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Please continue to inventory all of your Chromebooks. It is important that you know who has every Chromebook that is assigned to you in OIS. Once located, please update the "Assigned To" name and the "Responsible For" name in the OIS System. In addition, there has been a new field added to OIS titled "Usage". It is equally important that you update this field. Please select: Available - if the Chromebook can be used for a new volunteer. In Use - if the Chromebook is already assigned to an existing user. Reserved - if the Chromebook is placed in storage during the off-season or is used as a backup unit Please let me know of any Chromebooks that you cannot locate or any Chromebooks in your possession that are not in OIS. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you in advance for spending time on this endeavor. Ray

Last one for now...to be submitted 28 April. Many thanks in advance for critique, comments, and suggestions. Change “EroName” error message on ERO Setup Page to something descriptive The present message requires a TaxSlayer support ticket to understand. [Yes, the entire text of the error message is "EroName"] When sites are reordered, and perhaps when new sites are ordered, the office name on the order is propagated to the ERO Name regardless of the length of the office name. When the office name is longer than 30 characters and the ERO Setup is subsequently updated using the Web interface, the message “EroName” appears on the screen under the ERO name. This message is not used when a person attempts to type an ERO Name longer than 30 characters on the web interface. The web page stops accepting characters after 30 have been typed. It only appears when sites are first set up or re-opened and have an office name greater than 30 characters long. It may be well to consider when propagating an office name to the ERO Name, truncating the office name to 30 before placing it in the ERO Name field. Only the ERO Name should be truncated. The office name should remain unchanged. Regardless, the current error message should be improved. #### -- Stephen "Steve" Orso TC, PA1-D22

Just a couple of notes regarding ordering equipment for your districts. 1. Do not use Regional Funds when you seek reimbursements for purchases of supplies and equipment. Any requests that require Regional Funds need to be preapproved by State and National Technical staff. For most purchases use Code Z and Federal Grants. 2. Please do not order any routers at this time. The National Technical Staff, including one of our PA1 TCs, will be evaluating routers before the start of the next tax season. 3. Seeking reimbursement for the purchase of new copiers has come to the attention of the National Technical Staff, been reviewed by them, and they have decided that these reimbursements are no longer authorized. The use of current equipment to support our taxpayers can continue. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you Ray

Third planned submission; fear not, there is only one more after this one. Critique and suggestions welcome. All to be submitted on April 28th. Many thanks in advance! Allow Office or ERO Setup to suppress all references to fees Add a checkbox to Office Setup or ERO Setup, whichever is appropriate, to disable all fee-related functionality for the office or ERO. This checkbox would be used by VITA/TCE offices to remove functionality inappropriate for a volunteer tax preparation service, such as is offered by AARP Foundation Tax-Aide. Disablement includes: Disabling generation of an invoice page, even if included in the Print Set. An invoice serves no purpose, is a waste of paper if printed, and a waste of time to suppress for a VITA/TCE program. Disable the Fees tab of the Efile menu. The tab should not appear at all, just as the Bank Information tab does not appear when no direct deposit/direct debit options are selected for the return. Tax-Aide completed roughly 1.1 million returns in tax year 2023. That means preparers and quality reviewers had to skip past that tab, which is a required visit, 2.2 million times. More if multiple reviews of the return are required. That wastes preparer and reviewer time, especially if the site has a dodgy Internet connection—not uncommon for volunteer spaces. TaxSlayer’s infrastructure had to serve up the Fees page at least 2.2 million times to no good end. Add the non-Tax-Aide VITA/TCE return counts to those numbers. I suspect the fee page suppression code already exists in TaxSlayer to support the retail pay-for product and the custom URLs used for Tax-Aide’s Facilitated Self Assistance Service Delivery model. Implementation might be limited to coding for the added user interface element and making the Fees page code sensitive to the setting created by that addition. #### -- Stephen "Steve" Orso TC, PA1-D22

