Medlin Software, Dennis

I am Medicare - 2.5y. I keep working because I like it. Some days I like it more than others, so my workflow follows that cycle too. I will likely keep "working" until I cannot, and definitely until at least age 70. Must get to FRA or perish before I claim SS, so my < 40Q spouse, and our disabled daughter, can get the most from SS (and for our daughter, hopefully she will get 40+ years off my benefit). Yes, I am a believer the PTB will never let SS fail, and for our daughter, me waiting to at least FRA will more than double her benefit. I am sure I have lost customers because of how I manage my workflow (while normally responding within a few minutes, some days, it may take until the end of the day for me to muster the fortitude to face the messages), turning off the phone and limiting contact to written form has weeded out those who want me to train them step by step, and those who are abusive. Some are abusive in written form, but they get fired instantly. before ending the phone aspect, I dreaded work. I still somewhat cringe when my phone rings, and it has been about 5 years with no customer phone interaction. That is what 25 years of having to answer a support line can do, and even with only letting my phone ring for my contacts, I still jump at times. I am sure, for most here, they have clients chomping for their (my term) misdeed of having and needing that refund yesterday and try to put that rush on you. I feel that too, when someone claims they need to order a new license NOW, and they had no idea it had expired (impossible). It appears preparers are in a Catch-22, as not many clients want to owe, with most thinking you let them down if they don't get that big refund (so no incentive to actively manage their WH, removing that "need" to get that refund ASAP).

Where I come from is absolutely, a license was paid for. The ATX license terms control, which I do not have. Maybe they are no current license = off, maybe they are like mine, no data added after the expiration. But, where many many many fail, is believing somehow I have their data and can come to their magical rescue when the inevitable happens. No matter the license or situation, one must look at self for not having alternate sources. What if ATX (the company) disappeared this afternoon? What if your computer disappeared too? How about your entire work location destroyed?

I also see it as a strange time, where it is tough to get someone to come in to be groomed to take over/buy, or even just to get someone to buy. I have seen a profitable vet clinic close, because no one would come in with no money down and only a pittance of payment for the clients/equipment. I have seen my last similar competitor of mine go away, where even their programmer did not want to keep it going. Our family orthodontist has been wanting a partner/replacement for some time (high end very successful) and his prior attempt failed for some reason - yet those low-cost chains are still popping up and churning through the freshly minted DDS'. Thinking about it, maybe it is us who are failing at setting up for replacement, if so, by keeping too tight of control and not documenting things well enough to be replaceable - at least in the eyes of those who could replace us. Or maybe it is just the fear of being responsible for themselves that has less willing to step up.

Agreed. For me, the toughest part is setting things up for my demise or loss of ability/desire. Having just seen (last year) my only remaining similar entity abruptly close, with no path for their customers, it was a good reminder to plan forward. I don't have the capability to do the same, hang on, then just close. The other entity announced their closure, "burning" the remaining customers, then others stepped in to try to help. At that point, there was, in my opinion, a dying entity with a negative value, so I did not even offer to buy a customer list or the code. Eventually, someone bought the code only (from what I hear) so they could more easily sell the former customers on some sort of data conversion. it was, to me, ugly and worst case. Many of those customers reached out to me, and switched, but few were happy. It is oh so hard not to keep being the "one", letting go of even relatively routine tasks is a challenge for me. I think it is what makes us successful at what we do, but is also limiting in many ways.

Best wishes for sure. I find things like a balance scale. As I get older, one side is preloaded with my life, desires, experiences, etc., so it takes more effort for others to balance me. I get less tolerant (hopefully only) of lack of what used to be common sense. My willingness to put up with the baggage of others grows smaller by the second, and my lack of care for what others think grows proportionately. On the other hand, I just found out our granddaughter's mother has changed her major to accounting (a back to school for a new career deal). I think she realized there are endless opportunities, and all work well with setting one's own hours and work location, which works well for having a school age child. I think I taught her there is some amount of money which makes anyone welcome as a client, but there are also clients which are best let go. Most importantly, to be able to set the incoming filter makes work life much easier, compared to getting in a situation where one has to take all comers.

