Pros Series Software Increase AGAIN

[Nashville]

Not So Mr. Lee

I am sorry you found my post illegitimate and repugnant.

Doug, you certainly misinterpreted my comment. I read your post and was happy that you related your concerns, as I had a similar experience with another huge company, ATX (CCH). I appreciate the knowledge that you bring to the forum and if you read any dissatisfaction into my post I certainly will make apology for that.

[TAXNJ]

Call & ask

$1800 was the quote I got last year!

Depends if you did the early renewal by June 30th. Always call them and let them know if you are a new customer and want the June 30th price or go somewhere that matches pricing you want. As you know. no different than potential tax clients shopping around for a price they want. If your prices are cheap enough they may go with you, makes sense?

[Nashville]

Responding to NJ

Glad to hear you agree with the fundamentals of Capitalism, if reading your post correctly.
Curious with some of your comments and hope you don't mind but, you are a business person, so how do you differ from?

Since you've asked, I will respond, but much of this gets into economics instead of tax practice, so I will speak my piece and then shut down unless someone wishes to send me a PM.

There is nothing wrong with making a profit. All-too-often making a profit becomes an end unto itself and companies become victims of their own growth such that the fundamentals of service and product excellence become obscured in the process. In short, they don't "dance with who brung 'em." In the metamorphosis of its development, the leadership/ownership become experts in "corporatespeak" and are too far removed from the nuts and bolts of what made their company grow. In cases of acquisitions by companies who are already large, this divergence is instant and automatic. Revenues become devoid of value which should support them, and products/services become sacrificed at the altar of lower salaries and slashed staffing.

Finding a small company to serve our needs require us to wander through mine fields of bloated marketing myths and distorted perceptions of how "greater resources" can do a better job for us. It becomes convenient at this point to invoke the success story of The Tax Book versus a corporate behemoth when they first started, but hopefully that story is well-known by most readers. The mix of skill, customer concern, and efficiency found in a small company quite often does very well if allowed to compete with giant, faceless, and bloated corporations.

Answering about the Intuit comment - obviously I am not enamoured with their business model, but many on this forum use Pro-Series, and that product can stand or fall on their own merits. Free Federal/State Pay is just another appeal to sell their product and does not differ much from "zero interest for 36 months" or other gimmicks used very commonly in commercial advertising. The gimmicks are perhaps not inherently evil but are hoped to bedazzle the target with shell games and half-truths. As for my business, I don't use them, but I don't think there is anything wrong with putting our best foot forward.

[ATSMAN]

Depends if you did the early renewal by June 30th. Always call them and let them know if you are a new customer and want the June 30th price or go somewhere that matches pricing you want. As you know. no different than potential tax clients shopping around for a price they want. If your prices are cheap enough they may go with you, makes sense?

You are correct.

If your concern is that the price of software will stay the same or go down because of pay as you go customer service, it may be short lived.

Look at the history of Turbo Tax and what happened when Intuit acquired it and Lacerte?

If price is your main concern then look for other tax prep software because that is how you can take control of what you want to pay.

[kathyc2]

$1800 was the quote I got last year!

My 2014 was 1,690, so a $63 increase for 2015 over 2014. This is the lowest the increase has been in a number of years.

[kathyc2]

There is nothing wrong with making a profit. All-too-often making a profit becomes an end unto itself and companies become victims of their own growth such that the fundamentals of service and product excellence become obscured in the process. In short, they don't "dance with who brung 'em." In the metamorphosis of its development, the leadership/ownership become experts in "corporatespeak" and are too far removed from the nuts and bolts of what made their company grow. In cases of acquisitions by companies who are already large, this divergence is instant and automatic. Revenues become devoid of value which should support them, and products/services become sacrificed at the altar of lower salaries and slashed staffing.

Finding a small company to serve our needs require us to wander through mine fields of bloated marketing myths and distorted perceptions of how "greater resources" can do a better job for us. It becomes convenient at this point to invoke the success story of The Tax Book versus a corporate behemoth when they first started, but hopefully that story is well-known by most readers. The mix of skill, customer concern, and efficiency found in a small company quite often does very well if allowed to compete with giant, faceless, and bloated corporations.

