Drake vs Lacerte/Ultra Tax

I’ve been a Drake user since the start 6 years ago. Pricing it appears went up for 2023 to around $2,000, surprised it took this long. I’m really disappointed Safe Send returns won’t integrate with Drake and that spurred me to start looking.

I do a fair amount of business returns and multi state. Lacerate quoted just under $9,000 for 3 users for around 400 returns. Trying to see what Ultra Tax offers.

That’s a decent sized price increase. Having never used higher end software, are there additional efficiencies that make it worth paying 3X+ the price of Drake?

For me the UI of higher end software is worth it over Drake. I just cannot get over their horrific UI and general processes for what should be very simple entries.

UT has an excellent asset module. That is the only benefit I see over Lacerte given I have used both, and I am still on Lacerte. Lacerte is also MUCH faster in processing returns and doing calculations. I used to sit twirling my thumbs for 15 minutes as UT tried to process a return preview and calculations with 10-20 state filings, vs. Lacerte that is under a minute.

I have never used Lacerte, although I did use ProConnect Online, which is a slimmed down version of Lacerte. I went to TaxAct because I felt there was a lot of drilling down, yet the screens were too busy.

I used Ultra Tax for one year in my last employment. It was an unmitigated disaster. Mind you, we also started with Gruntworx that year and we really could have done with some training on UT. Boss felt it was not worth the money. I think boss was terribly wrong. Used properly with good training, I can see that it might offer efficiencies for a lot of complex returns. Whether it is worth the extra cash really depends on your client mix. I moved from TaxAct to Drake because the former did not handle businesses to my liking. Horses for courses.

Is there a reason you are asking this question in January?

I use Lacerte
It's an upper tier tool and works reasonably well.
In the past, I've used UT and really enjoyed it, but I've heard too many issues from folks using UT to feel comfortable going that direction.
TR's disaster named Onvio also removed any comfort I had that TR would have their **** together.
I'm pleased with sticking with LC and am hoping to implement the routing from QB to LC that is available next year.

I'm a UT user and demo'd Drake many years ago. I was shocked at the interface. From others, I hear it takes longer on Drake than UT. I tried Lacerte about 6 years ago and it was a disaster. Too many overrides were needed and these all came from support telling me to override. I stuck with UT and gladly pay the higher price. If you go to UT, just don't choose their VO or SaaS options. It has caused problems for years. On your own or a virtual server, it is great.

I get Drake from Ultimate Tax and pay $1000 a year for unlimited.

I have 8+ years of experience with both Lacerte and UT. I like them both, but prefer UT (mostly due to integration capabilities). We acquired a branch location that used Drake a few years ago and I spent ~ 2 years using Drake before converting them to UT.

Given its cost, Drake is a surprisingly capable solution that would suit the needs of many small firms. It's been a couple of years since I've used Drake, but I remember that there were several "little things" that didn't carry over to the next year well. (I recall 1116 and some state items being items that frequently needed to be double-checked.)

Drake is a good solution for many, and I don't dislike them. Drake just isn't in the same league as CCH, TR, and Lacerte. If your client base consists of a lot of complex returns, or if you expect to grow to 15+ preparers - you will probably end up converting to one of the "big 3".

Having never used higher end software, are there additional efficiencies that make it worth paying 3X+ the price of Drake?

I moved from Drake to UT in 2015. Drake wasn't bad, especially for the price, but I had a few multi-state returns that were agonizing to prepare in Drake and the asset module left much to be desired. I practice in Wisconsin, which has a business personal property tax, and being able to prepare those in UT was a massive point in its favor.

If I'm doing a kid's return (i.e. a W-2 and four dollars of interest) it's faster to prepare in Drake, but the efficiencies come on the more complex returns.

Given its cost, Drake is a surprisingly capable solution that would suit the needs of many small firms. It's been a couple of years since I've used Drake, but I remember that there were several "little things" that didn't carry over to the next year well. (I recall 1116 and some state items being items that frequently needed to be double-checked.)

Drake is a good solution for many, and I don't dislike them. Drake just isn't in the same league as CCH, TR, and Lacerte. If your client base consists of a lot of complex returns, or if you expect to grow to 15+ preparers - you will probably end up converting to one of the "big 3".

+1 -- this is a great synopsis.