Looking for new tax software

Hi all,

I’m currently using Tax Act. It works but has its “moments”. Looking for a better software. Let’s leave number of users and tax returns, for a moment.

Can you please let me know if your software does multi-states non-resident tax returns the following way:

When having a K-1 with some activity (or a rental property) in non-resident state, in ProFx you input the federal info, then add a sheet and plug the state name at the top, input the numbers per the K-1 state page and the software sends the numbers to the right lines in the state return.

If it’s a rental prop – you just put the state name at the top of the input sheet, the info is then sent to the 1040, to your home-state and to the non-resident state that you put its name on that sheet.
Easy overall.

(I know that ProFx does it and worked with this software before, but it’s too costly for me and is off my list… I’m not their sales rep for )

If your software is doing it this way, rather than going to the state tax return and inputting the numbers there (this can be a nightmare at times), can you please let me know what software that is and an estimated cost?

Many thanks in advance and happy tax-day! Almost there

Drake is consistently rated #1 among small firms and can handle what you're referring to. They offer a free trial as well to my knowledge.

There are things that I don't like about it, but they're minor in comparison to the value I receive vs the alternatives.

LaCerte handles it the way you wish, but you obviously need to be mindful of some states such as South Carolina that do not tax out-of-state rental or non-service business income. That then requires going into the specific state and entering an override--I have not found a way for it to be automated since it requires very specific criteria to be allowed.

Drake and Lacerte/Proconnect Online allow you to enter a state to report the K1, schedule C/E, etc. For a K1, they let you enter different numbers for in the same entry. If you need to (activity in multiple nonresident states), you can do it like TaxAct with separate entry pages for multiple states but it's not required for all forms.
You can generally enter adjustment or override numbers for parts of the state return as well, when necessary. Sometimes things get hairy, especially for part-year returns, even ProFx can be hard to find the right input to get states right.

Drake is what I use currently, it's going to be the far more cost effective option between those options.

Thank you all very much for your help.

ManVsTax - would you mind sharing some of these other things you don't like in Drake?
(From testing it a bit myself, I'm not too excited about the user interface but there can be bigger advantage in the software, that I don't see yet. Thanks!)

Any issue with 1041/1065/1120S etc?

you can do it like TaxAct with separate entry pages for multiple states

I think that the only way to do it in TaxAct is by entering the non-resident numbers directly in the nonresident state tax return forms.
Am I missing here something, that also TA's tech support failed to show me?

Thanks!

Thank you all very much for your help.

ManVsTax - would you mind sharing some of these other things you don't like in Drake?
(From testing it a bit myself, I'm not too excited about the user interface but there can be bigger advantage in the software, that I don't see yet. Thanks!)

Any issue with 1041/1065/1120S etc?

A timely issue: the federal module for calculating FTP and interest through a payment date is quite good. It displays a summary schedule of those amounts on the bottom of page 2 of the 1040 and increases the direct debit or voucher payment amount appropriately.

That feature for the states is nonexistent. I have to calculate it outside the software, then warn clients that they'll get a notice somewhere around 1-3 months after we file, and give them an estimate of the amount. It's tedious and adds friction to the process. I don't like that. It's so much easier to just have it auto-calculate and included in the return payment. One and done.

Then dealing with pships that have special or preferred allocations is a lot more manual entry than say Gosystems or Prosystems. I'm used to being able to import an excel file of ratios using the former platforms. But, Drake is nowhere near the same price level as those two, so we're dealing with tradeoffs.

Then it seems support is less knowledgeable than they were a couple years ago. Not sure if it's the current talent market or if it has something to do with the private capital investment, but something has changed and not really for the better.

All in all, I'm still satisfied. In the same way that saying about capitalism goes... Out of all the systems, it sucks the least.

I also recommend Drake, but when it comes to complex items like 5471, 3520, even a tough 1065, they are not the most sophisticated.

