the end, when the pastor of the church looked at our work and broke down in tears, I then knew that our work went way past the physical appearance, but also helped the church mentally and emotionally know that they aren’t alone. We have an amazing group of people that work at TriTech and now the city of Houston knows that too!” –Brandon Bates, Premium Tax Specialist

“My day started at 3am that Saturday morning. I was not able to catch a ride to Houston on Thursday like the other volunteers, but I knew I had to go help. So I decided to drive down there on Saturday with my sister and my two cousins. We arrived at Houston NW Church at 8am and we were quickly introduced to the other volunteers and given our assignment for the day. We were split in two groups: half of us stayed to continue helping rebuild the church and the other half went out to the neighborhoods to help individuals tear sheetrock from the affected areas in their homes. Driving through the affected neighborhoods gave me chills. It was so heartbreaking to see all those people’s belongings out in the streets, completely destroyed. To this day, I can’t imagine how it must feel to lose everything you worked so hard for in a blink of an eye. For me, this was one of the hardest things and I really had to fight back tears. Overall, the experience was great. It was really hard work, but the reward of knowing you made a difference in someone’s life has no comparison. ” –Joan Medina, Product Assurance Group

click to read more Harvey relief experiences}

Meals on Wheels (Texas)
We have been serving the elderly of Allen, TX with Meals on Wheels for over a year now! We have a route that delivers every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesday of the month. It has been going so well that we added an additional route in January of this year. It has been so rewarding to deliver meals to those that need it. One of the stops is a very elderly couple and the husband is in a wheel chair and hard of hearing. We have to call first to let him know we are on the way because he cannot hear the doorbell. Part of our job is to check on the residents and make sure they are doing ok. This guy really likes to talk and he has told us some great stories about when he used to be an avid golfer and runner. It is really nice to connect with people and bring a little bit of joy to their day not just a hot a meal. I think it does us good to serve people and be reminded that we are all God’s children. –Selena Thompson, Premium Tax Specialist

Easter Sunday Baptism
Rebecca Wu, TriTech Product Assurance Group manager, and her son were baptized on Easter Sunday, April 1, 2018. In her testimony, Rebecca sited Romans 5:8: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

"I was touched by this greatest love from HIM and it made me a believer” –Rebecca Wu, TriTech Manager

Family Effort (Pennsylvania)
Though scattered across the US our external team came together with the help of an Amazon registry to collect items for the Third Street Alliance who provides shelter for single women with children in need in Easton, PA. In December Bob (Sartori) along with his family were able to deliver 30 backpacks. The folks at the Third Street Alliance were extremely grateful to receive them. The Backpacks will be distributed to the women and children that are currently being housed at the Third Street Alliance and to the neighboring homeless shelter.

Annual Baskets (Connecticut)
The holidays are tough for many people for many different reasons. Mary Caputo and her local church put together meal boxes for those struggling in their community. This year they were able to bless 170 families with a full day of food and a $25 grocery gift card.

"Feels good to thank God for what has been given and help a family that needs a bit of help.” –Mary Caputo, TriTech Services Reviewer

Christmas for all! (New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina)
The Operation Christmas Child (OCC) is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse. Our church is one of several drop-off locations for Northwest NJ and we serve as the drop-off coordinators during collection week which is the week before Thanksgiving. OCC collects shoe boxes packed by individuals with Christmas gifts for kids and ships them all over the world to areas where kids literally have nothing. The children receiving the boxes are invited to participate in a study called "The Greatest Journey" which takes them through a study of what being a Christian is. In addition to being the coordinators at our church; we have traveled to Charlotte, NC and more recent years to Baltimore, MD to work at the processing center where the shoe boxes are collected, sorted into cartons by age and sex and shipped out. –Jim Drew, Premium Tax Specialist

New Features (continued)
In addition to efile, check out these new features too!

