IRIS Software and Services Continues to Lead Third Party Software Market for Online Self Assessment Filing

DATCHET, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IRIS Software and Services today announced that figures released by HMRC confirm that self assessment (SA) returns filed online using IRIS software increased 4.8% to just over two million (2,001,987) in the run up to the 31 January 2010 deadline. This gives IRIS a total market share of almost 46% of all returns completed using third party software. IRIS attributes much of this increase to recent investments in product engineering and support services that have made the whole process of filing online easier and quicker for its customers.

“Well done IRIS. January for us is a very busy month, no time was lost and you kept us on track for the tax return season.”

With HMRC increasing the pace of its online strategy, accountants and individuals rose to the challenge this year with a total of 6.43 million returns being filed online by the 31 January 2010 deadline – three quarters of all returns submitted. This represents an increase of nearly 12% on the 2009 total, when around 5.8m people filed online by the deadline.

The results show that 32% (2.04 million) of the online returns were filed using HMRC's own software. The rest were filed online using third party software. IRIS, PTP and Drummohr software [collectively] accounted for nearly 46% of the returns from the third party segment. If returns filed online using HMRC's own software are included then the IRIS Group achieved a 31% market share overall.

After investing heavily in extra staff to support the SA filing deadline, IRIS was able to expand its online and telephone support service to deal with increased demand. The company also established a dedicated Web page for frequently asked questions, in particular around exclusions. This increased level of support has also helped IRIS record a 60 percent increase in customer satisfaction, according to its most recent Net Promoter Score.

The level of support exceeded many customers expectations. One IRIS customer, accounting firm Abros Ltd in Croydon, said: “Well done IRIS. January for us is a very busy month, no time was lost and you kept us on track for the tax return season.”

Phill Robinson, managing director of IRIS Accountancy Practice Solutions, said: “Practices using IRIS software have wholeheartedly welcomed the use of online filing to maximise efficiency, because the entire IRIS product range, be it Drummohr, PTP or IRIS, is so easy to use. We are also ideally placed to help UK accountancy practices successfully file online due to the total integration between IRIS and HMRC systems, which is soon to be extended with the imminent introduction of iXBRL technology in the IRIS product set. Combining our technology with strong support services ensures the best possible filing experiences for our customers, which is leading to better market share year on year.”

About IRIS
IRIS Software & Services is the UK’s largest privately-help software company. It serves the UK accountancy sector under three brands; IRIS, PTP and Drummohr. It is the market-leading provider of fully integrated software and services to UK accountancy firms. The company has over 14,000 accountancy practices of all sizes and has 40 per cent of the countries top 50 firms as clients. IRIS is headquartered in Datchet, UK. More details at: www.iris.co.uk as well as the company’s official CEO blog at: http://www.irisblogs.co.uk/