ProConnect Pricing

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#1
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I'm planning to use proconnect (Lacerte cloud solution) next tax season. Right now, they are running a 60% off promotion for new clients. I'm OK with the discount pricing but I think it's too much for me without the promotion. I'd like to know if they also run the same or different promotion for current customers? I don't want to sign up with a new software just for a year and then have to switch to a new software another year. Thanks
 

#2
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Depends on the promotion. For the software itself (I use Lacerte), they continued the same discounted pricing. For licenses (I'm on PRP since I cannot currently justify paying so much upfront), I did lose that discount. I could probably still actually get it by threatening to switch back to UT...they do not like when customers threaten to leave.

Meanwhile, TR has been bugging the absolute HELL OUT OF ME despite me telling them to not contact me! About to block their number.
 

#3
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I used Proconnect when it was Intuit Tax Online. At that time, they ran promotions for existing customers regularly and I took advantage of them. Mind you, I only had a handful of clients at the time - less than ten. When I got beyond that, I moved to a desktop solution as it was cheaper.

Is there a reason you want to use Proconnect? I can see it if one uses a Mac (or for a part-time practice) or if you cannot get decent pricing on Lacerte. If the former is the case, consider Drake Zero. If it is the latter, are you sure Proconnect is the best fit for your clients? Are they paying you enough?
 

#4
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SumwunLost wrote:Is there a reason you want to use Proconnect? I can see it if one uses a Mac (or for a part-time practice) or if you cannot get decent pricing on Lacerte. If the former is the case, consider Drake Zero. If it is the latter, are you sure Proconnect is the best fit for your clients? Are they paying you enough?


I feel Proconnect is a strong system. My understanding is the lacerte cloud edition which basically competes with pfx and UT. I only have a couple of tax clients. With the discount, I feel the price is worth it. I'd reconsider when I do a lot more tax returns. My understanding of drake is that you really need to really more on yourself than in a system. I want a system that can help me with the return by giving me suggestions and help me figure out if something is wrong.
 

#5
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In that case, if you can, hang in there until the discounts come along. I got the offers more than once a season and hardly ever paid full price. Proconnect was good software. My only complaint (other than the prohibitive pricing for a full-time practice) is that you had a lot of drilling down to do and, even then, the screens were a bit busy. But there is no doubt that it does a good job and, with even a modest discount, the price cannot be beaten in a small practice.

I switched to Drake after April 15th. TaxAct has gone backwards. Yes, Drake requires careful thought to make sure the return is correct. You need to know your onions, especially with state returns. Customer service is exceptional, though.
 

#6
sjrcpa  
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ProConnect Tax Online is more like Lacerte lite.
It has the same Lacerte platform (if that's the right word) but far less bells and whistles and capabilities, as well as far less cost.

Not to be confused with Cloud hosted Lacerte which was new this year. I have no knowledge of it. I think it is regular Lacerte, and Intuit partnered with a hosting company with additional fees for users.
 

#7
ATSMAN  
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I want a system that can help me with the return by giving me suggestions and help me figure out if something is wrong.


You are the tax professional who should know the tax laws! I don't expect a tax prep software to give me "suggestions". Drake does run a consistency check and points out mismatch or data entry or process errors. It is NOT going to tell you that you are wrong on the law. That is your job. :roll:
 

#8
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ATSMAN wrote:
You are the tax professional who should know the tax laws! I don't expect a tax prep software to give me "suggestions".


That's true. Tax professionals should know the tax law, however, a system can help tax professionals to be more efficient and avoid errors. For instance, making suggestions whereas taxpayer should contribute to a retirement plan or how much would be saved in taxes by contributing x amount, etc...
 

#9
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SumwunLost wrote:
I switched to Drake after April 15th. TaxAct has gone backwards.


Did you consider ATX? I used to use UT in my previous firm. But it's quite expensive for my new firm.
 

#10
ATSMAN  
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For instance, making suggestions whereas taxpayer should contribute to a retirement plan or how much would be saved in taxes by contributing x amount, etc...


Drake has a Tax Planner module that will allow you to run a tax return with made up figures for any data input line to do a what if analysis. I run that all the time. It does do the self-employed retirement plan contribution calculation correctly.

What it does NOT do is a comparison of Education credits or tax deduction, that I think some competitor software does. You have to select upfront which method you want. That has been on the wish list for a while.

It has a MFJ/MFS comparison report that is very helpful to explain to the client.
 

#11
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I used ATX at my former employer. It doesn't do the iterative calculation for SEHI very well - at least it didn't last time I looked. As I have a good number of SEHI clients, that was a pretty big deal and something I tested extensively with Drake. Also, with ATX, it didn't let you do a schedule of stock sales entered directly on Schedule D, which is not helpful when sending something for review to a reviewer who is not tax-oriented.

I get tax returns and payroll filing with Drake for less than I'd pay for ATX. I haven't tested the payroll software properly yet, but if it does the job, I save another $300 or so per year in software costs. There is no doubt that you have to be more alert with Drake and, in the off-season, I will be tweaking the spreadsheets I use to check my work. The spreadsheets worked fine with Proconnect and TaxAct but the freedom to over-ride in Drake is a curse, as well as a blessing.
 

#12
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ATSMAN wrote:
You are the tax professional who should know the tax laws! I don't expect a tax prep software to give me "suggestions". Drake does run a consistency check and points out mismatch or data entry or process errors. It is NOT going to tell you that you are wrong on the law. That is your job. :roll:


True, but there is nothing wrong with utilizing software as an aid. Sometimes we overlook something, and having a tax analyzer or something of that nature helps catch it or identify potential savings I did not think of even though I technically knew of it. When you switch gears as often as we do in our profession, it is rather simple to overlook something obvious within the tax law and software can help catch it. I personally rather like Lacerte's diagnostics and tax analyzer--has helped catch things I thought I already took care of, or gave me some new ideas.
 


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