I will be submitting this enhancement request to TaxSlayer and welcome comments before I do. I will submit on 28 April 2025. Thanks in advance. Enhance print set site configuration to improve preparer and site efficiency: Include all 12 TaxSlayer default print sets on the Print Set Configuration Page. Add a checkbox to each line on the Print Set configuration page to suppress the appearance of that Print Set in any print set drop-down selection list. It should be possible to suppress TaxSlayer Default, Relational EFIN subscribed, MSA, and site-specific print sets. Allow print sets to be displayed in a specified order in the print set drop-down selection lists, instead of the current random order, perhaps using the same user interface design as is used to reorder responses in custom questions. These changes would allow a preparer to choose from only those print sets used at a site and in an order that makes sense for the site, whether that’s alphabetical, frequency of use, or some other site-specific sort order. Benefits to Tax-Aide Sites TaxSlayer added nine default print sets for TY2024. The total of twelve default print sets are just noise and create a significant opportunity for errors in selecting print sets to be used for printing. Enabling suppression of these unneeded print sets reduces the probability that a preparer will select an incorrect print set. This reduces the generation of waste with Taxpayer Personally Identifiable Information. Sites often use a small number, but more than one, print set. Ordering print sets in the selection list ensures that sites’ common print sets appear at the top of the list, not just the site default print set. Suppression of subscribed R-EFIN Print Sets allows for responsive removal of unneeded print sets from drop-down selection lists by the site administrator in the event of delays incurred when contacting the R-EFIN’s Point of Contact to unsubscribe the R-EFIN print set. [PA1 has excellent R-EFIN POC's. Maybe other split-states don't.] Suppression of a site’s own print sets allows for an obsolete site Print Set to be removed from view but remain available in the event reversion to the old Print Set is required. ####

I'm not sure much can be added to this, but if there's something, I would welcome it. To be submitted on the 28th as well. Many thanks! Display a site’s Relational EFIN on the ERO Setup page If a site is included in a Relational EFIN or a Master Shared Account, that information should be displayed read-only on the ERO Setup screen in configuration. In Tax Year 2024, our split state had an issue with sites (EFINs) not being listed in one of our two Relational EFINs. It took multiple interactions on a support ticket to a) determine that the Relational EFIN for one of the missing sites was incorrect, and then to b) determine which sites were assign to the incorrect EFIN. The support interactions were very timely, professional, and pleasant. But it took quite some time and effort to get to the point where we felt a support ticket was the right next step. The proposed enhancement would eliminate the need for the ticket and for the pre-ticket diagnosis effort. #### -- Stephen "Steve" Orso TC, PA1-D22

Before the tax season began, we discussed the possibility that we would need to return a lot of our "older" Chromebooks at the end of the tax season and replace them with new models. This is called the "Chromebook Refresh" program. The good news is that only 7 of our Chromebooks in PA1 will need to be returned at the end of this tax season - 1 from D09, 2 from D10, and 4 from D24. All of the other Districts will not be impacted. Those 3 Districts will receive a separate email communication. On another note, we are being asked to locate Chromebooks that have not been used this tax season. I will send a subsequent email that will identify those Chromebooks. It is likely, that unused Chromebooks in PA1 will be need to be assigned to Counselors next season before we can order new Chromebooks. Please inventory all of your Chromebooks at the end of the tax season. Know who has every Chromebook that is assigned to you in OIS. Then update the OIS system with your results. Please let me know of any Chromebooks that you cannot locate or any Chromebooks that are not in OIS. If you have any questions, please let me know. Thank you in advance for spending time on this endeavor. Ray

If a counselor has ... been given an active assignment at an active site in the AARP Portal and also been marked as "Completed Certification Requirements" in the AARP Portal but their volunteer account is still in the Potential Volunteer (PV) unit, thus their access to TaxSlayer Pro on the chromebook is blocked --- then, and ONLY then to give that PV access to TaxSlayer: The Local Coordinator (LC) can logon to the Chromebook and click on Pro Online. The counselor can then use their assigned TaxSlayer password to log onto TaxSlayer. This action is only intended to address the potential lag between the time the PV is certified and when they are given access to TaxSlayer.

