CFRS_Request_for_Information_5.5.15.docx

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) FROM IRS FORM PRINTING/PROCESSING VENDORS

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for informational purposes to identify the IRS forms processing capabilities of the various COTS packages and services offered by form processing/printing vendors. This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). Responses will not be considered as proposals nor will any award be made as a result of this RFI. The Government (Acquisition Management Division (AMD) / Farm Service Agency (FSA)) will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties in responding to this request for information.

The anticipated NAICS codes is 541213 – Tax Preparation Services.

FSA is conducting market research and desires input from the industry to assist in requirements planning for a project for the USDA, Farm Service Agency (FSA). The information requested by this RFI will be used within the Government (Acquisition Management Division (AMD) / Farm Service Agency (FSA)) to facilitate the decision making process and will not be disclosed outside of AMD and FSA.

FSA is seeking information regarding COTS packages that may potentially be utilized as part of the solution to FSA’s IRS Reporting modernization efforts. The COTS package/service should facilitate the uploading of financial/tax related data and provide automated processing of all forms FSA is currently required to provide to our customers and the IRS. Automated COTS processing and features may include but not be limited to such things as IRS form generation (including customized FSA forms), e-Filing capabilities, printing/mailing of forms, web/PDF presentation of completed forms, uploading of corrections for erroneous form data, and multi-year storage/retrieval capability for completed customer tax forms.

1. Information requested from vendors.

a) Company Information:

Company Name Product (COTS Package) Name Address Point of Contact(s) (POC) name(s) POC telephone number(s) POC e-mail address Identification of business size CAGE code DUNS number

b) Available tax forms:

For each tax form listed in the table below that your product supports, please place an X in the appropriate column if the product offers the following functionality: 1. e-Filing the tax form with the IRS, 2. Printing/Mailing the tax form to the customer, 3. Displaying the tax form online for customer viewing (PDF Web-presentment).

(X) Print/Mail

(X) PDF Web-presentment (X) Notes

c) Basic Features:

· Please describe how the tax forms can be uploaded into the product.

· Describe the tax form correction process. How can corrections be uploaded to the product?

· How can tax forms be removed and/or replaced in the product?

· Can the product print and mail tax forms?

· How are tax forms mailed? (regular envelope/tri-fold)

· Does the product allow updates to customers' mailing address throughout the year? Please explain how.

· Can the product make the tax forms available online (web presentment)?

· Are online tax forms available for multiple years?

· Can the product support customized tax forms? For example: USDA currently sends a customized version of the 1099-G form to the tax payers, which is different from the regular IRS 1099-G form.

· Can the product send out a customized summary statement along with the tax forms? The summary statements can show how a specific tax amount was accumulated.

· Please explain how the product can e-File tax forms with the IRS.

· Does the product allow customers to set their preference whether to receive tax forms by mail or electronically (e-consent)? How can this preference be updated throughout the year for any customer?

· Does the product allow masking all but the last four digit of the TIN? If so, is it configurable for each form type? Is it available for mailing and web presentment?

d) User Interface:

· Does the product provide a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to manage the product?

· Describe the features of the GUI and the technology used.

· Does the GUI allow multiple users to login to the site? How are the user roles and user responsibilities managed?

· Does the GUI adhere to the Government Section 508 standards? Does the vendor have a VPAT (Voluntary Product Assessment Template) for the product?

e) Web Service:

· Does the product offer a Web-service or REST (Representation State Transfer) API to access the tax information? Please describe the available technology.

· Please list the available Web-service API’s with a brief description. (ie. API to get available tax forms, download forms, e-consent, etc).

· Are there other ways to access the data from the product such as SQL queries or file export? Please describe.

f) COTS Package – In-house Installation:

· Can the product be installed in-house? (if not, skip the rest of this section)

· What are the software requirements for this product, including licensing, database, etc?

· What are the hardware requirements for operating this product?

· What is the process to maintain and backup the database?

· Is there any training provided for in-house product installation and operation?

· Is there help and support available for the product?

g) COTS Package – Off-site Installation:

· Is this product available as a remote service (SAAS software as a service)? (if not, skip the rest of this section)

· How can a client integrate with this remote service?

· Does the vendor or the client operate and maintain the product?

· Is there any training provided by the vendor for operating/maintaining the service?

h) Security:

· How is the data communication secured between the client and the remote service? What type of security standards and encryption is used?

· How is access to the web application secured?

· How are user credentials and roles managed and secured in the product?

· How is PII (Personal Identifiable Information), sensitive data such as Social Security Numbers, etc. stored in the system? Is there any data encryption?

i) Testing support:

· How does the vendor support the acceptance testing of data files received from customers?

· What is the typical timeframe required to acceptance test the processing of customer data files through the product?

2. While the Government will likely not respond to any questions from this RFI, we are interested in any questions/concerns that your company may have as a result of reviewing our draft document. By providing your concerns at this stage, we hope to provide a better solicitation if an RFQ is issued.

3. Submission Information. Response by e-mail is required and should be forwarded to Dhavidson Cayanan, Contractor Support at Dhavidson.cayanan@wdc.usda.gov and Daniel Bowker, Contracting Officer, at daniel.bowker@wdc.usda.gov. Response is requested on or before 05/22/2015. The total RFI response document shall not exceed 30 pages.