Another Thread on Software

[erchess]

This year I had pay per return of Ultratax for my business returns and a few very complex 1040s and TRX alliance for the bulk of my work which is not overly complex 1040s. I find myself displeased with both packages.

TRX is really quite limited. Most of the potential entries on a K1 do not carry anywhere and some I could not figure out a way to add in the places to which they should carry. If you want to do a Social Security Lump Sum Election you do the worksheets by hand. There is no provision for filing status on the Federal to be different on one or more States. I have decided that Orrtax is not going to be in my arsenal next year. (TRX is merely the cheapest reseller of Orrtax.)

Ultratax is much more expensive than I can afford on other than a pay per return basis. And as I grow that cost will mount to the point that I am forced to pay their exorbitant fees. I also begin to feel that they have features such as F5500 and F1120POL that will forever be beyond my competence. Then this year a critical file went bad and tech support said not to rely on the program's calculations until I replaced that file from the CD. And the K! screen has as many non carrying entries as does that of TRX although here you can make them where they need to go.

So I find myself looking closely at Drake and Crosslink for next year while not completely ruling out ULtrratax. I'd like to hear in this thread from people who think I should use any of those three or want to recommend something else. I will say that I am not going over two thousand dollars for unlimited use or $300 and $25 per return. And if the fee for unlimited is over 500 I have to be able to make payments of not over 200 a month.

[LawrenceGR]

I tried

to get this started a couple weeks ago. I tested Ultra tax last year, thought it was very good software, but as you say it's pretty expensive. I know there has been talk about boycott of Intuit however, last year (this filing season) I paid less than half the cost of Ultra Tax for unlimited Fed, all states, and unlimited E file for Proseries. They also gave me, with no licence fee, Lacerte on PPR basis. I think the price I was quoted last year for UT was about $2500 for unlimited Fed, 1 state and E-file was around $5 a piece. Proseries was able to handle almost everything, the exception was a Mich 1045 NOL but even Lacerte doesn't have this form. I never did use Lacerte, I think if I were to pony-up for high end software (not that Proseries is low end) I would consider Ultra Tax. I have also looked at Great Tax which is really Tax Works under another name but I couldn't get used to the way it worked. The input seemed too differant to me. I'll be interested to hear what some of the others have to say and I hope this helps.

[wvtaxguy]

My experience has been limited to ProSeries Basic package. I did include ppr for a few 1120s-990 and 1065 this year. I didn't mind the ppr 1120 at $30 a pop but was disappointed that ProSeries doesn't accommodate the WV state corporate returns. And, except for a few nuisances where PS Basic didn't include this or that form I found it ok. I will probably upgrade software this year and will be looking for some guidance from others in this thread too.

[BOB W]

This year I had pay per return of Ultratax for my business returns and a few very complex 1040s and TRX alliance for the bulk of my work which is not overly complex 1040s. I find myself displeased with both packages.

TRX is really quite limited. Most of the potential entries on a K1 do not carry anywhere and some I could not figure out a way to add in the places to which they should carry. If you want to do a Social Security Lump Sum Election you do the worksheets by hand. There is no provision for filing status on the Federal to be different on one or more States. I have decided that Orrtax is not going to be in my arsenal next year. (TRX is merely the cheapest reseller of Orrtax.)

Ultratax is much more expensive than I can afford on other than a pay per return basis. And as I grow that cost will mount to the point that I am forced to pay their exorbitant fees. I also begin to feel that they have features such as F5500 and F1120POL that will forever be beyond my competence. Then this year a critical file went bad and tech support said not to rely on the program's calculations until I replaced that file from the CD. And the K! screen has as many non carrying entries as does that of TRX although here you can make them where they need to go.

So I find myself looking closely at Drake and Crosslink for next year while not completely ruling out ULtrratax. I'd like to hear in this thread from people who think I should use any of those three or want to recommend something else. I will say that I am not going over two thousand dollars for unlimited use or $300 and $25 per return. And if the fee for unlimited is over 500 I have to be able to make payments of not over 200 a month.

