Organizer Limitations
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I am using the Organizer for the first time for tax year 2006 and find both positives and negatives. Seasoned users may have found solutions for some of the negatives and I'd like to hear them.First - the only customization available appears to be in the selection of pages to print. While that provides a means of minimizing unneeded sheets, it provides no ability for me to ask additional questions. While it is possible to create those additional questions with other resources (Word, e-mails, etc.) that time needed to do that is not practical (doesn't even really exist in my practice).Second - I want to print duplex (2-sided) to reduce the amount of paper usage and the postage costs. The only way I know to do that conveniently is to print .pdf files and then I can print them on my duplex printer. Changing the settings on the printer is cumbersome and leaves me with the challenge of remembering to turn off the duplex setting when I'm done.Third - The sequence of the organizer printing is awkward, especially when printing duplex. The back of one form has nothing to do with the front in many cases. Fourth - The page that lists the documents needed (based on the prior year return) is not in the same sequence I interview and/or develop the client's tax preparation. I follow the 1041 sequentially (W-2s, 1099-INT, 1099-DIV, etc.). The Organizer puts the 1099-R forms first and there is no way to change that (as far as I've discovered anyway).Fifth - There is no way to paginate (add page numbers) in the printing sequence I have set up. Also, since I do not use the Topics or indexing page(s), the ORG# that appears on each sheet is meaningless to the client. In fact, it adds confusion.Sixth - I use supporting statements a lot to capture details. These also help me when I'm interviewing a client because I have a quick reminder of what we gathered the previous year. However, these supporting statement end up being a duplicate of the main form.For example, a Schedule C with, say, a half dozen supporting statements, produces an Organizer for that same Schedule C with the prior year amounts in the Sch C worksheet and also produces the supporting statements with the same data. It would be very helpful if the Sch C line that has a supporting statement attached would display an * and note the refers to the supporting statement.Conclusions: My experience with the Organizer has been generally positive. Clients have had little to complain about and most found the "customized" questionnaire beneficial (as opposed to the generic questionnaire I've used for the last umpteen years).
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