Tax return management software

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#1
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Would anyone like to share what kind of tax return/client management software they use and benefits or drawbacks? I work in a smaller sized firm with only one individual "signing off" on all tax returns, but several people work on the returns which are in various stages of completion. We currently use a few different Excel spreadsheets for these "logs" (drop-off log, pending log, extension log, etc.) however it is a brutally cumbersome process and they are NEVER able to be completely up-to-date. Using the built in status feature of our tax software is not really an option. I'm hoping to see some good demo's this summer at my CPE but of course would love to have users' opinions rather than just the salespeople's.
 

#2
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I'm currently looking into Office Tool Pro and so far I like what I see. I just haven't pulled the trigger yet because I'm thinking to wait till about couple of months before next tax season and save the $$, but still give myself an enough time to train myself on it and get the hang of it. It is currently priced at $50/month/user.
 

#3
jesella  
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We used ATOM for the first time this season. I like that it is cloud based and provides a portal for clients to access their returns and submit documents. Clients seemed to like that aspect. We did find it a bit cumbersome when uploading large documents but that was our internet service issue, not ATOM's. We're working on fixing that. I like that it is fully customizable, so we can set up statuses that fit for our workflow. It's also priced reasonably for our small office. We can set up recurring tasks and tasks in the future to remember to follow up with a client. It also syncs with Drake, so it'll pull in the EF status of the returns - really handy for front desk staff to use to answer questions about ack status.
 

#4
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I use File In Time and it works well for my needs:

http://www.timevalue.com/products/file- ... rview.aspx
 

#5
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Thanks for the input guys. I've requested a trial of File in Time and ATOM as they both look promising. I checked out Office Tool Pro and it looks a bit pricey for our office which will need 5 users. $350 a month adds up pretty quickly! I also found a free program called ToDoList which looks pretty good so far.
 

#6
makbo  
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Nightsnorkeler wrote: Using the built in status feature of our tax software is not really an option.


What's your software? Maybe you're just not using it effectively. If you happen to be using UltraTax, the Practice CS add-on ($$) works very well for tracking each stage of the return, who it has been handed off to (with automated messages, etc), fully integrated with the main tax module. It's basically a pretty complete project management tool.
 

#7
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At the firm I work for, we use Office Tools Pro. I would not say it is a bad program or anything like that, but it's a program in a weird place in the marketplace. It has a large number of features, almost to the point of having too many, so it commands a high price. But it's not an integrated product, even with their sync tools, so our firm ends up wasting time duplicating work (we have to change addresses in both OT and Drake, for example). A minor thing, except for the volume.

I actually wish I had some sort of measurement on how much time our firm spends just on Office Tools per week. It requires near-constant management of the to-do lists, especially during tax season. I imagine that it would work much better in a practice with fewer, large multi-step projects rather than a lot of small projects. I don't know how this experience compares with other practice management programs.

It also requires your staff to buy-in to using the program. Our payroll staff continues, over a year and a half after our firm started using Office Tools, to use Excel for their to do lists (and then they mark off the projects in OT). We still use QuickBooks to do our billing even though Office Tools has the functionality. Is that the fault of the program? Maybe, maybe not. It does point to the difficulty our firm has with the program. The older your staff, the more difficult they will find the program.

If you use UltraTax, Prosystems fx, Lacerte, or any other tax program that has some a practice management module within their suite of products, I imagine that you should use that system unless you are looking for a $100 solution.

My only other piece of advice is: only plan to do this once. A changeover is much harder to do than a brand new setup, so look at the long term.
 

#8
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We have used GoldMine as our Contact Management Software for over 2 decades now, and it does have to-do lists built into it. It also maintains all emails and correspondence by client. It does not integrate with QB or tax programs but is easy to maintain and relatively inexpensive.
Jim
Pettit Financial Services
 

#9
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I suppose I will look into this again because we are using UltraTax. The problem here was I believe the cost was around $1,500 per year and that may not get approved. A one time cost of $1,000-2,000 could fly, or a $500-800 initial cost with $200-$500 renewals wouldn't be that bad either. But if I can do a test drive we may just find out that it is well worth the cost.
 

#10
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Nightsnorkeler wrote:I suppose I will look into this again because we are using UltraTax. The problem here was I believe the cost was around $1,500 per year and that may not get approved. A one time cost of $1,000-2,000 could fly, or a $500-800 initial cost with $200-$500 renewals wouldn't be that bad either. But if I can do a test drive we may just find out that it is well worth the cost.