Some of you may have already experienced the issue of the Chromebook screen going blank without being Shut Down. You closed the lid and tried to restart but you were not able to restore the browser. If you experience the issue, here is a suggested approach to try to restore your screen: 1. Unplug the power cord (if attached) 2. Press the Chromebook power button until the blue light on the left-hand side of the Chromebook turns off (powering down the Chromebook) 3. Close the top of the Chromebook 4. Wait approximately 10 seconds 5. Open the top of the Chromebook 6. Press the Chromebook power button (restart the Chromebook) 7. Google Chrome browser should ask to Restore the browser to the previous tabs

TaxSlayer has inadvertently changed the Security role assigned to a pool of users. The bogus security role that was set up is labeled PREPARER CURRENT YEA. Please check the roles/permissions at your sites for your preparers to determine if they have the appropriate Role that you want assigned. One can get a report of all the users and their roles: Navigate to Reports --> Other Data Reports --> Username Report. Roles - PREPARER CURRENT YEA x Tax Returns Create new tax returns Open and Edit tax returns Delete tax return notes Set tax return passwords View full taxpayer SSNs Print tax returns Transmit tax returns to the IRS Mark returns Ready to Review Review other preparers’ returns Bypass marking for Review Revert returns back to In Progress Mark returns Complete Mark returns Imperfect Deactivate returns Client List Access Client List (current year) Access Client List (previous years) View Client Status View Refund Status on Client List Limited Users can view Accepted returns in Client List Access Accepted returns in Client List Group Users Access Office(s) Documents Clear signatures Access scanned documents Delete scanned documents Reporting Edit Reports List Fees Edit default Minimum Preparer Fee Edit default Maximum Preparer Fee Override Electronic Filing Fee during E-File Override Minimum Preparer Fee during E-File Override Maximum Preparer Fee during E-File Override Calculated Preparer Fee during E-File Preparers Assign Roles to users Change the Preparer assigned to a tax return Notifications Dismiss Message Center notifications Client Apps Send Customer Portal invites View client App Chat History Menus This Role Can Access Office Setup ERO Setup Preparer Setup Fees Setup Custom Fees and Discounts Roles & Permissions Question Templates Taxpayer Profiles Consent Forms Print Sets Tags IP Whitelist Custom Credits Reports

To follow up on our earlier communication regarding "excess" Chromebooks, do any Districts have a need for additional Chromebooks? So far, we have collected 25 Chromebooks that can be available to other Districts. If you have a need for some Chromebooks, please let me know this week. It is possible that other states may request our "excess" chromebooks. Thank you Ray 717.650.7522

As of today, there are zero Chromebooks available in the Tax-Aide central warehouse. If you have placed an order for Chromebooks and not received a shipping notice, the order is unlikely to be filled. No new orders are being filled. Do not submit any new orders for Chromebooks in the Portal. Do not return any Chromebooks to storage or for repair. To address this issue, we hope to get Chromebooks to districts that need them by redistribution, from districts that have extra, to districts that need them. Overall, the National organization thinks that we have more than enough Chromebooks for the 2025 tax season, but that some Chromebooks are simply in the wrong places, unneeded. Your District Coordinator should soon be asking you for the number of Chromebooks not being used in your District, that can be shared with other districts. Your District Coordinator should be determining if they need any additional Chromebooks, as well. Thank you Ray (The cost of shipping is reimbursable – code B, coordinating, Federal Grants)

For those Districts using Session Management to make appointments: When creating repeating appointment blocks, ignore the error message: There is not a shift that can contain this appointment. Once you fill in all the boxes, this message will go away. The message really means "You haven't filled in all the boxes yet." Please use the Calendar to select your dates, rather than keying in the dates. See the attached PDF. It explains this in more detail. Another potential problems users are seeing is Portal timeouts. The Portal can timeout your session and you won’t know that it happened. If you’re in the Site Calendar, things quit working. For example, the Create button remains disabled when you try to create appointments. If you have this problem., simply refresh your browser. That will take you to the login page. Basically, ignore the ERROR MESSAGES until all the fields have been filled.

We are starting to see some situations that you see a blank screen when you open a Chromebook (particularly on newer Chromebooks with the numeric keypad). These are situations where "Recovery mode" is useful: ● Blank screen, chromebook unresponsive ● Chromebook comes to you at an OS version higher than 126, and an "update" doesn't automatically roll it back ● Cryptohome corrupted To enter recovery mode: Press and hold Esc + Refresh , then press Power . Let go of Power. On some Chromebook models: Press and hold Esc + Maximize , then press Power . Let go of Power. When a message shows on the screen, let go of the other keys. If you see a message for a Recovery Device: Press CTRL D Please remember when you are finished with your Chromebook to select Shut Down rather than just closing the lid.

