I have been using Lacerte tax software for over 15 years. This year I am starting to get a feel that their quality may be starting to suffer. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced some lack of confidence. My issues come from conversations with technicall support as well as when you look at some of the help screens for entering infomormation, they have incorrect page references and directions. Appreciate any comments as we all know the renewal will probably show up before tax season is over.
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I used Lacerte for 17 years and just switched to Drake and I love Drake. It's faster than Lacerte and easier to find where to enter data. Lacerte was superior on diagnostics catching errors on the returns. Drake does this, but Lacerte was better. Drake has too many boiler plate diagnostics (messages) that sometime do not even apply to the return your working on. I lost confindence in Lacerte as it started to slow down on data entry (appearing to calculation the return a little after each line of date entry). Also Lacerte just has not kept up with my home state of PA and the local income tax returns, it's data entry screens were not automating what it should. With Drake only a fraction of the cost of Lacerte, it has been for me a far better value. Also I did not like that I did not have a personal relationship with anyone at Lacerte, I was just a number. Drake you only deal with real people, even for Tech support, you feel appreciated and important. If you decide to switch, right at April 15th is the best time as you can get Drake (or whoever you switch to ) 2012 for free and do your extension returns on the new software. Hope it all works out for you. -
Thank you for your input. It just seems like intuit is getting too big to care anymore. They used to be about software and quality and I know wonder if they are not about making a buck. If we have to start checking the software it is useless. My fear is what will the do if they have tax calculations that are wrong, cause late filing of returns etc, has anyone had sucess on getting them to stand up and issue some refunds to taxpayers for their problem?Comment
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Correction in order -- Not just LaCerte (used to be a LaCerte user)--Look at other Intuit Products-- before the Intuit buyout was all about Quality and Tech, Support etc.
Intuit - which it doesn't not seem to matter whichi product is all about $$ - has also overlayed into the Quickbooks and all the "Pro" charges there - Even My Pro-Advisor Support is now reduced and diminished on Quickbooks and the Price keeps increasing
Maybe some other software will introduce a New Game that will give Intuit a run for their $$
SandyLast edited by S T; 03-09-2013, 04:39 AM.Comment
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Back when I was shopping for software, Lacerte was up there with ProSystem fx and Ultra Tax. But, over the years, I have heard negative things about it's quality, service, etc. If you want a thorough software and can afford the Lacerte price, I would demo ProSystem fx and Ultra Tax and seriously consider changing to one of them at the close of tax season to file your extensions and to move into next year. I love ProSystem fx.Comment
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I use ProsystemFX and Arthur Andersen's A+ before that. It is fantastic software and the support is superb. The price, however, is in nose-bleed territory.Comment
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Are Prs System and Ultra two different programs, I always thought they were the same? What is the learning curve on these systems? Do the input srceens follow the tax form and seam to be pretty logical?Comment
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Pro fx is by CCH and UT by Thomson. Pro fx you can use a worksheet view which I prefer or an interview which I used my first year but wasn't the way I worked. I have worksheet view open in one monitor and government forms open in a second monitor (and often the prior year program in my third monitor!). I can import spreadsheets, K-1s, do kiddie tax with a click of a button. I buy it as pay-per-return to keep the cost down. Outstanding tech and tax support. Diagnostics are excellent. It is worth every penny I spend.Comment
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FYI if you can afford it, I would consider Ultra Tax over CCH Pro Fx becasue the AICPA survey rates Ultra Tax # 1 on user satisfaction for higher end packages (and Drake #1 for lower end packages).Comment
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It's like everything else in life. You gravitate to the things you know best.
I would love to save money, and move away from ProsytemFX, but the learning curve of another software can be intense. All it takes is one client tax return mistake and the savings disappear in a moment. If this old dog were younger I might consider a different vendor but not at this stage.Comment
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