I have never had a problem with non posting of K-1 entries with Ultra tax. Maybe it was related to your critical file being bad. I've used UT for 5 years now and only have good things to say about it.

I'm in an area where $150- $200 for a long form is not unreasonable, so my program cost is absorbed fairly easily. In the past I've tried the "cheapies" and was not satisfied, especially ATX.

I like the auto form creation of UT. It allows me to be productive by scheduling clients every half hour for 90% of my appointments. In that half hour I have interviewed, entered, reviewed, printed, packaged, got the signed elf forms, got paid, scanned all w-2s and Elf forms and sent the client on their way. Not everyone of the 90%, but most of them, I may have to scan and package later.

I require no office help for tax returns, I do them all by myself. I'm not sure if other tax programs would give me that cost saving functionality. So for me the program would be considered cheap. Hel*, I could spend $3,000- $5,000 just for office assistance during tax season and lose time training and reviewing someone elses work.

I realize that everyone's geography is different and they have less clients than I do, making the high end tax products appear too expensive. But if I were you I would look at other ways to save bigger bucks than looking at the cost of tax programs. Like the cost of having a helper, and in some cases how many helpers are on the payroll.

[TaxLadyinPA]

Telling my age

I come from the days of "pen and paper" to the first DOS based tax programs like Amtax until Windows took over and they folded.

I've used Proseries Professional for 3 years now and it basically does everything I need. The first year I wasn't so happy with them because we were only given 3 states, but that changed the second year.

My previous 4 years was with Orrtax Intellitax - all I can say there is DON'T GO THERE. I continuously fought with the program and was on the phone with Orrtax constantly until they should have been paying me to edit their program. I gave up after the 4th year and have been with Proseries Pro ever since.

I like the timesaving way the program operates. You put in data entry and it basically will almost do the return itself.

I use their PPR for the few big business and LLC, etc returns that I do. They did raise their price on that this year from $ 25 to $ 30 for federal and from $13 to $16 for states. But is still worth it instead of doing the returns by pen and paper or website fill-ins. I do notice that on the business returns there is usually something that I have to override or "tweak" in order to get the answer that I want. But that is probably more my fault than the program … just me not doing something right in the data entry.

I had some issues with the Proseries Pro program this year .. changes that worked the first year but not this year … mostly in their "final check" program portion.

I only called support a couple of times and spoke to an "English Speaking" human (not meant to slander anyone, but it is really aggravating when the person on the other end of the phone speaks broken English)

Overall Proseries Professional meets all my needs for my 250 clientele.

[dyne]

Another thread on software

I have been using Drake Tax Software for about ten years and have been well pleased with it.
It cost $995.00 plus sales tax if you pay for it during April and May. It is not perfect, but
it is excellent. It handles multi-state returns very well. This year I had a client for whom
I had to prepare a federal return, S. C. N. C. Nebraska and Ohio and it did an excellent
job. I used Turbo Tax Pro years ago but it would not then handle multi-state returns.
I have many clients who work in N. C. and live in S. C. The first time I used Drake I
prepared a return in 7 minutes without looking at the instructions. Electronic filing on
Drake is free.

[equinecpa]

I have am a sole practitioner with mainly fairly involved returns and often need multi-state functions.

I test drove most of the professional tax packages last year. I liked Ultratax but felt it was just too costly with the nickle and diming for efiles and such. Drake looked good but I don't like the interface. Proseries I felt was OK but again when you need everything it starts getting pricey. So in the end I renewed with ATX because I ran out of time to make a proper decision.

There are a lot of things I like about ATX but this year that did not outweigh the things I did not like. At the beginning of the year wait time for support was easily an hour, only to get someone who really couldn't help me. Efiling was very erratic..and there were program inconsistencies. Nope I wasn't going to stick around. An interesting note on this is I requested my refund within 30 days of receiving my install codes...and they denied it (after numerous phone calls and waiting 30 days). They have a 30 day from shipping refund policy but they shipped disks without you purchasing them...so when does the 30 days start? I would have assumed from the time you purchase and receive install codes...but apparently not so. Anyhow my credit card company stepped up to the plate and credited me for the purchase after I filed a complaint. ATX is billing me now...as if...