Well stated. Bravo!

[dtlee]

Doug, you certainly misinterpreted my comment. I read your post and was happy that you related your concerns, as I had a similar experience with another huge company, ATX (CCH). I appreciate the knowledge that you bring to the forum and if you read any dissatisfaction into my post I certainly will make apology for that.

After rereading the context of your post, it becomes a bit clearer how I should have interpreted the piece I quoted. Following the remarks of the other poster, it seemed to be jumping on the bandwagon (or perhaps I should say "bashing"). I apologize for my reaction.

I was trying to state my experience and was surprised that it sounded like verbal abusiveness to anyone. I did not mean to imply that they were "bad" nor was I beating up on them. My perspective throughout the years is that they care more about sales than support. That is a business decision. Some firms care more about support than about accuracy. That is not beating up on them either. The only reason I had purchased their software was that I did not expect to need support. The situation was that I wanted to make sure I had the right supplies and wanted to print the test returns I did and see how far I could tweak the cover page to fit what I had. I could not print. They kept telling me I could view it on the screen (apparently totally not understanding how a cutout folder might work). Once Sales gave up trying to help me, I knew I had no hope.

I am sure others have had very positive support experiences with Intuit and would not treat their reports as "cheerleading" any more than my comments should be considered "bashing."

[zeros]

Pro Series - What is the Price this Year?

Has it gone up quite a bit? Drake is the same for 2016.

[dtlee]

Has it gone up quite a bit? Drake is the same for 2016.

If you are thinking of switching, ProSeries in the past has offered significant discounts for individuals who are switching from a lower priced competitor. I did not take advantage of that offer when I signed up since I was planning to convert returns over a period of a couple of years and pay per return would have been cheaper for the first year. As I recall, the discount would be in place for several years before the standard pricing goes into effect. As mentioned above, you should call and ask.

[AZ-Tax]

I Would Email

If you are thinking of switching, ProSeries in the past has offered significant discounts for individuals who are switching from a lower priced competitor. I did not take advantage of that offer when I signed up since I was planning to convert returns over a period of a couple of years and pay per return would have been cheaper for the first year. As I recall, the discount would be in place for several years before the standard pricing goes into effect. As mentioned above, you should call and ask.

I would email Pro Series/Intuit vs phoning them.

[TAXNJ]

Answers in two clicks

COMPARISON (SAVE TIME)

http://accountants.intuit.com/tax/proseries/professional/

VS

http://drakesoftware.com/site/products/PricingPurchasing.aspx

[kathyc2]

COMPARISON (SAVE TIME)

http://accountants.intuit.com/tax/proseries/professional/

VS

http://drakesoftware.com/site/produc...urchasing.aspx

I would think the Pro Series Basic version would be more the same as Drake rather than the Professional version.

http://accountants.intuit.com/tax/proseries/basic/

[TAXNJ]

Ok

I would think the Pro Series Basic version would be more the same as Drake rather than the Professional version.

http://accountants.intuit.com/tax/proseries/basic/

thanks - depends on one's needs if the couple hundred more is worth it. As the firm starts to grow and/or could use the extra benefits then the Professional version is worth the cost.

[DMICPA]

Proseries

I have used Pro-series since they went into business I think. The Program reminded me of the old Mac N Tax program I used on a Mac Plus back in the days of dot matrix printers and form transparencies.

I rarely call customer service. The program has always installed and printed right away. I used current Windows computers and HP printers so I figured the program was written considering the popular software and printers.

When I do call customer service, they are helpful but seem to lack expertise. Usually while talking the problem through with them, I can figure out the answer. A big plus for this program was the override feature. If I know the desired figure and the program won't compute (extremely rare), I can override it. This feature was more useful when the passive activities rules first came out.

My software cost including paying for each organizer and business return for 2014 was $3,100. The initial software cost was $1,700 and the balance was Pay Per Return.

This year I will cut back on the Organizers and compare unlimited business returns with pay Per Return costs.

For me to research other software and learn the new software and transfer and check each transfer is not high on my list of things to do. Many preparer's use Drake software but it has been years since I researched it. Their price is less than Pro-series but I don't know the capabilities.