In a previous communication, Dick LeMay provided information about ordering consumables. Attached is a document suggesting three different types of equipment and the procedures to purchase: 1. Standard equipment provided by AARP, as shown on page 1 of the attached document. Use this spreadsheet National Equipment Ordering to order this equipment and send to rayequickel@...?.? Please download the spreadsheet first before completing. 2. Equipment that needs pre-approval from the Tax-Aide National staff, as shown on the 2nd page of the attached document. This tends to be specialized equipment and there are limits on how many units may be purchased. Send your request to rayequickel@.... 3. Equipment that you can purchase directly and ask for reimbursement, as shown on the 3rd page of the attached. This can be routers and Chromebook accessories. Use Code "Z" and Federal Grants in your Reimbursement request. There is one additional category. 4. Copiers Because of our need to copy documentation for the PA-1000 return, we may receive approval to purchase devices that can make copies. The procedure is to submit a PreApproval Reimbursement Request using Code "Z" and Federal Grants. If the State Coordinator approves, you can then purchase the copier directly. Then submit the Reimbursement Request tying it to the PreApproval. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. Thank you RayQ

GL-iNet SFT-1200 use at large sites The GL-iNet SFT-1200 is described by NTSC as supporting 52 concurrent connections (printers plus Chromebooks) on p.4 of NTSC’s R00a - Router Selection and Support Guide. One site has reported that use with 30 concurrent connections during a December training event resulted in instability, specifically the WiFi networks created by the SFT-1200 failed to appear in Chromebook WiFi network lists. A “Network Reset” of the router restored visibility to the WiFi networks seen by Chromebooks. Diagnostic testing ruled out Chromebook and site issues as contributing factors. Tests at two sites showed no operational issues with 15 connections or less. The router is new and we (PA1) have limited experience with it, so it is not possible to say with certainty what the upper limit is on connection count. In the meantime, we suggest: At sites with more than 15 concurrent connections, consider use of the higher-capacity GL-iNet MT-3000. Have the network reset process, described below, available and train site personnel on its use at sites using the SFT-1200. Next Steps If your sites have operational or training experience with the SFT-1200, please share it by replying to this email or adding a reply to this posting on groups.io whether or not you experienced a problem. Be sure to briefly describe the number of Chromebooks and printers connected and the nature of the workload, such as return preparation, tax training, initial Chromebook setup, or something else. One district (D22, eastern Northampton County) will have its annual two-week Certification Training starting on January 6th. The two GL-iNet models will be used on different days during that training. Another district, D04, (Bucks County, PA) will have training on January 13th and 15th. We will report on both experiences. GL-iNet Router Network Reset Procedure To perform a network reset, use the reset button on the side of the router next to the Mode switch. Press and hold the reset button for four seconds. If you hold the reset button for ten seconds, you will reset the SFT-1200 to factory settings, erasing your Tax-Aide configuration. You can find some additional information on the GL-iNet site under “How to repair network or reset to factory setting." Note that the same procedure is used to perform a network reset on all GL-iNet routers, including the MT-3000.

Good afternoon. If you are looking for some guidance on setting up your hotspot, please review the attached document. Thank you RayQ

Some of the newer Chromebooks (those with the number pad on the keyboard) have failed. They function fine and then one day they refuse to boot. On both the charge light was blue so they were fully charged. A workaround: 1. Unplug power cable 2. Hold down the power button until blue light goes out 3. Close lid 4. Open lid, operating system will load and then will present the login screen For other Chromebook tips, see: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JxlU4xmZGtWWB6iAEOIvnBpF8kQg9IwN

Attached is my current "PA -1 Quick Links" Drop-Down Benchmark List You can simply import it to any other Chrome account using the import Bookmarks function: From the Chrome browser click on the three vertical dots on the right hand side and select "Bookmarks and Data" A new window opens, select "Bookmark Manager" A new window opens, click on the three vertical dots on the right hand side of the new window and select "Import Bookmarks" Select the Bookmark file to be imported (from wherever you saved it) To add an item to the PA1 Quick Links list: : Select a new tab and enter the new link to display the item (and verify that it's what you want) Click on the "favorites" star on the address bar, and edit the name if desired, then save to the "PA-1 Quick Links" folder To delete and item from the list: Navigate to the Bookmark Manager Click on the "PA-1 Quick Links" (left hand side of screen) Click on the item to be deleted, then Click on the 2 vertical dots n to the right of the item and click the delete option You can customize this list to suit your local purposes. Enjoy Merry Christmas -- Richard Lemay D04 TC