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Full Printable Handbook PDF
SECTION 8: ONLINE & ELECTRONIC SERVICES 
Montana Unemployment Insurance offers a number of online and electronic services for employers. Employers interested in electronic filing or payment may do so either using our online filing and payment service, WOW, or via electronic media, as described on pages 21-22. Employers and their authorized representatives may access account information online through UI4Employers. We encourage you to use all of our secure, online services.
UI4Employers - Online Registration, Forms, and View Reports
UI4Employers provides employers secure, online access to their UI account information such as report and rate history, rate notices, statements of account, benefit charge statements, and more. It can also generate quarterly payroll report forms and employment posters. You can also register for a new account on UI4Employers.
Only an owner, officer or partner can initially access their UI account. Upon gaining access, the owner, officer or partner becomes the “access rights administrator” and can grant access to other officers, partners, employees or employer representative (such as accountant or payroll service provider). Before receiving access, those additional users must first log into UI4Employers, get a “user ID,” and provide their ID to the access rights administrator. The UI4Employers service does not permit an employer to update their account information online. However, instructions are provided for making changes.
UI4Employers may be accessed at: ui4employers.mt.gov Users log in using the Montana e-Pass portal. Users who do not have an e-Pass account must first create one. After entering their e-Pass account information, the user will be directed to UI4Employers main menu.
“Instructions” and “How Do I” tabs are provided throughout the service to explain what is required as a user navigates through the application or process.
Employers and authorized employer representatives may access the following Unemployment Insurance services through UI4Employers:
| Register (apply) for a new Unemployment Insurance (UI) account. | |||
| View UI account information including: rates and taxable wage base, account balance due, employer demographics, alternate business name(s), and contact list | |||
| View & Print UI Forms and Documents Including: | |||
| > | Quarterly Wage Reports | ||
| > | Number of missing or estimated employer quarterly reports | ||
| > | Electronic filer payment coupon (UI-5) | ||
| > | Rate Notice(s) | ||
| > | Statement of Account | ||
| > | FUTA Recertification | ||
| > | Benefit Charges | ||
Electronic Filing and Payments
Employers are strongly encouraged to e-file quarterly UI reports rather than using paper forms. Filing electronically can save both time and money for employers and the agency. Since accurate data is the key to proper tax payments and to timely benefit payment processing, everyone stands to benefit from electronic reporting. We currently offer two methods for filing electronically:
| E-File and pay your report with WOW | ||
| ICESA file format that requires mailing a CD with the files or securely e-mailing your file(s) through E-pass, the State of Montana File Transfer Service |
E-filing UI Quarterly Reports using WOW
Our e-file program is called WOW and the home page is located at wow.mt.gov On the home page, you can view a demo to get a feel for all the features available.
Registering to use WOW is quick and easy. You will need your FEIN and UI account number to register. Click on the link New WOW Users: Click Here to Register.
Using WOW to prepare and file your report will save you time because it stores the names and social security numbers of your employees as well as their previously reported wages so that you do not have to re-enter their names and social security numbers or make excess wage calculations when you prepare the report.
After you enter the quarterly wages for each employee, WOW will calculate each employee’s excess wages and the tax due. We encourage new users of WOW to begin filing electronic reports in the first quarter of the year to ensure correct excess calculations. If you would like to start utilizing WOW later in the year, and anticipate having employees with excess wages, you will need to enter all prior quarter wages into WOW.
Electronic Payments using WOW
The electronic payment feature in WOW initiates an ACH debit from a bank account you specify and applies the payment to your UI account. To make a payment online you must first register to use WOW (if you have not already done so) and then store your banking information by choosing “Register/Update Electronic Payment Information (ACH Debit)” from the WOW main menu. You can pay online even if you did not file your report online. You must initiate an ACH debit payment each time you wish to make a payment.
E-filing with wage upload files
If you have several employees, you may want to upload wages to WOW, rather than entering the wages individually. Uploading is fairly simple whether you have an accounting system which can export information to Excel, use Quickbooks, or have a system which creates ICESA files. Each of these programs can save the information into a file with a CSV (Comma-delimited) format on your computer. Then you simply sign into WOW, choose the Upload Employee Wages option on the main menu, and Browse, click, and press the Upload Now button and the quarterly wages will be transferred to WOW. Follow the prompts to create and submit your quarterly report.
For more information about converting wages files to a CSV format, visit wow.mt.gov or refer to our Electronic Media Reporting Handbook.
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