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**Gretel** · 04-17-2009, 12:25 PM

I use ProSeries since I started my biz 7 years ago, I dislike Intuits' policies, but yet feel addicted to ProSeries. 3 years ago I looked at alternatives but didn't find any. Besides tax class I never did returns by hand and from scratch and feel I am missing out badly not having this experience. I rely on the error messages from ProSeries, a number of things I never would catch on my own. Unfortunately I don't have a person to check my returns. I never just trust the software and am not satisfied if I don't understand why things are done. So, ProSeries does a lot of things that the "old" tax preparers probably don't need, but what creates my addiction.

Customer service and technical support has become worse every year, plus this year was the first year that they offered their annual update seminar for Lacerte only but not for ProSeries. Somehow I have the gut feeling that one day they will offer Lacerte only, we'll see.

**erchess** · 04-17-2009, 02:44 PM

Comments

Drake has great customer service and is the least expensive software I have seen that would meet the needs of a practice that does returns more complicated than those of the wages / families / EIC crowd. They also don't compete with you by marketing to the DIY crowd and I judge them to be uninterested in being bought out by a larger company, both of which are plusses to me. However from the standpoint of one who is used to Taxwise, Drake is very different because it offers Spreadsheet Based Entry instead of Forms Based Entry.

I have heard a number of comments on here that kept me from strongly considering Pro Series when I was last in the market for software. For one thing there was a discussion this year on the fact that Pro Series did not for most of the year produce returns that were acceptable to the state of MN.

I demoed Crosslink last year as did Bees and it was one of the last products I crossed off my list before settling on Drake. I would recommend it to anyone who feels wedded to Forms Based Entry and isn't scared off by a price of around $1600 for an all inclusive package. I was impressed by the professionalism of their sales staff who know their product and do not employ pressure tactics.

**LawrenceGR** · 04-17-2009, 03:23 PM

Proseries

I have been using Proseries for about 8 or 9 years, before that I used ATX. I have never tried Taxwise, but I have demoed Taxworks Ultratax and Drake (many years ago). This year I even bought Ultra tax on a PPR that cost $160 just for the program, if you print or e-file there are addtional costs. It seems everytime I try something differant the learning curve is steep, I guess the same is true for someone that has used Drake or Taxwise for a long time. I'm not afraid to spend a couple dollars more if I think the product works better for me and my practice, however I did have trouble spending 3 times the price of Proseries for Ultratax. I think we have this discussion every year about this time and it good to hear what others have to say. One last thing in the years I have used Proseries I think I have only called tech support 3 times.

**kaimana** · 04-17-2009, 03:35 PM

I have used ProSeries since 1994. I have found them to be very open to suggestion and frequently find that something I have asked for one year is in the program the next. There are a few small things I don't like however, they have to do with the homebase for different types of returns and do not affect the returns themselves.

I do intend to demo Drake this summer due to all the accolades it is receiving and because it has a feature that verifys SSN's. Has nothing to do with the price. If I like it as much as PS and PS doesn't provide us with SSN verification in 2009, I may switch. If not I'm sticking with PS.

**David1980** · 04-17-2009, 05:01 PM

Originally posted by kaimana View Post

I do intend to demo Drake this summer due to all the accolades it is receiving and because it has a feature that verifys SSN's.

Drake will verify SSN's? Does that mean it'll tell you whether a given SSN is within the valid range for a SSN (doesn't all software do that?) or do you mean it'll actually tell me that for SMITH 123-45-6789 that the name doesn't match the SSN? Will it actually tell me what the name control is for the SSN? I'm not sure how doing any more than checking that the SSN is in the valid range for SSN's is possible. This has perked my interest.

**GTS1101** · 04-17-2009, 06:56 PM

Taxwise vs ProSeries

Thank You all for your comments and opinions. The thing that scares me the most about switching software programs is the big learning curve. I have spoken with Taxwise today and it seems like they are working on a lot of the issues I had problems with this past tax season. There price is higher than Pro Series as Pro Series is offering a great deal but I hate to be in the middle of the peak of the tax season and have trouble with the software. I think I will stay with Taxwise but I will continue reviewing both programs before I make my final decision.

