Drake Software, a national leader in professional tax preparation software headquartered in Franklin, is expanding their call center in Hayesville and will hire about 50 new customer service representatives to man it.

A new 10,000-square-foot facility will be constructed in the Clay County Industrial/Technology Park and is expected to open in January 2014. The new building will be linked to the already established call centers in Franklin and Sylva and provide access to the same benefits and resources.

Customer service representatives for Drake Software provide technical assistance to users of the software programs Drake develops, including their award-wining tax and accounting software suites. Last year, customer service representatives were able to assist more than 37,000 tax preparers in a matter of seconds during tax season.