With Column Tax, Manjas Corporation automates data collection and tax filing processes, so its team can handle thousands more tax returns each year while taking the time to counsel clients in need.

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About Manjas Corporation

Manjas is a family-owned and -operated tax accounting business with deep roots in its Northern California community. Since opening its doors in 1999, the firm has grown from a one-person team offering tax assistance out of a garage to a full-service CPA firm with offices across the Bay Area and beyond.

Many Manjas clients come from under-resourced communities, including individuals with limited financial literacy and immigrants facing significant cultural and linguistic barriers. With a motto to “serve with compassion,” Manjas makes it easier for taxpayers to navigate the complex U.S. tax system, taking the time to learn about each client’s unique situation. Throughout, Manjas keeps pricing affordable and even offers on-site playrooms for clients lacking access to childcare.

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The problem: Overflowing demand for a small team

Since 2015, Manjas has been in the top 10%, volume-wise, among regional CPAs, filing from four to five thousand tax returns each year. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Manjas invested heavily in digitization, which streamlined many of the firm’s workflows and helped the Manjas team keep up with increasing demand.

Still, Manjas was getting more client requests than its tax preparers could handle while continuing to deliver the firm’s signature high-touch service. That meant turning away clients who had few other options for affordable, quality tax preparation. It was bad for business and for the surrounding community.

Manjas needed a partner that could not only automate time-consuming data-collection processes but also provide a simple, assisted DIY tax filing solution for clients its tax preparers couldn’t meet with directly. Column Tax helped the firm achieve both goals.

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The fix: Automating data entry with an embedded tax filing solution

Compared to legacy tax software, Manjas found Column Tax’s solution exceptionally intuitive and easy for clients to use. Embedded directly into Manjas’s online platform, Column Tax’s APIs automate the flow of data and maps it to clients’ tax forms. The result is a quick, painless, and more cost-effective tax filing process for Manjas’s clients.

Better still, Column Tax’s technology has supported the innovative, AI-powered DIY Taxes service that Manjas now offers. The tool guides clients through tax preparation, helping them understand which forms are required and which deductions they might qualify for. This is a game-changer for Manjas. They can now help thousands of additional clients—especially those who feel comfortable doing their own taxes but still may need a bit of extra support.

It has also been a time-saver. For Manjas, the first 45 minutes of every hour-long tax appointment used to be spent gathering and entering data and tracking missing documents. With Column Tax, clients have already done the paperwork before they step through the door, so they can get straight to the issues that matter.

“Thanks to the financial data Column Tax provides upfront, we can dig right into the meat of each conversation, helping clients get the most out of their tax returns instead of just plugging numbers into the system.” – Mandeep Chhabra, COO and CFO, Manjas Tax

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The outcome

• 75% time savings: Instead of spending 45 minutes of every hour wrangling clients’ data, Column Tax helps Manjas eliminate manual paperwork and get straight to optimizing returns.
• +1000s more clients: By streamlining data flows and powering an AI-driven, DIY tax tool, Manjas’s team can take on more clients and meet increasing demand.
• Advancing the mission: Automating tax filing through Column Tax helps Manjas offset net-negative returns when its tax preparers take time to counsel clients struggling with simple tax demands—something core to its company values.