Write requirements around the reporting operation
List the legal entities, reporting responsibilities, source systems, expected volumes and delivery destinations. Distinguish C-series employer reporting from B-series coverage reporting using the C-series and B-series instructions. Do not assume every form named in a broad healthcare discussion belongs in your organization's filing project.
For each requirement, identify the person who needs the capability and the evidence that would demonstrate it. Separate essential release requirements from conveniences. An RFP should make vendors answer the same concrete workflow questions.
Run a proof of concept with defined results
Use synthetic data representing difficult but ordinary work: multiple employers, effective-dated changes, missing source facts and a post-acceptance correction. Document expected results before the vendor demonstration. Save the observed outputs and differences.
Fictional selection team Harbor Group tests 20 scenarios. Sixteen pass, two require an agreed mapping change and two remain unresolved. Reporting a 90% success rate by counting the mapping proposals as passes would conceal work. The decision record should distinguish observed passes, work awaiting retest and unsupported requirements.
Plan the data, people and release gates
Assign owners for source extraction, mapping, reporting decisions, permissions, validation and approval. Schedule a trial conversion before the final filing-season cutover. Compare the migrated output with the reviewed source and preserve any prior filing references needed for corrections.
Electronic B- and C-series returns use IRS AIR. Establish whether your organization or a service provider transmits, who retrieves processing feedback and how unresolved errors return to the right source owner. Record the dependency rather than assuming that an import completes the filing service.
Compare the full operating cost and data obligations
Price the same expected population and activities across proposals: entities, original returns, prior-year work, corrections, statement delivery, selected state outputs, support and exports. Ask which items are included, usage-based or outside scope. Use the cost workbook to record vendor-confirmed assumptions.
For security, request evidence covering the actual service, access controls, data transfers, incident responsibilities, retention and exit. Confirm what the customer must configure or operate. Software capabilities and independent assurance evidence should be reviewed against your requirements rather than treated as a general guarantee of legal compliance.
Choose a practical guide
Use the practical guide library below for the next step. Each guide includes a worked example, a diagram and a downloadable worksheet.
Questions from reporting teams
Should the RFP ask whether the vendor supports ACA?
Go further. Specify the forms, entities, source relationships and delivery work your organization needs, then require evidence for those tasks.
Does the lowest per-form price mean the lowest cost?
Compare the same complete scope and assumptions. Additional entity fees, corrections, delivery, support or data-export work can change the operating cost.
When should a proof of concept count as passed?
When the expected behavior was observed and material differences were resolved or accepted through a documented decision. A proposed future repair should remain pending until retested.
What should survive a software exit?
Identify the data and evidence your organization needs to retain, including prepared outputs, source associations, agency responses and correction history. Test the available export before making that dependency part of the contract.
Evaluate BoomTax for your ACA filing scope
Create a BoomTax account to begin your organization's filing setup. Keep the reporting year, expected return volume and reviewed source records available as you prepare the project.
