Client Letter problem

[HV Ken]

I finished customizing my client letter.

When I bring it in to the return, it has everything I expect, but it is also including the "We recommend that you mail your federal return..." section. Problem is we e-file everything - the letter has both the e-file and this erroneous mailing instructions. I can't seem to figure out how to make that section go away globally. There must be some option somewhere that is causing it to be pulled in.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[JRS]

I just noticed the same thing in my client letter. I "discarded" the letter, then reinstalled it and went to options for the client letter. I removed the "check" marks and started all over and the letter came out right - efiled or in my case to be efiled and no mailing instructions.

[HV Ken]

Thanks JRS, but I am still having this problem. So perhaps I am not understanding the exact steps you are talking about. I modified my master customized client letter using the wizard, removed all the checkmarks from that section of the wizard, saved master, went into return, discarded client letter, reloaded client letter, but I am still getting the mailing instructions.

Is there something different that you did? Thanks.

[JRS]

Try the "options" under client letter in the return itself. Clear all the check marks and then check off what you want, i.e check to print, other information, etc. I had to do that for the Fed and four states. I changed the Fed and combined the state letters and got Fed efiled and the states' efiled with mailing addresses! So each state had to be corrected. This was not a problem last year, so it must be a minor glitch this year.

[HV Ken]

Thanks, but I don't want to have to do this to every return. Very inefficient. Looks like I get to experience technical support first hand.

[Jack from Ohio]

Thanks, but I don't want to have to do this to every return. Very inefficient. Looks like I get to experience technical support first hand.

Many of us who have already experienced it first hand will be praying for you as you start your long and dark quest....

[BulldogTom]

I am having a similar problem, but only with the state. It is checked that the return has been e-filed. The federal section comes out right, but the State says I am giving them 2 copies and to mail one with full address for the FTB. Removed letters, ran wizard. Not sure where to go now.

Tom

Lodi, CA

[HV Ken]

Received this email from customer support. Not sure I exactly understand what they are communicating here - seems that now the program scans for certain text in the sections? I would need to know what the "criteria" is so I can modify my letter appropriately! The changes I made look no different than last tax year, or the year before that, or before that....

Anyway - read on....

One or more changes that were made in the 'Master' letter to customize it

apparently altered the criteria that show the form of communication for the

return - "mailed", "e-filed".

Recommended solution: Delete the Custom Letter, restore the 'Master' Client

Letter and begin again, being careful not to remove or change any verbiage in

the 'Master' Letter that activates the type of communication used for the return

("mailed", "efiled"). After the Letter is customized, 'Save' it and create the

e-file again.

[Byron]

Damn, after figuring out all sorts of secret codes with ATX for years, now they change the rules. They tell us not to change "something" vaguely referred to as "activating ......" without being specific about WTF sentences they're refering to.

ATX: send me the Secret Decoder Ring that translates your solution to English.

[joanmcq]

Last year, my state returns always said 'mailed' until I actually created an efile, or tried to create one. Then the letter read correctly.

[HV Ken]

Thanks Joan, but that is not it. I have generated the e-file, and now the letter contains both e-file and mail information.

[catax]

I have the answer on the state letter saying included are two copies, mail one etc instead of e-filed. I customized master forms for the state letter, ran the wizard and saved the changes. I had combine Fed and State checked and now it works fine in one combined letter.

I haven't fixed the federal part yet. The text does not display on my screen in the customized letter once I check the box in the wizard that says "Check if this return will be e-filed". So I can't edit it. When I open the letter in a return the following line appears in the text twice, "I have prepared your 2007 federal income tax return based on the information you provided." When I open the wizard for the letter there are two boxes checked both "Check if this return has been e-filed " and "Check if this return will be e-filed". I did not check both of these boxes in the customized letter. I went back and checked just to be sure. The software seems to be adding the second check and duplicating the line of text. If anyone knows what is wrong here or how to fix it please let me know.

[BulldogTom]

Funny that no one is having problems with the AUDIT SHEILD crap they added to the letter and automatically check by default. Why would I want that crap in my letter? But that seems to be the only part of the letter that works.

Tom

Lodi, CA

[HV Ken]

Well, after two hours talking to Technical "Support", and a couple of days exchanging emails, etc., I finally got a working copy of the Client Letter all on my own.

I attempted to see if I could reproduce the problem by starting over from scratch (deleting the problematic customized client letter master), by following a cycle of: only modifying one section at a time, saving, bringing the new version into a return; repeat. Unfortunately, I could not get the problem to reproduce. The good news is I now have a problem free client letter!

My suspicion as to what may cause the problem was checking any of the boxes in Step 4. My recommendation is to just leave those blank - they will get correctly applied by the individual return anyway.

The last technical "support" rep I spoke with was very nice, and it was quite evident that she had extremely little knowledge of the ATX product. I feel bad for them - this wasn't their idea and they don't like it any more than we do. I wish there was a way to get the message to corporate about how bad their decision was. I wasted two days on this problem and ended up having to be my own technical support.

[Byron]

Have you found any way to get at the text variations within the different sections? You used to be able to go "sideways" at each step, with little left and right arrows to walk through the various text that's pulled in according to that client's results. Now there's no text to edit in the master form except a few barebones paragraphs.

In the state letter master the "sideways" is still there as before.

[Julie]

This was a problem I'd been struggling with...I mentioned it, I think, in another thread. Today I can fix it. Yesterday I couldn't. It must have been updated, because I can't figure it out otherwise.

So...try updating and see if the problem goes away...

-Julie

[HV Ken]

Byron - I had no problem with that. The left and right arrows are there. It worked for me just as in previous tax years.

Have you found any way to get at the text variations within the different sections? You used to be able to go "sideways" at each step, with little left and right arrows to walk through the various text that's pulled in according to that client's results. Now there's no text to edit in the master form except a few barebones paragraphs.

In the state letter master the "sideways" is still there as before.

[Byron]

Julie nailed it. I had updated in the morning before customizing forms and the left & right arrows weren't there. After reading Julie's post I updated again and then they were. Thanks, Julie!