Bonnie. Hopefully your rehab has worked, and you are doing well. Your question is likely first served by contacting ATX directly. Going forward, and for all of us, it is imperative you print (paper or PDF) and retain all items and have several copies. Assuming PDF, on your computer is a good start, removable media stored in your office is handy, but having at least one set in a separate location is imperative. Relying on your computer, software, and data to be there when you next need it is never enough. Unless the rules have been updated (and they were put in place in the 90's, so they should be updated), what you describe, not having your data or reports, is actually a reportable to the IRS issue. I am not saying the IRS is going to hunt you down, but that the rules (again, the last time I looked anyway) are very strict and often require proactive reporting of any actual or potential inability not to be able to produce required information.

IIRC, it is a political attempt to keep work locations within AL, rather than a neighboring state. Maybe the first attempt to directly reward for not having out of state remote workers. (And not that different than how GA, for instance, rewards with tax breaks for TV type productions - why so many things are filmed in GA.) I would not call it strange in the payroll world. All seems to be fair game at present (anything goes). Wayfair ruling has emboldened states to cross their borders to gain income, so now a state is at least temporarily rewarding for staying within their borders. With the rise of many min wage to more than double the federal number, employers are wisely looking at lower min wage states to have employees performing services, especially if there is low or no company income tax nexus caused by the remote worker.

Tom, ARM is a different architecture. Just like PC is different than Mac. For an app to be "native", it has to be written for the particular architecture. MS tried having ARM based computers able to also run apps for x86 (intel/AMD) already, and it was, to me, a bust. This new iteration seems to be a game changer. The ARM chip and Windows will handle the x86 software through emulation, without taking a huge performance hit. The early tests compare the performance well. Native ARM apps will be faster but for most of us, we won't see anything different as we are all limited by our fingers, displays, drive speed, and as we age, comprehension speed. From what was disclosed Monday, the new Windows/ARM/CoPilot+ machines should be able to run most current PC apps without any special action (as the current PC computers, all 64 bit, have emulation to run all the 32 bit software still heavily in use). I should get the new surface the day of or day after public release. I will test my own app and see how it works. Comparing to the state of the art intel core ultra chip. I expect them to be close enough I can use either. The bene of the ARM is heat and power issues are dramatically less. Also the processing speed should be better (when using ARM apps) or at least the same (when using x86 apps). For the prior ARM emulation, I did not bother even testing it as the reports were not good. Intel has a new chip in the works which should compete with the ARM, but I have seen nothing mentioning if they can resolve power and heat issues. (For example, there is usually no reason to buy the best intel chip in a laptop, as most laptops cannot provide enough cooling and have to heat limit the processor either on the fly, or via hardware settings.) Intel got the actual shaft this time. Intel is just barely into their Meteor Lake cycle, which has a NPU (AI) type of processor, but not enough for Copilot+. The Meteor chips are essentially obsolete after only a few months - assuming the ARM emulation is even close to what is being reported. It may take intel a year or more to catch up. Computer manufacturers are rumored to already be abandoning Meteor Lake after just a month or two into their release cycle. (I just got a Meteor Lake computer, and I am happy with it as it is a dual monitor laptop, which is a significant upgrade for me - if I was only after performance, I would not have bought the ML chipped device.) My Meteor Lake device, I have to keep propped up for air circulation, and it still heat limits from time to time. Not really an issue for my use, but the fans are noticeable when it gets to the heat limit. For the ARM device, I suspect I can stuff it back in the cubby I have and may never hear the fans. --- We are getting close to a time when any laptop can run any app, and no more being stuck in PC intel, PC AMD, PC ARM, and maybe even Mac (assuming Apple steps up and buys one of the emulators which run on Apple and makes x86 - and now likely ARM - emulation internal). --- I just saw one potential hitch, Qualcomm is being or may be sued by ARM for not following their license agreement correctly, but these things usually play out with exchange of cash before consumer's are affected.