Audits
You may add a custom audit by clicking the Add Custom Audit button in the Audit Frame or by going the Actions Menu and choosing Add Custom Audit. You may print audits by state by clicking on the Print Audits button in the Audit Frame. You may choose to print the audit list to your printer or to PDF. The status, severity, and description will be printed for each audit. more info}

Markup Tools
You may run into an occurrence when you have more than one markup tool overlapping on a single field or location on a return. When you right click on the area, the menu for the wrong tool may show up. To switch to the tool options you want to access, press Alt + right click. more info}

Payment Request
The Payment Request was formerly referred to as the Check Request. You will also now find a drop down box on the Payment Requisition Form which allows you to choose your payment method: Check, ACH Credit, ACH Debit, Credit Card, or EFT. You will also find a field for the addenda record, which may be generated when paying by ACH Credit by using the Addenda Schedule. Also, the company NAIC number can be found in the top left hand corner of the Payment Request form in place of the company more info}

See All
See the complete Enhancement Index for the 2018 software. more info}

Harvey Relief (continued)
“We went down as a group ready, willing and able to help out some Houston people in need. But what we found, or at least I did, instead of being this blessing to others, we received a blessing. This was really the Houston hospitality that we received. First of all, I was expecting to sleep on a cold, hard gym floor. Instead, I had my own bed, bedroom and even a private bath. In addition to our sleeping arrangements, our host family David and Deana made us, four guys (Josh, Andrew, Brandon and myself), feel like family. The first day they gave us a house key, because they had plans and were afraid we would get to their house before they arrived. The also took an interest in us trying to get to know, who we are. They went out of their way to feed us breakfast, even though Deana admitted she was not a morning person. Shawn another hospitable Houstonian fed us dinner every night in her beautiful Mansion. But one of the coolest moments, I have had in a while was when Josh found a guitar in Dave and Deana’s home and began to play a worship song. The four of us started singing upstairs. I am sure we sounded like howling dogs, but Dave and Deana eased up the stairs and joined us in worshiping the Lord. That was a beautiful noise!” –Robby McCollom, TriTech President

“I received more blessing in Houston than I gave. This is another trip that God provided me with personal testimony that just showed me how real His gospel is in everyone's life.

During the second day of work, we were serving the community by cleaning trash and tearing down moldy drywall. When we got to the second house, the job was overwhelmingly massive. The elderly lady and her wheelchair bound husband needed all the sheetrock removed from the building. Thankfully, there was another group of young men and women working on the house with us. As we were working next to each other, we started to chat. A young lady name Audrey began to tell me her story.

She said she had a sad and secret childhood, that a family member continuously molested her and eventually raped her. As a teenager she became self-destructive. She drank, partied, shot drugs and had causal careless relationships. At the age of 21, she contracted a disease and hit rock bottom. She was sick and had no place to go. But, that is where she met Jesus.

A real Christian showed up and came to work alongside her. For the first time, she had someone who cared for her without asking for something in return. She experienced love that was sincere and selfless. It flowed naturally from Christ to her and from her to me. Not only did she help me clean up my mess but she taught me the love of Christ in reality. Jesus identifies with sinners. He loves us so much that He was willing to die for us. And, with His resurrection I have now an eternal hope. No matter how dreadful the current situation is, we always have hope! Not in ourselves, but in HIM.

She stopped for a moment then with a glow on her face she told me she was now the director of a group called Youth for Christ. They conduct meetings and group Bible studies in local middle schools and high schools. God gave her a new life and now she lives for Him.

I don't know why, my tears started to flow like streams. Here I am, standing in the midst of the dirt road with hammer in my hand, dirt all over my head, and a sweat soaked mask on my face. I was crying. Her story touched me so much that I could actually see and touch the gospel. It was no longer a doctrine, it was real life. The life standing before me was a beautiful young woman who was pure and in the image of Christ. We held hands and prayed. Like all of us, no matter how messy or dark our past, Christ has washed us clean. ” –Cathy Han, TriTech Cofounder