rfassett

I am not promoting any software over any other. Drake is certainly the best option for some. Not sure what I am doing yet. But for info purposes, here is a link to the ProSeries menu of plans - might be just what some are looking for: http://accountants.intuit.com/tax/proseries/

My practice tax prep consists of about 70% inidvidual, 20% corporate and the other 10% consist of partnerhips, fiduciary and non-profits. Unfortunately as it were, my practice covers the state border so I have about 30% of my clients from across the border and 70% on my home state side. I received a proposal from Ultra Tax this morning to cover all of this with the software installed on my server and the number was in the $8,500 range and that is with a promotional 30% discount. As an aside, I believe UT is offering TW customers three years at somewhere around what the TW customers were paying TW. Doesn't quite seem fair. Anyway, my next year renewal price would be north of $10,000. Lion, if you would be so kind, if you are under no obligation like I am with Pro Series, could you PM me and tell me if ProSystems fees are in line with UT. Lacerte quoted me a price of $6,000 this morning on the phone, but I am uncertain what that includes, since my conversation went further in depth with the rep about Pro Series and I did not have much time to quiz him about Lacerte.

Try here: http://www.abacus.ca/abacus-images.php

I have received what I consider to be a very good offer from Pro Series which I am not at liberty to disclose. I have not yet made my decision but just thought I would pass that along. I have posed the question about being able to efile PA business returns and have received a positive response. I will be preparing a 990 on the evaluation copy of Pro Series this afternoon. If anyone is interested in the offer, PM me and I will give you my contact's info. I repeat that I am not able to discuss the offer, but I can certainly point you in the proper direction.

Thanks Lion. I had already determined you to be my "go to" person. Is that being too presumptuous? :)

Drake professes to be for firms that are more individual returns oriented with a splattering of business returns (that is what I read in literature from them). That does not fit my practice profile. I would put Tax Wise and Drake on the same playing field. ATX was different and really fit my practice to a "T". But the sands of time are a changing.

MichelleATX's (or is it ATXMichelle) RavenDB comments last week have me very concerned about 2013 and beyond - at least from a network perspective. So I am looking at ProSeries, Lacerte, and ProSystems fx this week. I am thinking ProSeries is not going to work due to not being able to e-file PA business returns. I am mandated to e-file due to the volume I do. I will clarify ProSeries position this week. The other two seem to be viable. I looked at UltraTax Saas lease program and to lease the software I need would be over a grand per month - ain't happenin'.

Oh and BTW, I am to the point where i am about to forget about the saddle and just jump on and go.

If they are not supporting network installation what is the purpose of the published network installation instructions, i.e., install the software on the server and then on the individual workstations? Come to think about it, this sounds all too familiar with QuickBooks network installation. But again, why would they publish those instruction if they were not supporting it?

I don't know what you can say, but I think you need to re-think your fee structure. Does $20 cover your trouble? It is only trouble if you are not properly compensated for your work. Years ago I had a similiar situation. Day trader client receives a corrected 1099 long after the return was done. He was a rather long time client, paid timely, but a genuine PITA. Taking the higher road, I charged him $50 to re-do the return. I determined that was the break even point for that amended return. He balked. I said pay whatever you think it is worth. He sent me a check for half. I sent it back to him with a note stating that he clearly did not value my services and I thank him to not darken my doorway again. He called when he got the check and note to try to reconcile and apologize. I told him my statement stands and that was the last I have seen or heard from him. Well, actually, he called again a couple weeks later but I never returned the call. I made the commitment then, it is my job to teach my clients to respect me. They will not respect me for being cheap. I have never again discounted that sort of situation. And i have not lost a client because of it.

Well, I was already on the horse ready to go but Jack calmed me down. It sounds like if I upgrade my equipment to ATX specs and do the recommended installation, we should be OK. I have my IT guy pricing me out the new equipment and software.

Whoa horse, hold on just a minute, let me get off here a second. OK Jack, so I guess in re-reading, as long as I have the same operating system on each and every one of the workstations, assuming recommended installation, I should be able to open the program on three different workstations and access the same data base on the server all at the same time. Is my understanding correct? As a follow up, would this preclude me from accessing the database remotely if my home computer is running a different os?

But to the same question, we have had ATX installed on the server and three different users could be using ATX on different workstations at the same time. This is not the case for 2012 and the future, you think?

How do we know if they are going to keep using Raven? Should we just assume that? BTW, I have mounted my horse and I am very, very close to saying giddy up and riding into the sunset and all ATX will see is the horse's - well you get the picture. But without post haste resolution to that question, I will be gone.