How many billable hours is $1,500/year? How many tax returns is that? Just the fact that it is integrated will save hours and hours of time that my firm has to deal with given our bubble-gum-and-bailing-wire setup.

CPA = Cheapest people around. And I say that as one of said cheap people :)
 

#11
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I must be a weirdo. Granted it is just me, my husband, and now an assistant, but we have staging areas. One is the intake area. When stuff comes in via drop off or mail, or even email, it goes to this area and then generally my husband grabs it up and pulls the file and places it in the queue to be done. If he happens to get to the data entry before me, then it comes out of the "to-do" queue and then gets placed back in the "for review" queue. If something is needed, then a phone call is placed to the client and it goes into the "waiting for info" queue. Then there is the "pick up" queue, the "waiting for signature forms queue" and finally the "ready to efile" queue. Lastly, they get tossed to the "to be refilled" pile! LOL.

All of these "queues" are easy to manage and we rarely spend time looking for files. The time I spend going from pile to pile would be spent in some software anyway, so I never went that route. I only have about 600 returns, so at any given time there is about 30-40 in each queue (which is a rack system).

I have to explore the Proseries "client status" to see what that gets me.
 

#12
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I have an old fashioned system that I use for both regular/year round accounting and taxes . I got a mail room sorter at an auction and use sticky notes to identify who/what is in each slot. There's an area for "to do's" and an area for "pending". When work is received it goes into a slot and then is written down on a list with the date the work was received. Work is generally done in the order received. If additional info is needed from a client and I get it within 24 hrs, the work is processed and issued. If it is not received withing 24 hrs, the work goes in the pending area with a note on top as to what is needed. Every Tuesday morning, the client is reminded (preferably email but sometimes phone call) that information is still needed.
 

#13
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We use UltraTax and Practice CS. They are both good programs that integrate well with each other. You can customize this integration to suit your needs. They are also an expensive combination. If you are not currently using the "event tracking" in UltraTax, then I recommend that you use that for project management first. You can create the custom events that provide you with appropriate information and staff update client status as they work/complete their piece. Using any client dialog you can filter by logged event (as well as system events, such as ELF created, ELF sent, ELF acknowledged, etc.). If you are not looking for the robust client management features that Practice provides, then I recommend you try the above before making the investment
 

#14
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BottomLine.....I am glad I am not the only one using a more manual method. I am certainly a fan of technology when it really does save time as long as it does not also cause complacency. I just find my rack system to work for me and my small office. There is only 3 of us, well 2 1/2 so we don't need to be complex.

We did relabel all the client files this past year so every folder has the same label size so they are easier to read. Cost me about $200 to do that between paying my employee and label supplies. Cheap one-time cost.

The only problem I had with sticky notes is they end up stuck to something they shouldn't be! Or they fall off. Damn stickies! So now we use 1/2 sheets of scrap paper to document the questions.
 

#15
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New York
After despairing of ever finding tax management software that did everything I needed several years ago I had a developer write a program that we continually update for our 3 member firm that finally gives me exactly what I want for tracking client tax return status as it moves thru our firm. Let me know if you are interested. No one outside our firm has used it yet.
 

#16
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Arkansas
missingdonut wrote:
Nightsnorkeler wrote:I suppose I will look into this again because we are using UltraTax. The problem here was I believe the cost was around $1,500 per year and that may not get approved. A one time cost of $1,000-2,000 could fly, or a $500-800 initial cost with $200-$500 renewals wouldn't be that bad either. But if I can do a test drive we may just find out that it is well worth the cost.


How many billable hours is $1,500/year? How many tax returns is that? Just the fact that it is integrated will save hours and hours of time that my firm has to deal with given our bubble-gum-and-bailing-wire setup.

CPA = Cheapest people around. And I say that as one of said cheap people :)


We use UltraTax and I've been looking for a solution as well. Perhaps our quote included things we didn't need, but I'm looking at it right now and it's $10,487.50 for Practice CS. I could save some money ($934 by eliminating the training), and perhaps another $1,032 by eliminating the service contract (if that's even an option), but we're still north of $8,000. I was hoping for something integrated that was closer to $3,000 - $4,000.

By the time I pay for UltraTax, File Cabinet, Accounting CS for bookkeeping and payroll, and Checkpoint for tax research, I'm pushing $25,000. Adding another $10,000 is just getting ridiculous.

In the meantime we are spending hours and hours in excel. But cheap hours.
 


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