Customer story · Southern Illinois University
Bringing 1098-T processing in-house with FormFusion
Southern Illinois University Carbondale stopped paying a contractor to produce its 1098-T tax statements. With FormFusion, one person now does in weeks what took five people two months, saving over $20,000 a year.
Carbondale, Illinois
4-year public research institution
FormFusion
- Over $20,000 saved a yearBringing 1098-Ts in-house took the third-party contractor out of the equation.
- Tax forms, delivered onlineFrom the following year, SIU distributed 1098-T forms electronically.
- 60% less timeOne staff member now prepares and sends every 1098-T in a few weeks.
Southern Illinois University at a glance
1869
Founded
18,000+
Students
2,000+
Faculty and staff
100+
Undergraduate programs
75+
Graduate programs
01
The challenge
$25,000 a year, five people, two months
Prior to 2011, Southern Illinois University (SIU) Carbondale was in a position many institutions can relate to: processing its annual 1098-T tuition statements was costing an inordinate amount of time, money, and staff hours.
$25,000 every year
Paid to a third party to produce and mail the forms to students.
Five staff involved
All of them prepping data for the contractor.
About two months
Spent assembling, testing, and exporting the data each year.
In 2010, SIU resolved to bring 1098-T processing in-house, but it needed to find a way to do it using the products and staff it already had.
02
The solution
The answer was a tool they already owned
SIU had been an Evisions customer since 2009 and was already relying on FormFusion in its Registrar and Law School offices. It knew FormFusion could process 1098-Ts in-house with substantial savings in time and cost.
FormFusion interacts directly with SIU’s Banner by Ellucian database, guaranteeing that the forms use the most complete, most current information. Alongside a full suite of design tools, it offers pre-built templates from the Evisions CO-OP User Community.
For SIU, implementation was simply a matter of downloading the 1098-T template and telling FormFusion to populate the forms with students’ data. Because SIU already owned FormFusion, the university didn’t have to spend a dollar to get the new system up and running.
Leaving the contractor also eliminated the middle step of preparing student data for export, a laborious process of assembling, testing, and exporting data into a format the contractor could work with. Since FormFusion pulls student data from Banner directly, a single staff member was able to prepare and send out all of the 1098-Ts in just a few weeks.
| Before | With FormFusion |
|---|---|
| A third-party contractor produced and mailed the forms | FormFusion produces the forms in-house |
| Five staff prepping data for export | One staff member, with data pulled straight from Banner |
| About two months of preparation | Two to three weeks, start to finish |
| $25,000 a year | The cost of postage: less than $5,000 |
“
Once I saw the savings from E-billing, I knew that taking 1098Ts online would be my next big project. I was so excited to pitch the proposal to my director. With her immediate blessing and in less than a year, 1098Ts were online and we’ve never looked back!
Jennifer Stillman · IT Manager/Administrative Coordinator, Southern Illinois University
03
The results
One person, a few weeks, the cost of postage
In January 2011, SIU sent out 26,000 1098-T statements to its students, much like any other year. This time, instead of five staff members, two months, and $25,000, one person did it in 2-3 weeks for the cost of postage: less than $5,000.
Just by switching to FormFusion, SIU was able to save over $20,000 a year. The following year, SIU distributed 1098-T tax forms electronically, saving the postage cost as well.
Over $20,000 a year
Saved by leaving the third-party contractor behind.
Five people down to one
A single staff member prepares and sends every 1098-T.
Weeks, not months
Prep time fell from about two months to 2-3 weeks.
Delivered electronically
From the following year, no postage cost either.
“
Having my 1098T form online has been one of the greatest things ever! It is so convenient to be able to print duplicate copies of my form for my parents at no extra cost as well as be able to see each individual charge that my box 2 number includes.
Gabe Herbst
Student
04
The future
One process done, more to automate
SIU has been very satisfied with the success of its new 1098-T process. The experience has served as an impetus to expand its efforts to automate more document-generation processes across campus.
SIU has also used FormFusion to make its billing process entirely electronic.
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