Jack, you clearly know more about this stuff than I do, but we have been usings 3 users without ptins without it being an issue. I have assigned non-preparers user names and passwords in the past and they could use the software for assigned purposes and all three at the same time. It had nothing to do, from a practical standpoint, of any ptins.

cbslee, you seem to have a grip on this. Could you explain it so my feeble mind can understand it?. What I am reading seems to say that, even though ATX comes with a three user license, only one user can use the software at a time? And if I am running on a network, as I am, the data can (and should) reside on the server but the program will have to be installed and operated on the local workstation?

Now I remember why I put a conference room in my building when I built it. These things kind of fade with time. It was that constant suffling of stuff off and onto my desk. I became much more productive when I stopped doing that. I still have a couple of clients that think there are no boundaries and have no problem walking through the front door and directly to and into my office. I meet and greet them before they get to my desk though. And they both pay very well and come see me at least 8 to 10 times per year.

I have not had the chance to look at this years numbers too closely yet, but when doing the extensions, I believe I counted 10 or 12 clients that I did not hear from. Those amounted to approximately $2,500 in billings. I know that I picked up at least 20 more that represented about $7,500 in billings. Fair trade off in my book. Some fall off every year and some new ones come. My average turnover is way, way below the national average that some places suggest. So far below, actually, I am off their chart. My practice is pretty stable. In the interest of full discloser, I raise my rates for tax prep every year by a minimum of 5% and I also raise my minimum fee every year. Next year's minimum will be in the $180 to $190 range. When you start believing in yourself and your skills and believe that you should be compensated according, you will find that the market will agree with you. Our clients want us to be successful so they can tell all of their friends "we use xxxxxxxx to do our taxes". It is like a badge of honor they wear. Oh and I always like to mention when I discuss these things, I live and work in Podunk USA - town size of about 5,500 with no shortage of tax prep firms. If I can do it here, you can do it anywhere.

At the time I took that bold move, I had another CPA. a non-CPA accountant, two data entry folks, a secretary and an office manager on my staff. I do not discuss the hourly fee with clients unless they tie me down and threaten to cut off my fingers one by one. The client's only concern is getting the job done at a price they can afford. Yes, occasionally we will have an objection to the fee. As they say, if you are not getting complaints about high fees, you are charging too little. But I am not smug about those complaints. I believe in providing value in exchange for the money. If the client complains, either his expectations were contorted or he does not appreciate what we do. In either case, I did not do my sales job properly. And on occasion, we will find that there was additional time that should have NOT been charged to the client, i.e, researching an issue for a half hour which could have been answered by asking someone else in the office that has already researched the issue. I look at and analyze every fee objection. And sometimes, the client chooses to go elsewhere. And that is valid. I can not be all things to everybody and I refuse to work for free unless the decision to work for free is a conscious decision on my part.

LOL - I was not familiar with the HP11C so I googled it and the first hit was "The Museum of HP Calculators".

The thought just occurred to me, if I upgrade my system to the 2013 ATX requirements how is that going to affect running the older programs - not oly ATX, but write up, payroll, file cabinet, et al?

So who's office is that? Certainly not yours Lion. Or anybody on this board. Where is all the clutter? Very nice. And great article. Thanks for sharing both.

Sorry for the confusion. I assign all of my clients a grade based on a wide range of factors - the least of which is how much they pay me, the most of which is the PITA factor. That particular year, I fired all of the D and lower grade clients which were sucking up our resourses without the proper compensation and causing less attention to the higher graded clients. We made more money the following year, with fewer hours and far less stress, and a much happier office. As to compiling receipts, I don't even ask anymore. If they bring it to to me like that, we charge $45 per hour to sort and post them in excel. If we have to go into our writeup program, the rate goes to $55. Back to the firing of the clients issue, it was a very bold and hard decision for me because my practice is in Podunk USA - and the pickin's ain't that plentiful. In my way of thinking leading up to the act, I was concerned of the back fire effect. But alas, it was worry for naught.

i do not meet with clients at my desk or in my office very often. Most all of our meetings take place in the conference room and there is a workstation in there with a single monitor which is what I use if I need to discuss anything on the computer with the client.

I have been using dual monitors for five years or so. Don't think I could live without it. In fact, I am going to see if my new system will support them three or four monitors. When doing tax returns I have one monitor witht the tax software and one with the file cabinet with last year's tax return and workpapers. The write up program and outlook are usually open also. And then excel and quickbooks and, and, and.............. OK geeks, what is the most number of monitors that I can have on one workstation?