Lacerte Cloud version

I never work from home, but I am wondering if I should plan for that and move to the Lacerte Cloud version. Has anyone used it? I have not seen a big discussion but maybe I missed something.

Is it the way of the future? I pay too much as it is. I don't want to pay more.

I don't have any experience with Lacerte, but in general my opinion is that you can achieve remote work better through your own mechanisms than to pay for it to be hosted in the cloud. For example, a VPN and Remote Desktop are very effective for accessing your work computer from anywhere in the world. A VPN could be free (though I use one that costs about $60/year) and Remote Desktop is free (the target computer needs Windows Pro at a cost of about $100 one time, but we all ought to be running that anyway for security purposes.)

Of course, I'm reasonably fluent with computers so my experience is not the same as everyone's. (In fact, when I got my new server and its DNS services conflicted with the VPN, I figured out the problem and reconfigured the server and the router while the "computer expert" doing the installation was still scratching his head.)

Thank you for that! I will ask my computer folks.

There is no "cloud version" of Lacerte in that it might be accessed via a browser like many other software tools are available now.
However, you can have a virtual server and install Lacerte on that "desktop" instead of locally. That's my arrangement. You can do this through RightNetworks, who partners with Intuit for this offering or have a separate virtual server. Mine is separate, which provides me greater control, access, and flexibility in this regard. It is a little more expensive than RN, but well worth it IMO.

The closest thing to a cloud version of Lacerte is ProConnect Tax Online. (I think that's the current name. They keep changing it.) It is built on Lacerte but has far less bells and whistles.

I tried Right Networks for Lacerte, and I cancelled. I wish it was a better experience e.g. like QuickBooks Online.

My biggest issue was to do with printing tax returns to pdf from Lacerte to onedrive. The server wouldn't allow me to do what I wanted, which seemed like such a basic thing...

I would love to have a cloud server instead of a on-site server, but at the moment I don't know of an adequate solution. Probably in a few years it will be available....

This resource absolutely exists.
Seek out a good IT support provider. They can advise on this.

This resource absolutely exists.
Seek out a good IT support provider. They can advise on this.

Okay , will do.

We have server in-house and are leery about going to virtual.

For other Lacerte users, I am wondering if you thought the 2023 program was better, worse or the same as previous versions?

I am a fan of Lacerte but I did experience more glitches with the 2023 program and it seems to be less stable than previous versions. Thoughts?

I didn't feel like I had any issues with 2023. My 2023 and 2022 setups were identical: Remote server accessed through RDP.

I would love to have a cloud server instead of a on-site server, but at the moment I don't know of an adequate solution. Probably in a few years it will be available....

They exist all over the place, but local IT companies love locking you into their platforms. Kamatera is one option, among many. You retain control, not a software company or IT company that marks everything up and does basically nothing.

Local servers are not more secure than virtual. It is all in the configuration, firewalls, etc. The only way you can have maximum security is to be in a vault without any connectivity.

As to Lacerte, 2023 has been pretty stable. I have issues with all years of the software concerning random errors popping up while viewing returns. Still better than UT, IMO.