Software review

[Art]

Peachie,

I am testing TRX Pro, having used ATX for many years. I was able to get them to extend the offer till May 31st at $ 299+shipping and guaranteed annual renewal at that price. Will post my thoughts after more testing. Sounds like you are very satisfied.

[anu31402]

I switched over from ATX to Drake this tax season after 6yrs. The switch was pretty smooth except it would have been seamless if I had practiced much earlier with Drake. The program is fast and income allocations among states much more easier than ATX. You can pretty much handle more tax returns at a faster rate than with ATX. I'm happy I made the move. I tried to move my payroll clients from Quickbooks to Drake CWU which comes free when you buy Drake software everything was ok until I find out states payroll returns are still work-in-progress unlike Quickbooks. I began to feel unease when Bill Flurry (the man in charge of CWU) replied a question about NY MCTMT tax that management has not decided to include the form. This was in January of this year and this tax took effect in the 3rd Quarter of 2009. I quickly switched back to Quickbooks who already are up to date.
Overall, Drake itself is cool.

Kay, EA

[Roberts]

BTW, my understanding is that nobody, but NObody received Taxwise via TRX this past year.

That would be wrong.

[Ross]

TaxAct

I've been using TaxAct for about 10 years. It does everything I need at a reasonable price. I get all states and free e-filing for $569. This year it even included city forms for Michigan. Working in an athletic department at a University for nearly 12 years, I do several out of state returns and now it seems to be able to handle most part year resident returns very well.

I do about 140 returns each season and now have a day job as a controller for an oil company. Most of the returns I do are not very complicated. I often think about going out on my own and expanding my business. However, I think I would still stick w/ TaxAct. I use TaxAct's business software for a few 1120S and 1065s at my day job. The business software is easy to use and also priced right.

[oceanlovin'ea]

found my email

I just found my email from TRX Alliance. He said the product they are actually using now is a version of Taxworks. They had tried Taxwise last year and did not have good success with it.
So what I would be getting now is a version of Taxworks. Peachie, is that what you have now?

I will let them send it to me and try it out on some of the returns I have left to do. I do efile my business returns too. But we would have to see the advantages.

I think I will be able to do some experimenting this summer. My mind is in a much better place now and am more organized.

Linda

[Peachie]

Linda,

Since I do some business returns, I would have to buy the more expensive prrogram that TRX offers. So my savings is cut down quite a bit.

It is interesting how many on this board really like Drake.

Linda

take a look at the TRX promos. I think you can get the business modules at the cheaper rate just with no e-filing. To get it with e-filing is $599 but you get some other things as well including the Busness Management software. It's still a savngs over TSP should you decide to change. I admit, I had better luck with the software than you. Good luck with your decision. This time last year I was in the same boat.

Peachie

[oceanlovin'ea]

Still a quandry

I am still in a quandry about software. I have used TaxslayerPro since I went out on my own almost 10 years ago. I was very interested in trying ATX through TRX alliance, but I missed the boat on getting ATX and was sent the other program they had available. Whatever they sent me Taxwise or Taxworks, I didn't like. I just went back to TAxslayerPro.

TRX has called me and told me that they will give me the program free this year because of my problems last year. So I think I will accept their offer.

I will probably stay with TaxslayerPro one more year. I am going to get a Drake program and try it out. Then I will know which one I want to go with.

Since I do some business returns, I would have to buy the more expensive prrogram that TRX offers. So my savings is cut down quite a bit.

It is interesting how many on this board really like Drake.

Linda

[DonPriebe]

... The demise of ATX has been predicted for a long time, but it has actually gotten better the past couple of years. ... No way to know what a big company like that will do because their decisions are driven entirely by what they THINK is in their best interests with little regard for the customers. But unless they engineer a buyout of Drake, they stand to lose a big chunk of business the day they kill ATX.

It's not that CCH would "kill" ATX in the same sense that they "killed" Intellitax after they bought it. But CCH Small Firm Services now has two competing tax products - ATX and TaxWise. Both have unique features and faults. ATX has a very comprehensive set of forms and worksheets but is somewhat fragile. TaxWise has a very large user base because of its use by the IRS walk-in offices and the IRS out-reach programs (VITA, TCE), but has a number of annoying user "features" that are really bugs. Consolidating these two programs into a single entity makes good sense.

[Peachie]

I changed from Taxslayer Pro to TRX

After 10 years of using TaxSlayer, we departed company this year. TS was too expensive for my needs. When I had a job besides tax prep, I paid little attention to my expenses. Times have changed and so have I. I tried to work out an amicable agreement with TS to no avail. However, now I know it was the best thing to happen to me in 2009.

