Operating in airports nationwide, OTG runs dining and hospitality services in one of the most complex tax environments possible. Every airport and municipality has its own rules. Every location has a different mix of taxable and nontaxable items. Layer in audit requirements and reporting deadlines, and the process of staying compliant quickly becomes overwhelming.
“Getting reports—what’s taxable, what’s not? We’ve run into a lot of challenges over the years.” — Todd Wegener, OTG
The complexity wasn’t just about data. It was about trying to manage disjointed processes across dozens of locations with limited automation, heavy manual work, and rising exposure to audits.
The Challenge
Before integrating tax.com into their Ryan services, OTG explored other software vendors. While those vendors promised automation, none were able to deliver the functionality OTG actually needed. The tools often sounded good in theory, but when it came time to address OTG’s audit risks, reporting complexity, and multi-location tax needs, the solutions fell short.
That left OTG stuck at “current state” with:
- Processes that weren’t connected
- Manual gaps that created risk
- Audit challenges that never truly went away
What OTG needed was more than software. They needed a partner who could blend technology with tax expertise and design a solution around their specific challenges.
The Approach
Ryan and tax.com delivered something unique: a combined software and services model where the tax firm and the software company work as one team.
1. Building Trust Through Services
The relationship didn’t begin with software; it began with Ryan’s tax services, guided by Client Services Principal Creed Shawera. From the very first interaction, Creed focused on listening to OTG’s challenges and proving value quickly.
Through Ryan’s success-fee services, Creed and the Ryan team identified opportunities for meaningful tax savings early in the partnership. That early win demonstrated Ryan’s depth of tax expertise and commitment to solving real problems.
This early success created a foundation of trust. As Todd and OTG saw firsthand, Creed wasn’t just there to sell a product. He was there to understand their business, deliver results, and build a relationship grounded in service.
“Todd was very open from the beginning of the relationship. Through that interaction we were able to effectuate some significant savings for OTG through our traditional success-fee-based services.” — Creed Shawera, Principal, Client Services
2. Listening First, Designing Later
Instead of dictating, Creed asked the right questions: Where were the biggest pain points? What slowed down the team? Which areas of reporting were most audit-sensitive?
That “listening-first” approach stood in sharp contrast to prior providers and ensured that the solution would reflect OTG’s reality.
3. Cross-Functional Deployment
When the conversation turned to automation, Ryan and tax.com worked side by side. Ryan’s Client Services team and tax.com’s technology experts collaborated directly, engaging across functions to design the right deployment.
Creed explained, “This was truly a cross-functional deployment. We had to engage both Ryan’s services and the tax.com technology team to deliver the solution Todd needed.”
4. A Custom Software Solution
The outcome wasn’t an off-the-shelf product. Together, Ryan and tax.com effectively built a custom deployment of the software, automating tax functionality and tailoring it around OTG’s complex airport operations.
Creed made the philosophy clear:
“We wanted to deliver the solution that OTG needed. There was no point to deploy a solution that’s going to at best keep them at current state.”
5. One Partner, Not Multiple Vendors
One of the biggest benefits for OTG was having a single partner accountable for both services and software. With Ryan and tax.com working as one, OTG didn’t have to juggle multiple providers or worry about misaligned priorities.
This is something no other provider can offer: a tax firm with battle-tested tax software.
“What makes Ryan and tax.com’s relationship so perfect is that we have the expertise and we have the software available. We can really think of the perfect way to implement that for our customers that exactly fits their needs.” — Anders Vonderheyde, Vice President, Customer Success, tax.com
The Results
By combining customer service, deep tax expertise, and flexible technology, Ryan and tax.com delivered outcomes that OTG hadn’t been able to achieve before:
- Immediate savings from Ryan’s service expertise.
- A tailored automation solution that streamlined reporting and reduced audit risk.
- One integrated partner delivering both services and software, removing the silos of multiple vendors.
- A foundation for long-term scalability, where the solution grows with OTG instead of holding them back.
Ready to Solve Your Tax Challenges?
If you’d like to see how we can combine services and software to tackle your toughest tax challenges, schedule a consultation today.