Changing Software

Approximately 26 topics down the "backwards chronological" list as of when I write this reply on 8/23/08, there is a thread called "Switching Software" which has 36 entries in it. I don't remember the gist of it all, but you may find it beneficial reading thru those 36 posts.

As of right now, the last reply to that topic was on 7/31/08.

I agree with Amy. One of those comments came from me. My advice "don't switch". You will regret changing.

Things are "tough" in the west also. We have over 7% unemployment in the Bay Area. So, a lot of people are out of work. My accounting clients are
paying slower and slower, and my tax clients are taking longer to pick up their returns because they know that they have to pay when they pick up the returns.

Aside from the above, (and I do sympathize with your situation), I would not consider changing software companies. Have you considered asking Lacerte for a discount to get you to stay with them? The can only say yes or no and you may be surprised.

I don't know how many tax returns you do, but have you considered going REP for individuals instead of buying the entire program? That might save you some money. If cash flow is a big issue with you, you could do REP for Jan & part of Feb and then purchase the program. I hate to say it, but I have had to do it that way in the past. Lacerte is really worth the money and is the best program out there and they do work with you. Talk to your sales rep at Lacerte before you decided.

The idea of paying REP in the beginning of the year, and then paying full price without a discount, later in the year, for the full program, seems like such a shame.

If you have the program in Year 1, and you renew early for Year 2 by paying up front, you save 15%, let alone that you don't have to pay REP fees, or if you have clients in odd states and have to REP those states, the REP costs less if you've already paid for the full program.

When I put people onto extension, I ask that they pay a certain amount in advance, whatever I estimate to be 50% of the eventual fee, or if I can't estimate, then a blanket figure of $150 to cover my time to calculate the extension plus either the actual REP cost or a "standard computer fee" if I've paid for the program in advance.

That way, I don't have too much of a cash-flow problem. Yes, my biggest cash outflow is paying for the 1040 program way in advance, but with the 15% discount, I can't conceive of doing anything else. Usually, at least, I've got some money from the clients whom I've just finished, that I can use that money to pay for next year's discounted program.

You are right, but some practioners and especially new practioners might not have the money for the early renewal. My REP advice was just as a "last ditch" idea for someone who had no other option.

More than likely if you do the REP for 2 weeks, and then buy the program, you can ask your sales person to still give you a discount. They can only say no.

Came across this discussion late, but will add my two cents anyhow. Don't do it! Yes, ProSeries is a heck of a lot cheaper than Lacerte. That's what led us to switch last season, a time when we were particularly tight on cash due to expansion with a second office. BIG mistake. IMHO, ProSeries is a joke. I actually can't believe that busy, time-stressed professionals are even willing to goof around with it. It proved unstable (the final straw was when it ate a couple of returns), but even before that it was incredibly awkward and hard to use. By contrast, Lacerte is extremely intuitive. I well recall that my own learning curve on Lacerte was about 15 minutes, while even after weeks of use I found myself hating ProSeries. With Lacerte, everything is just very logically arrayed. For us, in the end there was no choice: we demanded a full refund from ProSeries in early February, and had it all applied to Lacerte. (And, to your next question: yes, switching software mid-season is a nightmare).

Now it is true that Lacerte has its own truckload of problems, including periodic error messages, and lots of inconveniences. It doesn't handle our local city business tax return very well. It lacks one nice thing that ProSeries had: a summary screen you could print out to go on the front page of your client's file with all vital info right there (names, SS#s, contact info, etc.). And, they demand you pay them up front -- months in advance -- if you want the early-bird discounts. (Their REP and e-filing fees are high, too, and they only offer one not-very-good bank if you plan to offer bank products).

Yet it is still one of the three or so best packages out there, and probably the easiest of those to actually use day-to-day.

If the cost really is hurting too much, consider TaxWise or ATX. Both are now owned by CCH, which is a far larger company than Intuit and also produces one of the three most powerful high-end programs. How reliable or robust these two programs are, I cannot say. I do know that I like ATX's ergonomics which -- when I tried it a few years ago -- was nearly as good as Lacerte's. But my partner had a bad experience with ATX a few years back and won't consider it (something we've heard from others, too). So beware if you decide to look at it. I know nothing about Taxwise, but have heard a few good things from others.

ATX sucks