So I sought other options. I purchased TRX -it works and their support team really tries. However the program does not support efiling business entity returns. I also don't like the asset entry screen (things like not having totals on the schedule drive me nuts). The efiling worked flawlessly. For the price it is a good program...but it just isn't enough program for me...things like having to do a manual worksheet for farm home office, and a couple of other manual calculations consume too much time for me. The rollover from ATX was also problematic (depreciation items all had to be reviewed and many reentered). One or two times I had fatal errors...and had to redo returns from scratch (I don't know if this is a result of something on my computer not doing something correctly or it is totally programming, but fatal errors are something I cannot accept) This said, for a small office with many simple returns, this is probably a great program.

To solve my dilemma with regard to efiling business entities, I purchased Drake PPR. Support is top notch (though I didn't need them very much, which in my mind speaks volumes). I still much prefer a forms based program rather than the data entry screens and then form view (I really miss the bunny jump to find the source of a figure) . Data entry in screens like depreciation is very quick and easy. I think this program probably grows on you as you use it more.

So for 2008? I think I'll be using Drake...for $995 if purchased shortly it certainly appears to be a program that has all the functions and is reliable with top notch support. It might now have the feel I am accustomed too but to me the reliability and support are worth that sacrifice.

Please continue to post your thoughts and experiences!


Carolyn

[Girard Van De Lay]

Drake

I have used Drake since I went out on my own and it works great. For the price and everything that you get I found it to be the best bet. Another thing I like about it is that they are not competing with me on the free e-file or selling the store version. There is something to be said about a company that says it will never compete against us and then actually goes through with it and lives up to what it says. For a renewal rate of only 995 and you get all 50 states and free e-file it is awsome.

Over the years that I have used it they sure have upgraded and every year they seem to add new features that really help out. I guess i am just loyal but why change when things work good and you virtually have no problems.

Girard Van de Lay

[thomtax]

I agree

I have used Drake for 11 years now. It has improved tremendously during this period. So far it does everything that I need done, without a problem. I don't know about for some of you that have the highly complex returns. The package includes 1040, Corp. S & C, Partnerships, Estates, All states and free efiling. And I'm sure that I have probably left something out of my list.

A couple of other things that I like about them. The states are now coming back on them, as I am sure that they will the other software vendors, to force them to collect sales tax. They will collect sales tax for the renewals, but are going to cover the amounts for the previous years that they get assessed if we did not file use tax reports. No many companies will stand behind you like that.

I don't have to call software support much, but this year never did get a recording and put on hold for someone to be free to take my call. To me, this is super.

LT

[taxxcpa]

Only one problem with Drake

I have used Drake for 11 years now. It has improved tremendously during this period. So far it does everything that I need done, without a problem. I don't know about for some of you that have the highly complex returns. The package includes 1040, Corp. S & C, Partnerships, Estates, All states and free efiling. And I'm sure that I have probably left something out of my list.

A couple of other things that I like about them. The states are now coming back on them, as I am sure that they will the other software vendors, to force them to collect sales tax. They will collect sales tax for the renewals, but are going to cover the amounts for the previous years that they get assessed if we did not file use tax reports. No many companies will stand behind you like that.

I don't have to call software support much, but this year never did get a recording and put on hold for someone to be free to take my call. To me, this is super.

LT

I used Drake for the first time this year and was pleased with the results which include 1040s, 1041s, 1120s, 1120Ss, 1065s and 1040X.
The only problem is that if there isa $ 40 penalty on the 1040 and you report $20 more interest on a 1040X, the 1040X shows that the tax on the $ 20 interest is $ 40 plus a dollar or two for the additional interest income. That can be eliminated by deleting the penalty on the initial information you place on the 1040X for the orighinal figures.

