CCH Axcess

I’ve out grown Drake. Went to Lacerte and loved it. Can no longer stomach the price. Went to UltraTax, not real happy with the MFA change and how it was implemented nor the nickel and diming on fees.

Strongly considering CCH Axcess. Anyone use it? Thoughts and comments welcomed

CCH Axcess is the online version of CCH Prosystems, which is one of the premium tier software packages along with Lacerte and UT. Usually (not always) it seems to be the most expensive of the three, followed by Lacerte and then UT, but since you don't have a state income tax return that might change the pricing dynamic a bit. Proseries is usually less expensive than these three, and then below that you have the value tier of software (Drake, ATX, etc). There really aren't a lot of options out there.

I use UT as well. I implemented MFA before tax season started so I haven't had any problems with the MFA change, and I expect that soon every software package will require MFA for e-filing. As for the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed, well, you're going to get that at this tier of software. Two things that might help mitigate some of this: (1) In the online customer service area, under the PRP/ELF reports there is a breakeven report which will give you an idea which products you could benefit from buying an unlimited license for. (2) If you have enough returns in your practice, your account representative might be able to help you find a package deal (but they will be trying to upsell you, naturally).

The last time I used Prosystems was back when your state still had the intangible property tax, and my memory of it was that it had a lot of horsepower but also a learning curve. From what I've read, it seems to still be the case. But in any case, you won't know how green the grass really is until you get a demo of the software and test it out yourself.

We use CCH Axcess. Before that my firm used ProSystems FX. I've used GoSystems and Lacerte in the past.

CCH Axcess is by far the best I have used. It is more user friendly than Prosystems FX and the fact that it is online makes it a much better option for my firm.

I priced all of the software packages last year. CCH Axcess is priced much higher than Lacerte. It is slightly higher than the price I was quoted for UT. They will typically work with you on the price, but it won't come near the Lacerte price.

CCH also increases the price 8% each year. I fight with the rep every year about the price increase.

How does the pricing for CCH Axcess compare to ProSystems FX?

Our price was the same for both ProSystems FX and Axcess. They did require us to pay about $1,000 for training. The training was useless for us, since we were already familiar with Prosystems FX. However, the training fee was not optional.

CCH will rip you off if you do not negotiate the price. I took over a CPA firm and the prior owners were paying about $22k per year. We will pay about $13k this year. I was about to switch to UT, then they decided to drop the price.

We are very satisfied with Axcess. We are not happy about the price fluctuations.

Thanks - do you use any of the other "modules" of the Axcess suite (Document, Practice, Workstream, Portal)?
If so, are these significant efficiency gains from using multiple products in the suite?
Also, how many users do you have?

It is my understanding that ProSystems FX has one more year and then it is history. I have a friend using FX and just started announcing to clients that next year is his last year. He was planning on 2-3 more years, but said he was not going to learn a new system, Axcess!!! He says Axcess offers more (cloud etc), but to learn the system at a higher price for 1 to 2 years made no sense to him.

Wel, no we don't use any other modules. We are a small firm, so only 4 users.

jon, Axcess is almost identical to Prosystem FX "worksheet view". There are some minor differences with the interface, but overall very similar. I have two older CPA's that work for me. They had no problem with the switch.

I'd be extremely surprised if CCH were to "sunset" ProSystems FX in one more year. I've viewed some relatively recent surveys of software applications used in CPA firms - and CCH ProFX has a huge share of the market for firms with 20+ users. There is no way they would risk losing some of that.

My understanding is that CCH is no longer selling FX to new customers. Only Axcess. I know they are phasing out FX but I was under the impression that would take several years.

Our quote for Axcess was more than double what we pay for UT, but without the mandatory training, and then projecting out a 3-year quote (they gave discounts in years 2 and 3), the price was about 10% higher.

I was concerned about the price in year 4 and beyond as well as being 100% cloud based. We simply don’t have the bandwidth in our area yet.

I will tell Dave, who is a CPA and has used the software for years, he just said the 2019 tax season was going to be the last for ProSystems FX so he said that made his life choices easier. He is part of a group I meet with and there are others using ProSystems FX and some using Axcess. I think the all the users like the software and price is the only drawback.