And drive encryption is only slightly helpful UNLESS you power off or hibernate, and have a password/PION on restart (not just the Windows password). Notice I did not mention sleep, since sleep is the same as leaving your computer on, unlocked, and ready for anyone to use.

If you are intel only, and are interested in the Copilot+ functions, then waiting until the next intel chip is released is a wise move. I suspect the emulation added to the ARM chips, and in Windows itself, will make the intel/ARM moot, if not now, very shortly. The performance hit of the emulation is more than covered by the faster specs of the current ARM.

Effectively a new revision of Win is coming next month when the copilot+ computers are released. While not a number change (11 to 12), it has big internal changes. If you are an intel person, then buying a new machine now is fine (I just got a new dual screen laptop). If you are open to ARM, then pre order a new copilot+ computer is good now (I preordered the surface tablet style as I need to test the new emulation functions for ARM based computers). In the fall, general release of the next edition of Win is expected (if not earlier), and it, to me, is not something I would wait for as far as getting a new machine, nor would I fear installing the new edition on a W11 computer. At this point, your computer should be capable of running W11 (with the TPM), or you are lacking in security options. There is some reasonable notion the numbering scheme is going away, and they will just have Windows, with release info, such as 24H or whatever. MS has realized there is little reason to get new machines unless there is a machine improvement, so they are diving in deep, maybe betting their future, on the ARM/AI fork, as it will require new machines. If the ARM/AI functions are as good as reviewed 5/20, computing has made a huge leap forward on several fronts (without losing the still and maybe forever needed ability to use W32 apps). And really, if the specs are as published, this will put Mac's further in the minority.

All of this also ties into what our son is looking forward to as changing the face of doctor/patient medicine. AI handling of notes. The tech is coming where your practitioner will have something similar to a phone (or maybe an app on their phone, I have no idea) which records the conversation of your visit and makes the visit notes. No transcribing, no doctor visit with the doc banging away at the keyboard the whole time, no late nights for the doc handling their notes. Or no med student/resident slogging away recording notes instead of seeing patients/studying. Or in the case of my 1.5 hour drive yesterday, the car navigating, keeping proper speed, lane change, turn, etc., via based interpretation of the conditions and route, without waking granddaughter napping in car seat. (for the curious, AMD Ryzan chip).

Not for long I suspect. I have not used a desktop in years, but it is reasonable to believe there are already ARM desktops, and likely updated ones coming soon. They, prior to today, are not something the average person would get and expect to match a Windows only box. There are already ARM laptops, but performance is not all that great (according to reports) with W32/64 apps because of the overhead. The new snapdragon chips, and the revisions to Windows, are supposed to make the overhead nearly moot. In my case, since MS is calling their new surface stuff "consumer" versions, and the intel based stuff "business", I have to accommodate ARM for certain. Personally, I am happy about the longer batt life as it should equate to less power needed. I suppose the basics, If I followed correctly, is for intel chips, the architecture is roughly the same as it was in the 8088 days, with more and more things on chip to handle the faster things we have today. All of that add on sort of processing is expensive in cost, complicity, and power. For the snapdragon, we use them in many phones, so their power needs have been up front from day one. With MS updating the emulation in Windows itself, instead of some sort of hardware solution, we are at or getting closer to where the hardware may no longer be Windows/Mac/Phone, it may be the hardware does fast computing at reasonable cost and power usage, and the operating system handling the rest, whatever OS on whatever machine. If this all works out, it compares (in my youth days) to being able to buy an engine from wherever, and putting it into any vehicle without having to go to a third party for mounts/adapters/etc. Or in recent days, what the EV makers did by finally agreeing on one plug standard.

