Drake Software

[dtlee]

Just to bring things into perspective, the OP is mentioning the California software while some of you are mentioning other states or perhaps even scenarios where you primarily use only the Federal software.

My experience with Drake is that their state support varies from state to state. I have had no significant problems with their New York software this year, but have heard of several concerns about California this year and in years past. Any problems I did face with New York were addressed during the season, but I certainly understand the concerns noted about California returns.

On their forum, I have gotten used to one North Carolina preparer who, whenever I have noted the poor way that Drake handles refundable state credits, loves to chime in things like, "Every state refund computation has been correct for me! Drake is Great!" Incidentally, Drake (from North Carolina) handles North Carolina returns about as well as any software vendor and North Carolina has no refundable credits, meaning this is just a knee-jerk reaction to anyone who makes even the slightest criticism of this perfect product on their forum.

Their product isn't perfect. I am very happy with their software, but I am very careful when preparing the few California returns I have.

As an aside, a number of years ago, both Drake and TaxSlayer had the nasty habit of changing the amount reported in Box 2a as it is electronically transmitted to the IRS when there is an indirect rollover, something the IRS frowns upon (to say the least!!!). It took me quite a few years to get Drake to stop falsifying this data. When I was reviewing TaxSlayer a few years ago, I mentioned it to them and they had the same response Drake had been giving me (no one has ever complained before and we get through testing with the IRS every year without problems). I told them I would not even consider using their software unless that issue were corrected since I had just spent five years arguing with Drake about it. Not sure if they ever changed it, but at the time, they did not seem to want my business.

[Jiggers]

I have no state issues as Texas doesn't have a state return. The only other state I do is Louisiana and only for the W-2G's that my clients receive.

[David1980]

I had several issues with the Drake software not handling the CA differences for CA 3801, which they finally came up with a work-around.

I assume in Lacerte there wasn't a work around needed. Since you've identified some specific weaknesses in more complicated returns I'd suggest download demos of some of the other software packages and run your test cases against them. ProSeries seems like something to look into - since it's still intuit. See if they keep the functionality in their other products.

My thinking is when you're looking for software that handles some of the more complicated state issues if they handle all the ones you had in Drake odds are good they'll handle more complicated state issues in general. Though I wouldn't be surprised if all the budget software packages were weak in those areas. Probably able to get returns done with work arounds or manual inputs for those cases.

[Nashville]

Drake Supporter

I have had occasional problems, but all things considered Drake is best value for the money. Excellent customer support. I previously had TaxSlayer which was cheaper and also had excellent support. But outside of Georgia and South Carolina they did not have a highly developed product for other states.

And it goes beyond that. I am a huge fan of the geographical area which includes Franklin, NC and remember the Drakes when their company started. At the time they were the laughing-stock of the tax preparation industry -- as the annual changes in tax law were thought to be too rapid and frequent for ANY software company to conquer. First time I met Phil Drake was in 1981 and he just walked in on a brisk fall day in camouflaged khakis from a hunting trip. There were no other tax software companies (as we know today) that are still in business. Drake is an American Main Street success story - not a Wall Street story.

And Drake has raised its price only one time in the last 20 years. When I used ATX they raised their price every year.

While I'm giving credit to Drake, I will also mention that TaxSlayer itself has an interesting and admirable history. The company started as a tax preparation business which enjoyed so much success that they expanded into several locations in Augusta (GA) area and also across the river in SC. They saw their purchases of software become so expensive that they decided to start their own software company and eliminate the expense altogether.

[Jiggers]

Jigger. "BEST" is a name from the past. Did INTUIT take it over?

Yes. The worst tax year I ever had. No help from their support. Software wouldn't run correctly. They did refund my fee for the business returns as they were useless. I had more overtime for myself and staff. I refuse to even look at any INTUIT product. Forever.

Immediately after tax season with more extensions than ever, I took a break and attended our state EA annual convention in May. I saw a demo of Drake, bought the current version for $10 and did all my extensions on it. Worked beautifully. The data entry and screens were similar to BEST so that made the learning process easy. Staff loved it.

Just the funny quirks about changing stuff that doesn't need changing is the problem. I will renew again this year, but give poor ratings on some issues. I will be in my business only another couple of years before fully retiring and getting too old to learn a new software.

[TAXNJ]

Best

I have used Drake since the 93 tax year. I switched from "Best" Software when it went belly-up in the middle of tax season.

While Drake as not always been perfect, it has handled my returns. Some extremely very large with just about every major schedule or Form.

The one problem that Drake has always had is that they will not listen to many very excellect suggestions to "fix" or "improve" various issues by their users. They will spend lots of time "fixing" things that don't need "fixing". It is a problem when you are a month in during tax season and you find something that will take time to learn or change on your computer. Such as the change in their e-mail capability of getting help with a tax return. That changed this past season and I still haven't had time to spend to do whatever changes I need to make on my computer to be able to e-mail returns to their support group. I work around the clock January to April 15th and just don't have the time to spend an hour or so doing this. I also have a full time tax practice with fiscal year returns and monthly write-up clients that keep me busy.

Suggestions have been made to attend their pre-season school to learn this stuff. If they had a local one in my state it would help. But those school locations are limited.