I also concur that CS/support has deteriorated somewhat. Depends on who you get.

If you buy Drake via a reseller, the cost is very similar to Tax Act or even cheaper. Via Sigma Tax Pro it's right around $1k (that's what I paid at the end of the tax season).

Has anyone taken the step of setting up their client's QB to automatically integrate to Lacerte (or other Intuit prep software)?
I'm thinking there might be value in doing this, but am wondering if there are any pitfalls to avoid or if the whole exercise is futile.

I tried it once with UT and once with LaCerte. I don't like it. I find it simpler and more efficient to just enter the figures from financial statements I generate or print off.

I did it once with UT 15yrs ago and the software pulled in transactions from each account to add to the existing balances on the GL instead of the YE balances, which was a mess to unravel.

Any specific reasons you recall that you didn't like how Lacerte handled this?

Did it years ago with QB into Proseries. It took a good while to set up but it made it much easier the next year. I think my boss at the time felt it was money well spent.

Did it years ago with QB into Proseries. It took a good while to set up but it made it much easier the next year. I think my boss at the time felt it was money well spent.

Thanks!
I'll experiment a bit after 10/17. We used the TB feature in Lacerte for one client this summer as an experiment, which was ok. Obviously, a lot of set up, but the reporting was decent once set up. I haven't investigated EasyACCT fully, which appears to provide some of the same benefits.

You can look at EASYACCT but it is the redheaded stepchild of the Intuit family. Used it years ago, it may have had a different name, but it was crappy. There is not much Support. Intuit has active user forums for their tax software, but the EASYACCT forum is sparsely and rarely used.
I used the QB import in Lacerte years ago, but it's not very practical for us. Most of our clients keep accrual books but are cash basis for tax. The cash basis reports from QB are not accurate. We do an accrual to cash conversion outside of QB. At that point, there is nothing to import from QB.

I did it once with UT 15yrs ago and the software pulled in transactions from each account to add to the existing balances on the GL instead of the YE balances, which was a mess to unravel.

Any specific reasons you recall that you didn't like how Lacerte handled this?

I've been using UT for many years, as well as Accounting CS (formerly Creative Solutions). I love the ease that things transfer over to the tax return and have never had any issues once things are set up properly. I basically click and things are transferred to where they need to be. I may then go in and combine some accounts, or split out officer wages (if not properly set up), etc. There must have been something set up incorrectly for that to happen.

The cash basis reports from QB are not accurate. We do an accrual to cash conversion outside of QB. At that point, there is nothing to import from QB.

They are if the various modules are utilized for transactions but not once journal entries hit the picture--they appear under both cash and accrual.

For clients I do not do routine accounting work for, I still end up doing a lot of cleanup work in QBO to prep for taxes. I find it simpler to just post directly from the income statement and balance sheet. I have grown cautious of imports unless they have a very simple function to completely undo it, which very few offer.

We use Pro Series tax software and QBD. I started the process a few years ago setting up the chart of accounts in QBD to line up with Pro Series. Pro Series imports from QBD depending on how well your chart of accounts maps for the tax codes. I usually have to tweak a couple numbers for rounding though.

It takes me less time now to set up the chart of accounts than it does to manually key in the tax return from the QBD balance sheet and income statement. Then next year, I save about 20 minutes of keying time, over 300 business returns, equals 6,000 minutes, or 100 hours. That's 2.5 weeks of extra vacation time for me.

Some things that don't map well. Ending inventory (no inventory line in the mapping and in the cogs calculation I can't figure), officer salaries (it will hit the line, but you have to drill down and enter again) are two that come to mind. But when you have a lengthy TB and have to manually add up categories to enter, it takes too long. The import process takes less than 10 seconds and its done.

....The import process takes less than 10 seconds and its done.

Thanks!

What issues have you run into with QB files where you just get backups from clients? Is it as easy as mapping the new accounts and hitting 'import'?