Thank You!

GTS1101

**David1980** · 04-17-2009, 07:02 PM

Originally posted by GTS1101 View Post

Thank You all for your comments and opinions. The thing that scares me the most about switching software programs is the big learning curve. I have spoken with Taxwise today and it seems like they are working on a lot of the issues I had problems with this past tax season. There price is higher than Pro Series as Pro Series is offering a great deal but I hate to be in the middle of the peak of the tax season and have trouble with the software. I think I will stay with Taxwise but I will continue reviewing both programs before I make my final decision.

Thank You!

GTS1101

If you like taxwise, you should also consider purchasing through TRX. That would probably put the price among the cheapest of software. TRX just resells TaxWise, so same product with the same features.

**kaimana** · 04-18-2009, 04:17 PM

GTS1101 ProSeries is very easy to use. On any line of the tax return you have an option for program, plain english tax issues, or govt pub help.
I recommend you download or request th 2008 CD and play with it during the summer.

Dave1980...I had exactly the same question so I emailed Drake. This is their response:

If you use the help feature (Right-Click, View Help) on any SSN field it will tell you the state of origin, last year of issuance, and the minimum age of the taxpayer or dependent. I hope this helps.

Not exactly what I was looking for since i know that payroll personnel can verify SSN directly with SSA. Wish SSA would provide us pros with this feature! But I am still working on that issue and once I find a good source to plead to I will post it.

**MAJ** · 04-20-2009, 04:31 PM

TaxWise vs ProSeries & Others

I'm chiming in late - took a slight break! I wonder why!?

I switched to TRX the end of last year. I used (dare I say) TaxAct Pro for a number of years. I have a small (but growning) practive with 1040 / C / D / E returns. About 135 clients. TRX went through their change to TaxWise which I was concerned about and like others had the learning curve and migration issus to deal with. That was one of the bigger issues. The depreciation, etc.

So, now I have TRX and for the money ($299) ncluding efile and all states I don't have much to complain about. The slow client screen was annoying especially on the networked system. Seemed a bit slower going out the office {Wireless-N - PSA2}.

Does anyone else use TRX - Pros / Cons?
I'm getting ready to renew some time soon (I think) and would like some input.

I've considered Drake but haven't given it a fair shake yet.
The TRX Taxwise does SS validation - shows the state of origin and year (or rough) of issuance.

One think I would like to be able to do is email from the tax software client emails and secure PDF client organizers.

Cost to me is important but so is quality. With TaxAct I was paying almost $700 for software and e-filing. So $299 was a bargin and once I get more fluent with the software I do think it'll work out nicely.

Thanks for your input.

**luke** · 04-20-2009, 07:24 PM

I have used Taxwise for 8 years

and for the past couple of years there have been "irritating" little problems with the software. I really got upset this season when the "support" people emailed me lots of abolutely useless and irrelevant (to my problem) solutions! After several attempts, I got a support person that stayed with me till ALL my issues were resolved! I have considered switching to Drake, Taxworks and have looked at others - I made a choice a few years ago that IF Proseries (old Turbo tax) was the only software left I would RETIRE before using it!

**Lion** · 04-20-2009, 10:08 PM

Trx

TRX offers TaxWise and also supports TaxWise and will offer ATX for next season. TaxWorks was bought by HRB.

**luke** · 04-22-2009, 08:37 AM

Lion

Im not familiar with TRX? (thanks)

**Lion** · 04-22-2009, 08:40 PM

Trx

TRX is a reseller of tax prep software. Used to be IntelliTax, I think. Then, TaxWise. And starting with next tax season, two from ATX. They're the bulk buyer, so lower prices to end users. I think the support then comes from TRX, but now sure. I've just seen a lot of posts on the ATXCommunity board; haven't dealt with them personally.

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Taxwise vs ProSeries

Taxwise vs ProSeries

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