Jigger. "BEST" is a name from the past. Did INTUIT take it over?

[Jiggers]

I have used Drake since the 93 tax year. I switched from "Best" Software when it went belly-up in the middle of tax season.

While Drake as not always been perfect, it has handled my returns. Some extremely very large with just about every major schedule or Form.

The one problem that Drake has always had is that they will not listen to many very excellect suggestions to "fix" or "improve" various issues by their users. They will spend lots of time "fixing" things that don't need "fixing". It is a problem when you are a month in during tax season and you find something that will take time to learn or change on your computer. Such as the change in their e-mail capability of getting help with a tax return. That changed this past season and I still haven't had time to spend to do whatever changes I need to make on my computer to be able to e-mail returns to their support group. I work around the clock January to April 15th and just don't have the time to spend an hour or so doing this. I also have a full time tax practice with fiscal year returns and monthly write-up clients that keep me busy.

Suggestions have been made to attend their pre-season school to learn this stuff. If they had a local one in my state it would help. But those school locations are limited.

[peggysioux]

Drake Software

I demoed Drake and found issues with CA and never bought. I'm using ATX and it does CA just fine. I've never found an issue with the other states I do through ATX either, even Ohio!

How is customer service support with ATX?

Peggy Sioux

[peggysioux]

Drake Software

I had several issues with the Drake software not handling the CA differences for CA 3801, which they finally came up with a work-around. Then there was the difference with Federal and CA computing different % on the installment sale and there should be no difference, which after about a week they were able to correct. Then the last week of tax season, there was an issue with Drake software not handling publicly traded partnerships correctly and I was told they were aware of the situation; however, there would be no corrections until next season. It just seemed to be an extremely difficult season with the Drake software with returns that were not basic.

[joanmcq]

I demoed Drake and found issues with CA and never bought. I'm using ATX and it does CA just fine. I've never found an issue with the other states I do through ATX either, even Ohio!

[TAXNJ]

Trade shows

I have used Drake software for the past three years and was highly disappointed with the Drake's programming of the CA side of the software this year. There were major issues that took too long to correct and one issue they said would not be corrected until next year. I have used Lacerte previously which I really like, but that program is just too costly for my small business. Do other tax preparers use other tax programs that are priced comparable to Drake, but handle programming of the state returns better?

Peggy Sioux

Have you consider attending Acoounting and IRS Forums?

Many tax vendors display their products and you can get "a hands on" testing of the products to help your decision.

[Burke]

I agree. I have to watch the state return more carefully, but by and large I find ATX does a good job with VA. There are a few minor irritations, but not their fault, like programming the "where to send" and "who to pay" info for every town and county commissioner in the State. That is what the state tells you to do, but I override them all to send to one address in Richmond. (Which BTW is the address on the voucher!) I just can't seem to make it stick. It defaults back when you leave the return. I finally figured out a work-around. Otherwise, I have found no problems.

[David1980]

Is your issue a problem for other DRAKE users in CA? If enough of you express concern, then maybe DRAKE will fix the problem sooner.

I'm curious on that as well. Is it a matter of not liking how the input is done for something compared to Lacerte, or is it that you cannot get a correct California return. With input choices the different software all seem to do things differently. Drake being worksheet based vs ATX being forms based, for example. Neither is right or wrong, but if someone had a preference one way or the other they'd see one as better than the other. And if it's a matter of the process changing the software is complicated because other users might like it the way it is. Seems they would have to choose who to piss off by making a change or not making a change.

If on the other hand it prevents a correct California return from being done that seems pretty important.

[tpnl]

We use DRAKE . . .

and are happy with them. The customer service has been great for any issues we have had. Is your issue a problem for other DRAKE users in CA? If enough of you express concern, then maybe DRAKE will fix the problem sooner.

I'm in Ohio, and the Ohio program does need some tweaking on a few deductions, but overall, we are satisfied. In Ohio, we also have the added income tax of school districts and MANY MANY cities. So I agree that probably no software will be 100% without issues, but DRAKE does a good job. It keeps us on our toes, making sure the software is doing what it is supposed to and us knowing when to make the adjustments.

At the last update seminar of DRAKE, they joked that Ohio is a breed all of their own. No one else has so many taxing authorities.

Kerrie

[ATSMAN]

I have used Drake software for the past three years and was highly disappointed with the Drake's programming of the CA side of the software this year. There were major issues that took too long to correct and one issue they said would not be corrected until next year. I have used Lacerte previously which I really like, but that program is just too costly for my small business. Do other tax preparers use other tax programs that are priced comparable to Drake, but handle programming of the state returns better?

Peggy Sioux

I have used Drake for many years and before that Taxworks and before than ATX. All tax prep software had some weakness on the state side. The difference was that with Drake you can talk to a live person withing a single call and explain your situation. They will ask you to e-mail the return file for analysis and then recommend some temp. workaround while they decide if it is a bug or an enhancement that will generally not be made until a future date.

You can not expect any tax prep software to satisfy you 100% all the time. So if you find that the workaround for your particular issue is not worth your consideration, test another software. You may get lucky but what if you find another quirk? How many times will you switch? I bet Lacerte, Ultratax and others are 3 times more expensive than $1095!