If the overhead to run existing W32/W64 apps on ARM is as little as claimed, the new machines announced today will be a game changer for computer users. No more Intel only, and the snapdragon chips are seemingly twice as power efficient. Could also be a real challenger to the Apple laptops as well (unless one is married to an apple only app). And to top it off, at least for preorder, the new surface with ARM is significantly cheaper than the latest with the core ultra chips. I really like my new intel laptop, but it does get hot so I have to be aware of keeping the vents clear, and batt life is less than a day for me when using both of the built in screens (but no issue, I have plenty of portable power). The snapdragon chip should use half or less of the power, and with less power also likely means less heat to rid. I preordered a surface pro with ARM, the base model. Arrives in about three weeks.

Sounds great.

I tested cloudflare. Did not offer me anything I could not get from htaccess country allow. Still plenty of bots in the us which is why I added the ip testing service.

Avoids issues with not meeting the EU cookie type warnings. I block my site from non desired countries for the same reason. I also use a bot/vpn/proxy testing service too. It really cuts down on the non desired access. In my case, especially for blocking access to my order form from those who use VPN to try to test card numbers (almost always actually outside the US, but using a VPN). If you are interested in what I do, send me a direct email.

This is a great reminder that many should be filing, even if no requirement. We have been doing so for quite some time for our disabled daughter, for this very reason (sets the clock). She does a small amount of paid work for me each year, so her income is <$500. Once she is no longer subject to means testing, she will hopefully have assets and income which will trigger required filing, so we want to prevent look back issues once her first "major" return gets filed.

Sara has a great view. Still, there is something to be said about all remembering advice from anyone is really only as good as the E&O backing said advice. ESPECIALLY in accounting and tax practicing, since the odds of a mistake being caught are actually slim, many are fine pushing limits/living in the grey, some don't mind being wrong and asking for forgiveness, and so on. Add in the advice only being able to be as good as the information being fed, and there are often errors and misunderstandings. Oh, don't forget, someone called someone, and the someone who picked up the phone gave advice, so it must be true.

ITiN = Not eligible to work, so why not like there be any earned income credit possible?

Depending on the overall amounts, even 2k could well be within the "I see it, but the client is not going to pay me to track it down and is fine with it" number. Especially if the effect is internal only (wrong expense account for instance).

Every now and again I wonder if I should take the time to add some alphabet soup after my name. I have no work related need, it would just be personal. Time and time again, I get smacked in the face to remind me none of that matters (unless a professional or job requirement). I went down a rabbit hole "discussing" a payroll issue with someone with letters after their name (which is touted as having certain skills), and I realized I need to not waste my time. School of Life (or the infamous University of Mars for original Raider fans) is often better. For grins, the issue is a "payroll pro" thinking employees choose the state for withholding, that domicile matters, and that working at home does not mean the employer created nexus in that home (work location). Happens the at home worker is in a different state, and the pro is arguing the employer does not have nexus in the work at home state. It very much equates to an earlier topic where Tom (IIRC), not in TX, still has Bulldog area clients, and has to report income and pay tax to CA.

I would send everything the PO sent back, along with whatever letter or form. Make copies first, just in case it happens again. I would also try to get the person to at least mail with some sort of tracking. It can be done at home (printing a priority mail "label" and stuck on a 9x12), or if extra cheap, they can order free priority envelopes from USPS.

I would check the number of units completed and the school's full time units number. Earning 7k, or even zero, could be covering support with loans, grants, etc.

Full time is just a unit number. Has nothing to do with the student actually getting the units for a sheepskin. For instance, one of ours stayed at out local community college to get all the essentially free units he could, even though it was way more than his AS required. So he had 3 full time years at the CC and just two full time for his BS. Age 25 is a good thing for a student (or married) as it makes them independent for finances. Meaning likely more loans and maybe grants, and easier to get free medical, EBT, utility discounts, etc.