I went with TRX Pro 1040 because it gave me the software I needed and all of the states, free electronic filing and a great review screen. The support was top notch. TRX converted all of my TS files flawlessly. I am a quick learner and knew that all tax programs have something in common and that’s where I began. I learned the basics fairly quickly and liked it more and more each time I “discovered” some new thing. For example, I discovered that whatever is on the forms side has a similar worksheet that matches it perfectly. For example, anything on the 1040 pages 1 and 2 are on the general info screen. There is a peek function that allows you to look at your actual forms after data entry if you choose to. I always wanted to check peek to see if TRX transferred my state tax refund for client’s that itemized the previous year. It did.

There is also a Review screen that offers input about something the program think you missed or wants you to take a look at. It offers a “fix” and takes you to where the correction or input should go. The few times I had a need for support, I always received expert and great support. One thing I enjoyed so much with TS was its support team. I am glad TRX made the switch easier for me.

Mainly, I loved the price and ease of use. I also received the business components as part of the lower priced fee. I never downloaded them because I had no need for them. I had a great tax season—a small increase in clients and an increase in revenue. I will be renewing with TRX on April 30 at the same price and they are adding a business feature into that price called Business Management Software. I am sure it’s exactly as the name implies.

I am all in with TRX. Your price is not suppose to change as long as you’re a member. This sounds good to me.

Peachie

[JohnH]

The demise of ATX has been predicted for a long time, but it has actually gotten better the past couple of years. Maybe CCH is setting us up for the big disappointment, but I do think they are having to factor in the fact that they will drive lots of customers to Drake, rather than to their other in-house products. All they have to do is read the comments on the Unofficial ATX community to get a sense of what would happen, and we're pretty sure they are monitoring us.

No way to know what a big company like that will do because their decisions are driven entirely by what they THINK is in their best interests with little regard for the customers. But unless they engineer a buyout of Drake, they stand to lose a big chunk of business the day they kill ATX. This is one of the reasons I never take their early discount - I buy the product only after I see it working. That worked out well this year, because their Intelliforms turned out to be something FAR less that advertised and I bailed out on it.

As for switching, I'm not sure what I'd say about that. I found the transition from Ultra Tax to be virtually seamless because ATX is so intuitive. For someone who knows their way around a spreadsheet, ATX can almost be run right out of the box. But as Roberts pointed out, what works for one won't necessarily work for someone else.

[David1980]

ATX is a dead product as far as I understand it. Planned replacement for 2012, so probably last tax year of 2010 or 2011? If looking for software to convert to that would make me nervous, as I wouldn't want to convert to new software and learn it and then have to change a year or two later. A pity really, there's not a lot of forms based tax software left.

Drake I doubt is going anywhere.

[taxjungle]

I like ATX software

I'm with JohnH. I also have used ATX for several years. It is worksheet based but it is also flexible, and the price is great. I like ATX better than Drake, but Drake is a great program. I switched to ATX when I couldn't afford Drake when I was went out on my own. I've been happy with it these several years. Price is still good so far!

Their website is: www.atxinc.com if you're interested in checking it out.

[ChEAr$]

I would check to make sure you can buy TAXWISE threw TRX next year.I ordered it from them this year they were unable to deliver to me.I am still trying to receive a refund.

yes, I remember we discussed this before tax season. I never did press the refund option with TRX since TAxwise called me and re signed me for free. And "free" meant more than I had ever had before with Taxwise. But things change.

BTW, my understanding is that nobody, but NObody received Taxwise via TRX this past year.

[MLINDER42]

Software

I would check to make sure you can buy TAXWISE threw TRX next year.I ordered it from them this year they were unable to deliver to me.I am still trying to receive a refund.

[Roberts]

TaxWise

I use TaxWise through TRX. I really like it and haven't had a problem with it AFTER the initial conversion. The conversion was rough because it didn't bring forward a lot of the information that it should have on rental properties. Also K-1's aren't dealt with perfectly but it's not a problem.

I like it and love it for the price.

I've used Pro-Series (hated it), TaxAct (it's great for beginners), ATX and a really goofy Tax Exact that wasn't even usable.

JMHO but tax software is something that has to work like your brain works. Sometimes the way they do things makes perfect sense for some people and for you it may not ever click so it's always a fight. Pro-Series just never made sense to me but maybe that was because of where I was in my career - don't know. I used it last year for one OLD return and it was a nightmare. I guess my point is that just because everyone likes a particular software doesn't mean it is perfect for you. Give it a demo run if you want to make a change.