Lacerte

[skhyatt]

Been a while since I logged in, so sorry if this is old news, but I was checking today and see that Intuit is raising prices across the board on their Lacerte program, but as for me, I use the pay per return and the price is jumping from about $100 to $395 plus whatever the PPR fee will be raised to. This may not seem like much to some people, but I am still growing my business and just on principle, that is a huge price increase. I am at a loss to know where to start looking for something that would be comparable to Lacerte if anything? I have thought about Drake, but have no experience with it. Any feedback would be helpful.

[skhyatt]

Strongly considering trying out Drake. Any feedback very much appreciated.

[taxmandan]

Get the demo disk

Give Drake a practice run with the demo disk. I've used Drake for 7 years now, worked with Lacerte one year in another office. Drake doesn't have the handholding diagnostics that Lacerte offers, and has problems with state issues sometimes, especially for those of us in third tier states. But if you take the time to learn the software and know what areas are weak, Drake is a great value and serves its' purpose well.

[Uncle Sam]

Lacerte

I'm an UltraTax user - but have previously used Lacerte.
I feel they are comparable products - both being the tax product of 2 top large companies.

If you're looking strictly for price - then don't go to UltraTax.
There are plenty of other software companies that are lower price - BUT - may not provide you with the tech support or ease of usability of screens or flexibility in data entry process
The smaller software company probably will be eaten up by a big company shortly - so the price savings will only be temporary.
That's why I decided when MicroVision sold out to UltraTax - to finally stay with one company and not be a price shopper for the short term.

[skhyatt]

Anyone use Taxwise software? If so, how might it compare to others?

[snowbird]

Rating of Tax Preparation Software

The NY State Society of CPA publishes an annual survey that may be of interest.

http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/706/infocus/p18.htm

This is the survey summary if ...

http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2006/706/images/ex1p20.pdf

[Davc]

Give Drake a practice run with the demo disk. I've used Drake for 7 years now, worked with Lacerte one year in another office. Drake doesn't have the handholding diagnostics that Lacerte offers, and has problems with state issues sometimes, especially for those of us in third tier states. But if you take the time to learn the software and know what areas are weak, Drake is a great value and serves its' purpose well.

Lacerte also has problems with state issues occasionally,

[skhyatt]

I've been using the Drake demo for a while now. There is alot to like about the software and what they offer for the price. It definitely is not Lacerte, which is what I'm used to. In testing it out, I've left some things unchecked, etc, to see if their diagnostics would catch it and it certainly does not catch everything. I guess I just have to decide if it's for me. Price is certainly a consideration, but it also irritated me when Lacerte raised their prices and doesn't seem to care about the "little guy". When you talk to a Drake rep, they definitely try and make you feel like a customer. Well, I've got some time to make my decision....

[RLymanC]

Taxwise

I've used TaxWise for 15 years,,,,can't tell you how it is compared to other,,,I've never tried others.

Have loaded demo's for other products and have given them a fair trail. TaxWise is so user friendly and easy to get around in it's useless to think of a change.

I can boot up Taxwise and complete a 1040 with Sch, A, C & E with depreciation on both C & E. plus home office and depreciate home office. Throw in a couple of stock sales and have it ready for E-file and transmitted in 20 minutes. All tax info is available on work sheets.

Imposible for me to dulplicate entry time on any other product.

I do around 1500 IRS & Sate e-files a year, I purchase their unlimited e-file package for $695. It's defininitly worth your time to test drive this program.

[skhyatt]

Thanks for the reply. I think I have Taxwise around here. I think I took a quick look at it. Perhaps I'll give it another look.

[Lion]

ProSystem fx

My quote from ProSystem fx includes a small business or start-up business discount of 50%, a huge help. It's locked in for three years. The fourth year it won't double if my company is still a similar size, about a 15% increase then. ProSystem has about everything in one package. Some of the others, I'd be paying pay-per-return license fees for each module of 1040, corp, fiduciary, partnership, etc., which really adds up. I still need to work with this and other software more; don't feel just right about any of them yet.