I've also used Drake to e-file 1099MISC and it does a great job with those.
Acknowledgements for efilings come back quickly.
Also Drake is very easy to update unlike ATX. It is simple and quick.

[JON]

Ultra tax

The thing I like the least is their promotional sales selections when you call the HELP line. If you can remember the keying it helps a little.

In my state there consolidation package has never worked for depreciation on the the state return. They told me 4 years ago after I questioned what was going on and it took a week when someone called and the answer was "we really have not said this was a an approved program for your state". After my reaction I asked them to send me a list of all there non approved programs so I would be aware of them. I never got a list, and still use form overides to do the consolidation.

The fact that if the previous year you were in alt min and Ultra Tax still can not figure the effect on the state income tax refund in the following year does not sit well with me. If ever there was a calculation that seems a computer could make, but not at Ultra. They did promise that it was high on their list for next year, they have said that before.

All that being said I would never change software. I think they have programs that easily compete with any out there that are used.

[oceanlovin'ea]

One wish

My one wish for these software companies is that you didn't have to purchase by the end of April or even in May to get the lower price.

When I finish taxes on April 15th, I have quarterly reports and bookkeeping to catch up on. I don't have time to look at different programs to see if there is something better. I have been using TaxslayerPro since I went on my own and I like the program very much. Support is great. But they push for renewal by May 1st.

Give me a break. For people like me who are 1 person business and am doing all the work, paying the bills, ordering supplies and buying software, etc, etc, etc, 2 weeks after tax season is not enough time to look into programs.

Linda F

[KBTS]

Drake

I also use ProSeries Basic and like the program, but the extra charges for e-filing over the initial 100 plus PPR for business returns really adds up. I don't do quite enough returns yet to justify buying the 1040 Professional with unlimited e-file, so I am kind of stuck in the middle. I called a couple of years ago when they reduced the number of e-files included with the Basic program from 200 to 100 and expressed my displeasure. I was pretty much told that was the decision they made after "customer feedback" said that the 200 was too many and that I really should be using the Professional version since the Basic was for small time preparers.

So based on that and the whole Turbo Tax issue, I thought it could not hurt to look around at some other options. I watched the Webinar at the Drake website today and decided to call and get a demo from them. Sales rep said they would be sending the full 2007 version out within the next couple of days. I'm not too sure if I like the look of the input screens I saw in the presentation, but I guess I will reserve judgment until I get to play with the software some.

Any PA preparers out there that use Drake? What is your impression of how it handles PA returns?

[JohnH]

I ignore the early renewal offers. The most you save on an early renewal is less than the charge for a single return, so why sweat that amount of money when making a decision you'll have to live with through hundreds of return preparations?

I would only renew early if I knew absolutely that I intended to stay with the current software I'm using. Since that is ATX, I definitely can't say I will. As a matter of fact, after listening to the comments on this forum and others concerning Drake during the past year, I'm going to try them out during the extension season. They seem to be in the lead concerning program stability, support, and price. I really like the forms based layout of ATX, but I can live with input screens since I originally moved over to ATX from UltraTax. I ordered the demo from Drake this evening just to get started.

One other thing worth mentioning for what it's worth as a future consideration. There's talk on the Unofficial ATX Community about a new program which may be developed by some former ATX'ers. Don't know if it will go anywhere but there are some positive signs. I'm sure it will create a buzz if it takes off, but it is probably a couple of seasons out from implementation (if it even happens)

I don't want to violate any rules of this board by commercializing, so it won't hurt my feelings if the moderators decide to edit this post.

[Snaggletooth]

The states are now coming back on them, as I am sure that they will the other software vendors, to force them to collect sales tax.LT

How can the states do this if it currently unconstitutional without nexus? Drake is in NC, and has representatives in 5-6 other states. At most, I would think only 5-6 states could get to them, and that assumes that their representatives are not independent.