I’ve heard it said that you have to hear something 10 times before it takes root and you actually believe it (at least I think I heard someone say that, but maybe it was only once or twice…) In any event, over the last few months, I have been on countless phone calls with employers of smaller organizations (less than 250 EEs) that are throwing their hands up trying to determine how they are going to produce Forms 1094-C and 1095-C in January 2016. We have been counseling employers and their agents to turn to their payroll company as a primary solution provider and also to consider utilizing a benefits administration company or stand-alone ACA software provider. After all, these providers are best positioned to manage both the compliance (managing look-back periods for a variable hour workforce) as well as the 1094/1095 reporting. However, we’re finding that when those options don’t work because the payroll company requires an upgrade (or two or three), payroll is managed in-house, they don’t currently leverage a benefits administration platform, or they don’t have the budget for any of the available options, then the employer is stuck between a rock and a hard place. This is particularly true for organizations that do not have a variable hour workforce, but simply need to produce Forms 1094/1095 at year end. In these situations I was finding myself stuck between my own rock/hard place and would, with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, tell the client that they could simply set aside time at the end of the year, lock themselves in a room, and complete the forms manually (fillable pdfs or (gasp) with a ballpoint pen). As a technology consultant, I couldn’t in good conscience really suggest that, but I was finding myself without any real solutions. I kept telling clients that there is a business opportunity for someone to create a program that could easily produce Forms 1094/1095 via a straightforward wizard to satisfy this need. I must have said this aloud 10 or more times…and then it finally took root and I began to take action. After some thorough analysis and planning, I am quite pleased to share with you that we have built our own wizard-based, 1095 Form generator solution for our partner agencies – DIY1095. Our plan is to distribute the DIY1095 tool to our agencies and you, in turn, would make the solution available to your clients. The tool is a Turbo Tax-like solution that would allow an employer to step through an on-line wizard to ultimately generate completed Forms 1094-C and 1095-C. They would also have the ability to upload 80% of the data to streamline entry into the tool. Once completed, the employer would print the populated forms and they would simply mail them to employees and the IRS. Simple, straightforward, and streamlines the employer’s responsibility at year end. Best of all, your agency would be seen as delivering a solution to them that they could not find elsewhere and helps further cement your role as their trusted advisor. In the coming weeks, we will be reaching out to you to lead a system demonstration and discuss how this could be utilized by your agency for your clients.